Although I have been aware of this film for a long time, it was only after watching its amusing theatrical trailer – on THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT (1970) DVD – that I became eager to watch it. The end result proved to be a patchy affair but, nevertheless, it does have its fair share of belly-laughs and, in any case, watching Streisand in kooky mode is always fun; Estelle Parsons and William Redfield are her hubby (Michael Sarrazin)’s well-to-do and snobbish relatives who particularly look down on Streisand.
It clearly emulates the screwball style of WHAT’S UP, DOC? (1972), parodies THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) – the underground station cat-and-mouse chase between Gene Hackman and Fernando Rey is performed here by a disguised Streisand and a persistent police dog! – and it also homages Buster Keaton’s GO WEST (1925) in the urban cow stampede sequence and Luis Bunuel’s BELLE DE JOUR (1967) in the role-playing encounters during Streisand’s disastrous stint as a call-girl! British action director Yates was surprisingly roped in for this, but he seems to have enjoyed the experience as his next project was on similarly zany lines – the black comedy MOTHER, JUGS AND SPEED (1976; which I’ll be watching presently).
Another notable sequence sees the heroine involved, unbeknownst to her, in terrorist activity (she’s asked to deliver a package in disguise to a similarly-dressed woman) – which eventually rebounds on her shady brother employers! Similarly, one of the best lines has Streisand’s nonchalant black maid (she hires a Hispanic woman to do her own cleaning-up!) who, admiring the former’s tenacity, tells her: “Girl, you could even sell a Confederate flag in Harlem!”
