Marriage on the Rocks

In recent months, I've watched quite a few films by the so-called Rat Pack. Some, such as "Oceans Eleven", were very good. However, quite a few really look like the actors were just going through the motions with substandard scripts--and "Marriage on the Rocks" is clearly one of these.

The film is supposed to be a kooky comedy about marriage and divorce. However, comedies, unless I'm mistaken, are supposed to be funny! This one lacks humor and more importantly any charm. The characters are all unlikable and very one-dimensional. Dean Martin plays an executive who NEVER works and chases women. Frank Sinatra plays an executive who ONLY works and is humorless and annoying. And, Deborah Kerr hates his wife who hates her marriage but NEVER tells her husband. As for the kids, they're all self-absorbed jerks.

As for the plot, it's bad but is made worse because you hate the characters. While in Mexico, Frank and Deborah ACCIDENTALLY GET DIVORCED and SHE ACCIDENTALLY MARRIES Dean!! This is pretty far-fetched and contrived. Overall, it's a tiresome film that might have worked had it been better written and had the stars (who had HUGE clout in Hollywood at the time) insisted they be given a competent plot. Tiresome.

Complications arise after an unhappily married couple are "accidentally" divorced whilst on their second honeymoon in this amiable comedy with echoes of Hitchcock's 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith'. The film takes quite a while to build up to the "accident" and the resulting humour is hit and miss, but a perfectly cast Deborah Kerr and Frank Sinatra keep the film afloat. Both were well past 40 at the time and they capture two complete flip-sides well; Sinatra has become complacent, all too settled into life, whereas a high-strung Kerr is in the midst of a midlife crisis, worried by the very certainties that Sinatra finds comfort in. The supporting characters are not terribly interesting; as his best friend, Dean Martin is too much the polar opposite of Sinatra and while John McGiver, Cesar Romero and Hermione Baddeley have their good bits, they never register strongly. Martin's bachelor pad is something else though, and -- alongside the likes of 'Under the Yum Yum Tree' -- it is a testament to the imaginativeness of early '60s interior decoration with jutting stone walls, several indoor plants and a fireplace in the centre of the living room. The nightclub sets are nifty too. Of course, excellent sets alone are not reason enough to watch a motion picture, but they are certainly an extra delight in this big screen showcase for Kerr's comedic talents. Her very proper and refined British vocal mannerisms render her indignation all the more amusing, and imperfect as the film may well be, it certainly offers an acute look at a middle aged couple both learning to reevaluate what they want in life.

I love this movie; wish I could get a video tape of it. It's lite, funny, sad and has wonderful actors/actresses in it. It's a good movie to just sit back and veg out to!. Dean and Frank just ham it up and Deborah Kerr just fits right in and goes along with it. That's what makes it so good!

Watching "Marriage on the Rocks," it's hard to image that it was made by a studio that turned out so many great movies in the 35 years prior to this one. But then, Warner Brothers wasn't alone in making such dull and boring fluff in the 1960s and beyond.

The only reason I give this film four stars is because of two performers – Deborah Kerr and Cesar Romero. They give it their best with the material they have. Kerr plays Val Edwards. Why in the world such a talented actress would agree to make this movie is beyond me, but she does try to put some life into her character and make her somewhat interesting. Cesar Romero plays Miguel Santos. I don't know if the script called for the level of excitement and energy his character provides – but I suspect he pushed it some in an effort to elevate the film.

Other reviews have noted that Frank Sinatra as Dan Edwards and Dean Martin as Ernie Brewer are pretty much playing their everyday roles in life. At least the roles that were for their public image. Martin was not a late night carouser with the pack, but went home to be with his family. Neither actor does anything to lift this film beyond boredom. Sinatra just isn't believable as an ad agency magnate. And, Martin's playboy role is way over the top so that any humor it might have otherwise is lost in tedium.

The screenplay is blasé for this film. There can't be even half a dozen clever or witty lines. The film just sinks without any real humor. We know that all the leads could act in dramatic roles, and the males could croon some lovely tunes. As one other reviewer noted, had they put some songs in here, the studio would have boosted the film and made it at least entertaining.

It's a marriage merry-go-round when Deborah Kerr rather inadvertently divorces workaholic hubby Frank Sinatra while on vacation in Mexico; when he fails to make things right, she (once again) inadvertently winds up hitched to boozy best friend Dean Martin. Made during the time when films had become second priority to Ol' Blue Eyes. It quickly becomes apparent his heart isn't in this...and how could it be, really, with such a leaden script? Although plush and well-produced, the movie is just a throwaway--a shame since the premise did have some interesting possibilities. Nancy Sinatra (barely out of her teens) and Tony Bill add some appeal as the youngsters in love, but the rest is a snooze. Happy Hour for the Rat Pack is over...closing time, guys! *1/2 from ****