Come Blow Your Horn

I have to agree with most of what the previous commenter says; this is a largely disappointing movie. Neil Simon's wit here is not yet up to "Odd Couple" or "Sunshine Boys" speed, and some of the acting is lame. Jill St. John is a tad too cutesily dumb, and Tony Bill's Buddy is somewhat grating, especially after his unconvincing conversion from youthful innocent to roue. However, Sinatra is always worth watching and listening to, especially in the masterful Nelson Riddle's arrangements (here an original song, actually). However, the movie is almost worth watching solely for Lee J. Cobb's performance as papa Baker; his sidesplitting performance as the terminally frustrated Mr. Baker is a study in comic skill, particularly in the scenes where he invades the brothers' apartment. I had never see Cobb do comedy before; now my estimation of him as an actor has increased immeasurably. Catch this one just for Cobb.

"Are you married?" "No." "Then you're a bum!"

That's the famous exchange between Lee J. Cobb and Frank Sinatra in Come Blow Your Horn, a domestic comedy about moving out of the house. I'd always heard great things about this movie, but when I finally saw it, it was a bit of a letdown. I think it got talked up too much. Lee J. Cobb was a stereotypical overbearing father who shouted all of his lines. Molly Picon was extremely irritating as the long suffering mother, and her pacing was way too slow. Tony Bill's character arc wasn't sympathetic: At first he feels oppressed at home so he moves in with his playboy brother whom he idolizes. Then he turns into a playboy himself, with every flaw magnified so the audience can see it was a mistake. Jill St. John was her usual nauseating airhead persona, which left Frank Sinatra on his own to save the movie. Since his character was extremely similar to several others he'd played in the past, there wasn't much he could do with it.

Then again, if you like seeing him in semi-cad playboy roles, you might like this one. The title song is very cute, and some of the jokes are very funny. But I liked A Hole in the Head much better.

With the recent announcement that Neil Simon has died at 91, I decided to watch this-the first movie adapted from his first play. He didn't adapt it himself as he would most of his subsequent plays to film, no, Norman Lear would do that in this instance. Lear also produced with Bud Yorkin who directed. Tony Bill is the 21-year-old son of Lee J. Cobb and Molly Picon, parents who he loves but wants to now live with his older bachelor brother Frank Sinatra who's involved in three women-Jill St. John, Phyllis McGuire, and Barbara Rush. Dan Blocker, who played Hoss on the No. 1 TV show at the time "Bonanza" also appears as does a familiar singer in cameo who's a frequent co-star of Sinatra's. Besides Simon's original lines and Lear's additions, there's also a title song by James Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn-Sinatra's usual songwriters. Frank warbles it while teaching his younger brother to dress and taking him out to town in New York City. I don't know how true this was to Neil Simon's original play but I'm guessing enough of it was to seem not too different from his subsequent work. I highly laughed most of the time so on that note, I highly recommend Come Blow Your Horn. P.S. This review is indeed dedicated in memory of Mr. Simon.

Round up the usual suspects. This being a Frank Sinatra comedy, there has to be a Cahn-Van Heusen song, arranged by Nelson Riddle. Dean Martin pops up in an under-rehearsed cameo and Jill St. John is Frankie's Bimbo. "It's a business like any other business," says Frank. Was he talking of manufacturing wax fruit, or cranking out cynical sex comedies?

The Baker brothers are out for fun. Alan is a thirty-nine year old playboy who, to his parents' chagrin, remains unmarried (Sinatra was in fact bewigged and fifty-one). His kid brother Buddy (Tony Bill) escapes from the stifling jewish domesticity of Yonkers and joins Alan in his Manhattan bachelor apartment. Drinks, dames and snappy clothes ensue. Because this is 1963, Frank thinks it's the height of cool to shave with an electric razor, use roll-on deodorant and furnish his kitchen in orange plastic. Impressively for 1963, he has a car phone and a remote control device to work his stereo, but were the snapbrim hat and the plaid raincoat REALLY the last word in style in the era of the Rolling Stones?

Essentially a bourgeois jewish comedy of the Neil Simon type, "Come Blow Your Horn" is a bit of froth which does not repay close analysis. There is a cute little phallic joke (the cannon in the movie playing on TV) and Frank's character almost goes somewhere with his 'oldest swinger in town' realisation, but ultimately this is a lazy, shallow little project.

Lee J. Cobb is the long-suffering jewish father, Molly Picon the depressingly stereotypical jewish mom. Hoss from TV's "Bonanza", Dan Blocker, appears briefly as the irate cuckold Eckman. Jill St. John is in simpering Marilyn Monroe mode as Peggy The Babe, not yet showing the intelligent irony on display in "Tony Rome". Tony Bill is good as Buddy, the kid brother corrupted by the philandering Alan, and Barbara Rush impresses as Connie, the good girl.

However, the film's central premise is flawed. The script does not explain (because it can't) how feckless, jobless Alan can afford swish tailoring, ski vacations in Vermont and an apartment the size of Shea Stadium. There is a lame suggestion, right at the end, that some unseen broad can be sweet-talked into donating the bachelor pad to Buddy, but it fails to convince. Rather like the film, really.

This film is the first one based on a Neil Simon play and the screenplay is by Norman Lear. According the IMDb, Frank Sinatra's character is actually based on Simon's older brother--a playboy who apparently was quite the lady's man. While Sinatra is good in the film, he was badly miscast as he is easily old enough to be his brother's father! In fact, he and the father (Lee J. Cobb) are about the same age--and so I had a seriously hard time believing Sinatra was Tony Bill's brother.

The film begins with a young man showing up at his brother's bachelor pad. Apparently he's moving in and it's quite the surprise. However, he IS welcomed by his brother--but not the over-protective parents who want this young man to return home. The younger brother (Tony Bill) seems quite naive and he's in for a shock when he sees that his brother is quite the player--and is currently stringing three ladies along at the same time! But, when he can't possibly make all his commitments to the ladies at the same time, the naive brother is convinced to help! What's to happen to the sweet younger brother and will his older brother ever grow up and become responsible and settle down? The acting was fine in the film and the writing very good. In fact, apart from Sinatra's age, I have no serious complaints about the film. It is a bit of a trifle of a film but enjoyable throughout--and is well worth your time.