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 - Not perfect, but so little is--See it anywayAlexander Mackendrick has one of the oddest film careers imaginable, lurching from brilliant satire (THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT), to smashing melodrama (SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS) to off-beat swashbuckler (A HIGH WIND IN JAMAICA), and finally to this eccentric romantic comedy about a hustling drifter (Tony Curtis) adrift amidst various California oddballs. It never quite works, but there is so much offbeat charm, particularly in Sharon Tate's deadpan takeoff of a California beach bunny, that you finally don't care if it doesn't work. And Curtis is in there working, by the way, giving yet another of his deft, underrated comic performances. But so few people appreciated comedy--until it's too late . . . Rating:  - Malibu is calling you!This really is a pretty good little movie, it's just too bad it's been so overlooked. It's just plain FUN. Perfect 60's mind candy. The music's pretty good, the cinematography is A1, and the performances are all good. I'm no Tony Curtis fan, but he's really good here. Playing a self-serving opportunist you still can't help but like him. Ironically, he utters the film's best line"If you look at things realistically you'll never fall in love. You just eliminate everyone you can't stand, and see who's left-if anyone". Claudia Cardinale is magnifico as the accident-prone Laura. Not only is she beautiful, she's a fine comedienne too boot. Robert Webber and Joanna Barnes step into their roles of the bickering married couple as if they were written especially for them. They truly make these roles their own. David Draper is oddly appealing as the dim-witted muscleman Harry. He actually makes you care about him, giving a lot more depth than usual to such a throwaway part. But the film really belongs to Sharon Tate. She steals every scene she's in effortlessly, and she also looks pretty damn good in a bikini too. In the skydiving sequence when she tells Carlo(Curtis' character) to "hold on tight" he looks as if he's more than happy to oblige. He looks as if he's died and gone to heaven. Somehow I couldn't help wondering how much real acting he did in the scene. You'd have to be a eunuch not to react to her. I had trouble with the landslide sequence at first, but it makes perfect sense. All the plots loose threads are effectively tied up here. Rod and Diane(Webber and Barnes) are able to come to a new understanding of each other. Harry and Malibu(Draper and Tate) are reunited, their love stronger than ever. And after an hour and a half of fighting it Carlo and Laura(Cardinale) finally stop fighting it and realize they were really meant for each other. If you look at it, there's a real twinge of irony in the ending. In the beginning Carlo is effectively wiped out by the hapless Laura. Figuratively speaking. (He's also literally wiped out by Malibu. But that's another sequence)In the end he's still a pauper, with Laura at least partially to blame. Yet he doesn't seem to mind at all this time. You'll like this movie. I promise Rating: - Something else Sharon Tate should be remembered for!!!Tony Curtis has obviously made some bad choices in film roles and has been pretty bad in most of them. BUT Not this one. While this film is dated it is still actually funny and would be a perfect companion with the upcoming video release of the Austin Powers sequel. Sharon Tate reveals a lot more than skin in this. She shows that while sexy you could be vunerable and the promise of what may have been had she not been stopped. Rating: - Something else Sharon Tate should be remembered for!!!Tony Curtis has obviously made some bad choices in film roles and has been pretty bad in most of them. BUT Not this one. While this film is dated it is still actually funny and would be a perfect companion with the upcoming video release of the Austin Powers sequel. Sharon Tate reveals a lot more than skin in this. She shows that while sexy you could be vunerable and the promise of what may have been had she not been stopped. Rating: - Colorful Send up of California LifestylesProbably one of Tony Curtis's most enjoyable 60s vehicles,he's a wanderer who gets caught up in the sunsoaked lives of an Italian bombshell, a pool exec,a body builder and his sky diving girlfriend. Claudia Cardinale at her most radiant, Sharon Tate in one of her most mysterious performances.Good fun in the CA sun!
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