A New Kind of Love

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were certainly in love with Paris :after "Paris Blues" ,"A new kind of love" !(French title : "the girl with the cap"!)But if you love Paris ,you'd better choose "An American in Paris" or "Funny Face" provided you like musicals of course.Anyway "a new...." has Maurice Chevalier,in the flesh,playing himself,singing a little tune.

"A new..." is a dreadful hodge-podge of clichés about Paris and its fashion,postcard style pictures ,and even Sainte-Catherine celebration,which will seem obsolete even to today's French audience.The plot is completely devoid of interest:Newman is a journalist and a lady killer who has been sent to Paris cause he has slept with his boss's wife.Woodward is some kind of fashion Mata-Hari.As far as she is concerned,she is much more attractive dressed up as a tomboy than when she is wearing these horrible wigs.And Thelma Ritter would like to have an onion soup in Les Halles -which were demolished since- with her colleague who does not take any notice of her and her burning love.

Worst scene:Newman taking Woodward he mistakes for a Fille de Joie to the Sacre Coeur so she can redeem her soul .

Newman and Woodward are excellent actors: elsewhere!

"A New Kind of Love" is a forgettable farce comedy teamed with Newman and Woodward … It's an unpretentious story: a simple, mannish woman foolish1y devotes herself to a career instead of doing what women are supposed to do—hunt for husbands… But she gives her beauty treatment, a new style and expensive clothes and she'll straighten out and find a man… The new look is that after her marked change, the man mistakes her for a prostitute…

Although she's humiliated, she encourages his misunderstanding, telling him sensational stories about herself until he falls in love with her! The implication: if satisfying a man's infantile sex fantasies is the only way to get him, it's better than being an ordinary professional woman…

Joanne Woodward plays a fashion designer who, with blonde hair and showy makeup, actually looks more uninteresting than before…

Newman plays a sportswriter whose athletics with blonds has kept him from winning the Pulitzer Prize… He's an arrogant, alcoholic ill-bred man … As usual, he has some effective lecherous looks and self-disgusted expressions, but with all the charm and the grace

Writer/director Shavelson treads Billy Wilder territory with this Paris-set romantic comedy; nevertheless, he’s more successful penning witty dialogue (making him something of an underrated figure in this genre) than concocting funny situations (which, in spite – or because – of their satirical/fanciful bent come across as heavy-handed most of the time).

Still, it was refreshing to watch the Newmans letting their hair down (incidentally, the couple’s previous stint in the French capital – in Paris BLUES [1961], with which I actually preceded this viewing – had been of a more serious nature): Joanne Woodward, especially, demonstrated a lighter side which has rarely been exploited (and earned a Golden Globe nod in the process)…though she seemed much more at ease playing the tomboyish fashion designer than the tale-spinning high-class ‘broad’.

At 110 minutes, the film eventually wears thin – but the colorful scenery, a nice title tune (sung by Frank Sinatra, no less) and the supporting cast (including Thelma Ritter, George Tobias and Marvin Kaplan, not to mention a fun guest appearance by Maurice Chevalier as himself) ensure that a generally pleasant (albeit forgettable) time is had by all. For what it’s worth, looking up the film in a book my father has on Newman (written by Michael Kerbel), it’s stated that A NEW KIND OF LOVE was “Newman’s worst film” and his career nadir; while that might be too harsh a judgment, I have to say that I am quite fond of Newman’s previous and subsequent comic efforts – respectively Leo McCarey’s RALLY ‘ROUND THE FLAG, BOYS! (1958) and J. Lee Thompson’s star-studded WHAT A WAY TO GO! (1964) – both of which I’ve just acquired following the actor’s demise…

"A New Kind of Love" is a genuinely bad film--something you'd never expect considering it stars Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Additionally, having Thelma Ritter for support would also seem to guarantee a much better film. However, despite the talent, the film is terrible--with only a few moments here or there that rise above the rest. The bottom line is that if you have a badly written film, even top stars won't save it.

Paul Newman's character is a HUGE part of the problem. While he's supposed to be a bright and talented newspaper man, he's mostly just a horny guy who spends most of his time chasing women. This is very one-dimensional and makes him hard to like. As for Woodward, she is more interesting--a scared woman who makes herself look far less attractive because of her fears. However, after getting herself a makeover when she's in Paris, he sees her and thinks she's a prostitute--a very expensive prostitute--and that intrigues him. Does any of this sound the least bit romantic? And, does it seem very funny? If your answer to both is 'no', then you see why the film has a lot of problems. All in all, a very disappointing and unfunny movie.

By the way, there really is a Festival of St. Catherines and women really do such silly hats. I assume, however, that most parties for St. Catherines did not involve having Maurice Chevalier showing up to entertain!

The bad news is that the plot is hackneyed and boring. Reporter Newman mistakes fashion family heir Woodward for high-priced prostitute. The goods news is that the plot is mostly irrelevant, but the chemistry between Paul and Joanne is not, and neither is their comic timing. You also have Thelma Ritter and George Tobias on hand to assure a generous helping of chuckles. I give it 6 out of 10; it's a decent time passer.