El búho y la gatita

"The Owl and the Pussycat" is an uneven but generally enjoyable mix of comedy and romance, with a few dramatic undertones. There are some genuine laughs and some touching moments, but the movie's loudness occasionally goes over-the-line. Streisand is alternately appealing and annoying, sometimes both in the same scene. Segal is very enjoyable in his "everyman" role, and he makes the picture worth watching, although it does run out of steam in the second half.

Comedy/drama taking place in NYC about meek, mild Felix (George Segal) ending up stuck with loud, obnoxious prostitute Doris (Barbra Streisand). Naturally they hate each other and naturally fall in love.

This movie is VERY loud (basically because Streisand yells nonstop), the humor is pretty caustic (Streisand thinks Segal is gay and throws quite a few homophobic jokes at him) and is pretty risqué--it was edited from an R rating but there's still plenty of swearing and sexual sequences. Still it is fun. Segal and Streisand work well together--the script is full of one liners that they throw at each other full tilt. And it might seem strange that Streisand could convincingly play a prostitute--but she actually looks very attractive here and pulls it off (she played another one in "Nuts" in 1987).

This isn't perfect however. It seems a little bit too long and some of their arguing gets repetitive. Also there is annoying edit when Streisand says the word "f***". I'm guessing it was cut to get a PG rating but it renders one scene incomprehensible and I DID hear it in the video version released in the 1980s. What's the story? Also there's a very ugly scene at the end where Segal humiliates Streisand in Central Park. Segal also shot some nude scenes which never made it into the final print.

Still this is worth catching. I wouldn't let the kids see it though. This is pretty strong for a PG film.

The Owl And The Pussycat is a fine example of great comic pairing. Barbra and George Segal work very well together. Very well indeed. It is a loud comedy though, not a slapstick one. So if you're looking for slapstick, watch What's Up,Doc? or For Pete's Sake. If you are looking for a comedy that is a more heartfelt, with more depth to the charatcers and emotion, then The Owl And The Pussycat is for you. I say it is a loud comedy mostly because of Barbra's character Doris. Doris can be pretty loud. But what's funny about it is that half the time she doesn't even mean to be; it's just her nature. This "nature", took George Segal's character Felix quite by surprise,

and it is very amusing to see him try to adjust to it. What's so interesting to watch is that although Doris shows herself in the beginning to be loud, self-assertive and bold, she later shows herself to be vulnerable and sweet. Where as George Segal's character Felix, showing himself to have a nose up in the air, "I'm too intellectual for you" attitude in the beginning, later shows that although he wants success in his life, not at the expense of pretense. With himself, or what he genuinely wants. I say pretense because Felix's thinking was that he would marry an "intellectual" such as he thought himself to be, and live this "proper" life. Doris, although loud, and believes she is a legend in her own mind, is genuine and real. Felix is very much attracted to her for this reason. It's a quality that she has that he sees that he wants to be more like himself. But what is so amusing is that Doris feels that after meeting and getting to know Felix, that she needs to become more like him! More "intellectual". What's truly so charming about this movie is how it shows the facades that we can portray and the masks that we can wear are truly just that; facades and masks. How no matter how confident we can "look" on the outside, how smart we may "appear", that it can be a totally different story once you start actually getting to know someone. What's most charming of all,(actually wonderful),is that by the film's end they both decide to drop these facades, take off the masks, and "start fresh". But...all along from the beginning of this movie til it's end, until they get to this level, it can be quite hysterical. A great comedy with heart. Enjoy it.

Character comedy. I wanted more plot but for almost the whole movie we have only the sparring of the two stars. Unfortunately we learn very little about their lives that makes them more interesting as opposites. For fans of the two stars only but it's not their best work.

I also read the play. Streisand and Segal have great on-screen chemistry. This film will keep you laughing non-stop. Barbara Streisand's performance of the character being "neurotic" is excellent. George Segal's character is equally good in his response to her behavior. If you like this, it is one you may want to watch over and over again.