It's a mad, mad, mad, mad continent in this hip 60's sex farce where the still virile parents of a teenaged hippie wannabee son find their groove as they deal with the younger generation. Debbie Reynolds and James Garner go down Doris Day and Rock Hudson territory (or Doris Day and James Garner territory) in a wild romp that is definitely a guilty pleasure for some, a campy hoot for others, and an embarrassing example of 60's smut for the fuddy duddy's of the world. Even amongst the worst example of the 1960's "with it" hip views of a thankfully short lived culture, it's an extremely example of over the top cinema.
To open this in shocking fashion, Debbie and James are flagro delectro as son Donald Losby walks in on him, practically suffering a nervous breakdown as he realizes what he's witnessed. As Garner does everything except question his son's sexual orientation, Reynolds eavesdrops while making breakfast, and when she overhears Garner and Losby planning an overseas for Losby and his girlfriend, she makes the announcement which is immortalized in the Warner archive collection trailer. But thanks to shady real estate agent Terry-Thomas, they end up renting a house on the Riviera, and are booked on the cheap deck of a European bound cruise ship as chaperones where purser Paul Lynde announces, "Animals. They're all animals." Only Paul Lynde could utter such a simple line and get laughs.
welcome movie title is known as Jackie Gleason Catch phrase, there wasn't room for the great one in this madness. Gleason would paraphrase this with his own hipster comedy, although a lot more subtly with "How Do I Love Thee?" For Garner and Reynolds, however, their single pairing together shows them as having great chemistry, and it's a shame they didn't re-team. (Heck, even Julie Andrews got him again in two more films!) I didn't quite know what to make of the "Molly Brown" reference where Debbie and James end up trying to make love in a lifeboat and create ship-wide chaos. Of course, they are admonished by Lynde with his brand new catch phrase.
Certainly beautiful to look at with crazy 60's fashions and European locales, this is a treat for the eye if not the brain cells. There are some moments that are truly hysterical and others that are eye rolling tacky. In spite of the nonsense, I found myself laughing, both with it and at it, reminding myself that if the much missed Debbie Reynolds is known to the young movie audiences as Princess Leia's mother, wouldn't that make her a queen?
To open this in shocking fashion, Debbie and James are flagro delectro as son Donald Losby walks in on him, practically suffering a nervous breakdown as he realizes what he's witnessed. As Garner does everything except question his son's sexual orientation, Reynolds eavesdrops while making breakfast, and when she overhears Garner and Losby planning an overseas for Losby and his girlfriend, she makes the announcement which is immortalized in the Warner archive collection trailer. But thanks to shady real estate agent Terry-Thomas, they end up renting a house on the Riviera, and are booked on the cheap deck of a European bound cruise ship as chaperones where purser Paul Lynde announces, "Animals. They're all animals." Only Paul Lynde could utter such a simple line and get laughs.
welcome movie title is known as Jackie Gleason Catch phrase, there wasn't room for the great one in this madness. Gleason would paraphrase this with his own hipster comedy, although a lot more subtly with "How Do I Love Thee?" For Garner and Reynolds, however, their single pairing together shows them as having great chemistry, and it's a shame they didn't re-team. (Heck, even Julie Andrews got him again in two more films!) I didn't quite know what to make of the "Molly Brown" reference where Debbie and James end up trying to make love in a lifeboat and create ship-wide chaos. Of course, they are admonished by Lynde with his brand new catch phrase.
Certainly beautiful to look at with crazy 60's fashions and European locales, this is a treat for the eye if not the brain cells. There are some moments that are truly hysterical and others that are eye rolling tacky. In spite of the nonsense, I found myself laughing, both with it and at it, reminding myself that if the much missed Debbie Reynolds is known to the young movie audiences as Princess Leia's mother, wouldn't that make her a queen?