What's So Bad About Feeling Good?

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.

This is a movie that should definitely be brought out on video, or played on television, or somehow brought into availability now. It is such a great commentary for our time, and probably more significant now than it was when it came out. I haven't seen it since 1968, and yet I still remember the lessons I learned from it. With all of the drugs and medications that are used to make people feel "good" and "happy", maybe we need to be reminded that if it's real, it comes from the inside. It is a silly movie, and certainly a dated one (beatniks?), but a young George Peppard is worth seeing in this one.

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.

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.

This incredible film starring the late Mary Tyler Moore and the late George Peppard deserves a lot more attention than it received at the time of its initial release. It is difficult to locate today and that is a shame. Funny and profound, it offers wonderful entertainment for all ages. The story seems timeless in many ways. Although the plot might not please Madison Avenue, it perhaps reflects truths about a consumer economy. Yet its uplifting spiritual message and completely charming plot make it truly memorable. It seems to me this really overlooked gem of a movie sets a high standard. Very well acted and directed, beautifully written and filmed with visual power, it deserves a 10 in my opinion. Watch this film to spend an enthralling period of time. It is really, really, really excellent!