Any Wednesday

Watching this, I thought it was Jane Fonda's rehearsal for Barefoot in the Park, a comedy that shows off her comedic talent. After finishing the film, I could see it was an inferior script with four good actors trying their best.

The real jewel of this film is Rosemary Murphy. She was able to keep her style and grace above this inferior film.

What used to be referred to as a sex comedy which in the more innocent time it was made meant that if included no actual sex only the suggestion of it. The film is dated in its attitudes that's true but because of the lightness with which the material is played by the four leads it remains a breezy comedy.

Jane is at her fluttery bubbly early career best and because of her hairstyle it's striking how much she resembles her present day self. All four principals are very winning, Rosemary Murphy in particular is a chic delight as well as wonderfully droll. The film also offers a reminder that there was a time when Dean Jones was quite an expert comic actor. The story is a bit incredible but being a romantic comedy that sort of goes with the territory.

THe ensemble cast is wonderful in this somewhat opened-up four-person stage play of the mid-1960s. Jason Robards commands the screen as a CEO who uses his mistress' apartment as a tax write-off and stays with her on Wednesdays when he is supposedly off on business trips. Jane Fonda is the kept woman. Rosemary Murphy is his wife. Dean Jones, in a non- Disney role, is the angry young man with business and personal grievances against CEO Cleeves (Robards).

Robards is the most memorable as the winning-obsessed CEO who considers everything in his life a game and people as chess pieces to manipulate. What makes this character a cut above, however, is his wry and sometimes self-effacing sense of humor - especially after he realizes that he is stuck with more than he bargained for.

Today's more critical and angry moral standards will be aghast at the premise and today's emphasis on lower-key acting, less verbiage, and more visuals will find the film's acting to be overdone and the story over-told. For people in my age bracket, this remains as free, and breezy and winning today as it was in 1966 - still a joy to watch!

Made in the mid-60's (when things were supposedly starting to "swing"), and set in New York, this comedy of errors stars Jane Fonda as a young woman who makes the same mistake too many have (before and after), getting involved with a married man, and believing they have a future, just as soon as he gets that divorce. When will that be? Well, right now it's not possible, because......

The married man in question is her former boss, John Cleaves (Jason Robards), who sets her up in an apartment, where he visits her every Wednesday, telling his wife, Dorothy (Rosemary Murphy) he'll be away on "business". No, she's not stupid, just turning a blind eye.

When an out-of-town client, Cass Anderson (Dean Jones) needs a place to stay, John's new secretary unwittingly directs him to the "executive suite", where Cass mistakes Ellen for a "working girl", hired to entertain him! The mix-ups are just beginning, as Dorothy pays an unexpected visit, thinks Ellen and Cass are a couple and invites them out with her and John. What a night that is!

Soon, Cass discovers that he's in love with Ellen and (to his dismay) that she really loves John and is not after his money and status. And Dorothy, now with clear vision, is not going to settle for wronged wife. Both John and Ellen have choices to make. But do they make the right ones?

Who ends up with whom, who has a HEA, and who go their separate ways? Watch and find out and have fun!

Any Wednesday's a truly funny out-stage comedy, with an enjoyable '60s taste. Jane Fonda is sexy and adorable, the other characters are well drawn. I'm a bit surprised imdb users have such a low opinion of this film (a bit more than 5/10 as I'm writing), in my opinion it deserves a full 7/10 just for the balloon scene.