Honeymoon Hotel

Just one of oh so many of those not so funny comedy capers where the guys (Robert Morse, Robert Goulet and the big boss Keenan Wynn) are trying to enjoy some harmless cheap flings and cheat on their significant others, all the while their significant others seem to always be a step behind these clumsy men.

Eventually the three (3) men and their significant others (Nancy Kwan, Elvia Allman, and Chris Noel) all end up in the same hotel suite with a very tipsy and very hot looking Jill St. John and the boys have some explaining to do.

The movie is quite boring and with very plastic acting. I wouldn't recommend it even though everyone seems to end up happy at the Honeymoon Hotel.

A 5 out of 10 rating

Unbelievable that this is what they came up with as a debut for the two talented Broadway stars. My God, universally ripped apart by the critics of the day. It's a painfully embarrassing display of bad direction and a bad script. OUCH!!!

This is also Robert Goulet's movie debut. He and Robert Morse go to a "honeymoon hotel" where all the other guests are young and presumably heterosexual, newlywed couples.

Of course being made in 1964, the possible gay overtones of two single men sharing a hotel room are barely hinted at.

Nancy Kwan adds a little fun but otherwise the movie is mediocre. If nothing else is on it might be worth watching instead of taking a sleeping pill.

Honeymoon Hotel came on my TCM channel today via Hulu. I was answering email when I looked up. My jaw dropped. The apartment swinging bachelors, Robert Goulet and Robert Morse, are sharing is the exact same set used in an MGM movie a few years earlier: Sunday in New York (a far better film). The efficiency kitchen is a step-down from the living room, and the spiral stair case leading to the bedroom. Check. There's even a brief moment with a look inside the living room closet where Jane Fonda hung her mother's bathrobe to ward off amorous suitors. Only a year separates the two films. I purposely went to the "Did You Know?" section of Honeymoon Hotel page to see if anyone else noticed, and indeed they have. Only one year separates these two movies--Sunday in New was released in 1963. MGM must have really felt a budget crunch by then.

Anyway, this film just gets more tired and predictable as it goes along. Poor Robert Goulet--this was his film debut. Robert Morse had already made one prior film to this. I'll bet both wish they hadn't landed in this picture. I love Jill St. John. She's gorgeous, and can play the dumb redhead in her sleep. (she has a fantastically high IQ). But this movie doesn't ask anything more than to wear tight dresses and act like a really dumb readhead. The wink-wink gay subtext is offensively applied with a trowel here.

Hen-pecked Jay Menlow (Robert Morse) is marrying Cynthia Hampton. He and his womanizing friend Ross Kingsley (Robert Goulet) are caught commenting on other women. She cancels the wedding. Ross convinces him to go on the honeymoon anyways. The two guys arrive at the Boca Roca Hotel, but it's strictly for honeymooners only. The hotel insists on it. Ross is taken with social director Lynn Jenley (Nancy Kwan) and refuses to leave. She happens to be Cynthia's friend. Jay starts to crack, but Ross sabotages his reconciliation with Cynthia. Ross needs more time chasing Lynn.

I really like this movie until a certain point in the middle. I don't like what Lynn does after finding out Ross. There are many ways to get revenge on him. She picks the wrong path. It's not vicious enough. I would suggest stealing his big black book and start wrecking havoc on his life. It goes down the wrong path and the story thread comes to a dead end. This has some fun as a screwball sex comedy. More importantly, it has an inter-racial romance without making a big deal out of it. It does have some issues, but it is still good light fun.