What's So Bad About Feeling Good?

I highly recommend this fun movie. This movie was great when I was a kid, it gave us lots to talk about with our parents. - I'm sure it would stand the test of time. Why is it not out on video at least? The cast is chock full of 'stars' from the era and the theme is an excellent commentary on society then and now. Imagine a world where Feeling Good is considered an illness that requires a cure? The 60's thing is so popular right now that this movie should be re-released just 'cuz it feels good. Maybe they can do a remake - it works with everything else from the 60's and 70's!?

If anyone knows how to get a copy - please dish!

This movie was very silly but fun and actually a little thought-provoking. Mary Tyler Moore and George Peppard play two hippies who live with several of their friends in a dingy New York apartment. Their only goal in life is to "tune in and drop out" of mainstream society. After a toucan carrying a "happy virus" infects them, however, they "clean up" their acts, and begin to dress and act like your typical 60's establishment types. Moore and Peppard begin to think about marriage and children. The virus spreads all over New York City and people begin to be nice to one another. This alarms the makers of such products as alcohol, tobacco and gambling since demand for these begins to plummet! I always liked the scenes where rude New Yorkers begin to treat each other with respect and kindness, and the "hippy pad" was intriguing to me as a little kid. It wasn't just the silliness of the movie, though, that I liked. It actually made me think about how just waving a wand and making everyone happy would have a lot of unintended consequences. It was an early introduction for me to the economic concept of opportunity costs.

I saw this on TV many years ago when I was a kid and the ideas have stayed with me like no other story. I think the basic story has the core of a fable for the ages like "Groundhogs Day" or "It's A Wonderful Life". In particular I remember the Idea that some people didn't need the infection. They were capable of happiness all the time ; and some were not. Now thirty years later the research of psychiatry and psychology finds that the basic ability or disposition to be happy underlies much of what happens in our lives. If they had seen this movie. We see constant advertisements for medications to make us happy. The characters in the movie are dated but the basic question of happiness haunts each of us and all of us together. I only wish I could see it again.

Nice film, agree with other comments that it is just as appropriate today as in 1968 although our youth would be too mature possible for some of the humor. The bureaucracy portrayed in this movie seems quite realistic in this post 911 mentality.

The real question is why this movie has never been released. So many other pieces of trash seem to have been redone, why has this one not been released on either VHS or DVD? I can only assume that this because of some copyright or estate issue. Have George Peppard's family restricted its release? Does Universal Studio's have some issue with releasing it? Unfortunately the last time it appeared on TV was before the general availability of VCRs.

I remember this fun comedy as a kid and have been hoping and waiting for it to be released on Video & DVD...not yet. While silly on the surface, the ideas expressed were thought provoking. The crazy 60s style of the film would would lend it a current popularity promoted by films like Austin Powers.