"My GOD but you're lovely."
This is surely one of Sellers' most memorable characters. This guy HAS to have been a major influence on Austin Powers: he's an aging playboy, with hairy back and bad teeth, who never imagines that he's anything but irresistible to women. Goldie Hawn is the woman who won't give him what he wants when he wants it.
The first hour is pure gold, some of the greatest comedy i've ever seen. Then it strangely begins to meander. Really badly. With the extended wine tasting journey, involving many pointless shots of Frenchmen drinking wine at what seems like a real wine tasting ceremony, and later on the pointless shots of scenery, very out of place in this story. I was thinking what terrific characters they were, and what a terrific comedy set-up we had here - but at the point where it starts to wonder, you realise that they'd only thought up these funny characters - but hadn't got as far as what to do with them. Thus, they also had no idea what the resolution, if any, should be.
They seem to have figured that everything would work itself out once they started shooting - well, it didn't. The last half-hour is an absolute mess. I would have enjoyed it much more as a 60 minute movie, thankyou very much.
As it is, we have a clumsy "resolution" scene that needed about seven re-writes, and a rather meandering, almost unnecessary last half-hour, peppered with a few good scenes (Sellers carrying Hawn over his shoulder in the lift), which unfortunately spoils what might have been one of the funniest movies i've ever seen.
6/10. The first hour is an absolute gem - i'd still recommend you see it for that.
