Between the implied sexiness of '50s films, and the much more overt sexuality of '70s cinema, there existed a period in which Hollywood films presented sex comedies depicting the halting steps toward sexual liberation of middle-class, middle-aged Americans of the 1960s. Sometimes, the results were engaging and funny, hinting at naughtiness while still remaining innocent (THE FACTS OF LIFE, with Bob Hope and Lucille Ball as a pair of would-be adulterers; GOOD NEIGHBOR SAM, starring Jack Lemmon as a happily married man who agrees to live with the divorcée next door--all for a good cause, of course). Some of these attempts at portraying the "swinging '60s" among the suburban set came off as decidedly icky viewing experiences; this film is one of those.
Walter Matthau, happily married to beautiful wife Inger Stevens, nevertheless finds himself increasingly distracted by various body parts of other women around him (frequent closeups of the behinds and breasts of every woman he sees, accompanied by his slack-jawed reaction shots, abound throughout the film). His weaselly friend, Robert Morse, who believes that serial adultery is healthy for a marriage, agrees to offer him advice on becoming a successful cheater.
The lessons he offers are depicted in the film by short vignettes in which many stars of the period appear; some of these are actually quite fun to watch. Art Carney, Carl Reiner, Jayne Mansfield, and Jack Benny are amusing in their cameos; the scene featuring Joey Bishop ("Deny, deny, deny!") is a priceless comic masterpiece.
The main plot, Morse's training of Matthau for his career in adultery, is tedious and tawdry. Both Matthau and Morse are physically unappealing here; Matthau mugs and slouches his way through the film, while Morse oozes sleaze. I found myself secretly hoping that both their wives would run off with other, more attractive men by the end of the film; it might have made a more satisfying ending. Does Matthau succeed in his attempts to become a suburban swinger? Well, in the end, keep in mind that while this was made in the midst of the hippie, free-love era, it's still a staid, old-Hollywood film, with an old-Hollywood ending. And it just feels old. And tired.
If you decide to watch it, skip the Matthau/Morse interplay and move the DVD ahead to some of the vignette sequences. The Bishop scene, at least, is worth a look.
Walter Matthau, happily married to beautiful wife Inger Stevens, nevertheless finds himself increasingly distracted by various body parts of other women around him (frequent closeups of the behinds and breasts of every woman he sees, accompanied by his slack-jawed reaction shots, abound throughout the film). His weaselly friend, Robert Morse, who believes that serial adultery is healthy for a marriage, agrees to offer him advice on becoming a successful cheater.
The lessons he offers are depicted in the film by short vignettes in which many stars of the period appear; some of these are actually quite fun to watch. Art Carney, Carl Reiner, Jayne Mansfield, and Jack Benny are amusing in their cameos; the scene featuring Joey Bishop ("Deny, deny, deny!") is a priceless comic masterpiece.
The main plot, Morse's training of Matthau for his career in adultery, is tedious and tawdry. Both Matthau and Morse are physically unappealing here; Matthau mugs and slouches his way through the film, while Morse oozes sleaze. I found myself secretly hoping that both their wives would run off with other, more attractive men by the end of the film; it might have made a more satisfying ending. Does Matthau succeed in his attempts to become a suburban swinger? Well, in the end, keep in mind that while this was made in the midst of the hippie, free-love era, it's still a staid, old-Hollywood film, with an old-Hollywood ending. And it just feels old. And tired.
If you decide to watch it, skip the Matthau/Morse interplay and move the DVD ahead to some of the vignette sequences. The Bishop scene, at least, is worth a look.