The stardom of MGM's very popular Van Johnson and June Allyson is somewhat of a head scratcher today, most of their pairings clichéd and derivative. This screwball comedy has its funny moments, but they slip in out of nowhere, catching the bored viewer off guard. Neither seems to have the "it" factor, even in a 60's style of popularity, and some might find their over publicized careers of the 40's and 50's headscratching. Neither of their characters here are really likeable. He's a boorish letch, and she's a finger wagging prude, closer to co-star Elisabeth Risdon's character of Aunt Delia in the "Mexican Spitfire" series than a free spirited 20 something artist of the post war years.
On their first meeting, they have no spark. He's a children's book writer who seems to hate children, and she's a virginal staid illustrator, and even drunk (due to his manipulation of giving her coffee mixed with brandy), she has no fun side, even when she tearfully proclaims herself pie-eyed to publishing house executive Hume Cronyn and his officious secretary, Una Merkel. For some reason, they decide to utilize bratty orphan Butch Jenkins (and his snakes and ants and boobytraps) to pretend to be Johnson's son to win her over, and the script becomes sappy and sentimental in dealing with this horrid problem child.
The gorgeous Arlene Dahl is sadly underused as an old girlfriend of Van's, not really serving any purpose but to cause conflict in the screenwriter's efforts to convince the audience that Van and June belong together. Elisabeth Risdon is good as a not so harsh wealthy matron (nowhere near her Aunt Delia character), while the strong looking Kathleen Howard provides the stern auntie role. Richard Derr and Lloyd Corrigan fill other important parts. The funny parts are certainly not guided by the stars, rather bland in spite of the publicity surrounding one of their many pairings, but by director Norman Taurog who knows how to make bland characters get laughs by putting them in wacky situations. Allyson's sudden transformation into glamour girl doesn't really make sense.
On their first meeting, they have no spark. He's a children's book writer who seems to hate children, and she's a virginal staid illustrator, and even drunk (due to his manipulation of giving her coffee mixed with brandy), she has no fun side, even when she tearfully proclaims herself pie-eyed to publishing house executive Hume Cronyn and his officious secretary, Una Merkel. For some reason, they decide to utilize bratty orphan Butch Jenkins (and his snakes and ants and boobytraps) to pretend to be Johnson's son to win her over, and the script becomes sappy and sentimental in dealing with this horrid problem child.
The gorgeous Arlene Dahl is sadly underused as an old girlfriend of Van's, not really serving any purpose but to cause conflict in the screenwriter's efforts to convince the audience that Van and June belong together. Elisabeth Risdon is good as a not so harsh wealthy matron (nowhere near her Aunt Delia character), while the strong looking Kathleen Howard provides the stern auntie role. Richard Derr and Lloyd Corrigan fill other important parts. The funny parts are certainly not guided by the stars, rather bland in spite of the publicity surrounding one of their many pairings, but by director Norman Taurog who knows how to make bland characters get laughs by putting them in wacky situations. Allyson's sudden transformation into glamour girl doesn't really make sense.