Christopher Frey

Sorry I didn’t read enough prior. (spoiler…) I was distracted by wailing for Murray to appear and it took a while to give up and let the film come to me. Sorting out who’s who also took a while. Having lived in NYC, I related to the housing dilemma that’s a big part of the story. Overall I was only moderately moved by the person/dog connection and deeply disturbed by the out of context arrival of the addled daughter at Watts’ apartment and the “dead dog” nonsense near the end. Murray was more hangdog than the actual dog, but what do you expect from a suicidal old man? Sidebar: I was thrilled to see the Manhattan II yacht in the ashes spreading sequence since it’s owned by good friends at Classic Harbor Lines.

I’m pretty disappointed at the pandering on display here. Too much broad brush sketching, especially of the gay partners. I’ve only seen up to Episode 5 but the pickup of the”lumberjack” was just too much. At the far too easily predictable scene where the three of them are in the bedroom, I turned it off. Is there any cliche they won’t try to turn into plot? Furthermore, as a decidedly non-prude straight man, I was still put off by the bj references, especially between the Forte and Fay characters as they walked down memory lane in faux Poughkeepsie. Yuck.

I rarely watch films twice but this was probably my fourth time around for this exquisite comedy. Admittedly I watched it alone today which may account for my multiple outbursts of applause. But try not to leap to your feet with delight at so many moments in this classic. Caine and Martin take their rightful place among cinema’s greatest comic duos. The sequence where Martin transforms into brother Ruprecht is my absolute high point and, believe me, the candidates are legion. Kudos to Glenn Headley for sure and the epilogue is priceless. If you’ve never seen this film, suspend your moral framework if you have to, but gather friends and order up this film.

A technical tour de force for certain but I felt many sequences were simply too long. I would have preferred more dialog and less running, swimming, dodging, etc. of course I stayed for the credits and I take my hat off to every single craftsman/woman involved despite knowing that they contributed to my minor complaint!