This swinging' 60s comedy of crazy manners was Woody Allen's first screenplay produced- with himself playing a role that he definitely wrote specifically for himself- and it shows how a writer can pour out all idea into one form and make it work, sort of. It's all over the place and not altogether successful, but I liked it. It's a screwball farce about a perpetual womanizer (Peter O'Toole) who can't keep one woman walking on another let alone one woman alone. Therapy doesn't help either, as his therapist (Peter Seller, hilarious in a stupid haircut) is as addicted as he is. Soon it's all out blitzkrieg of women, from one end to another, and it's a laugh (almost) a minute. It does veer on becoming more than a tad confusing- which woman is which? Maybe one can tell the difference on repeat viewings, on who O'Toole is surprised to see next, who may (or may not) be the one who wants to marry him, and who he may pick up at random in night, with or without Sellers's unconventional doctor, and spend the night with.
Some jokes just fly over one's head, as they're meant to be fast as hell with the dialog and a little strange with the physical movements. O'Toole, in an odd way, is even more apt at playing a clumsy yet successful womanizer than he was at playing an epic hero in Lawrence of Arabia. Sellers, donning an accent similar to that of his Dr. Strangelove character, is dependably nutty as the doctor who tries his best to help out his patients, but is almost too desperate- i.e. suicide attempt- and finally comes around back to the screwball fold. There's not much of a plot, but it doesn't matter; as long as you know what to expect- O'Toole and company (including a first-timer klutz Allen who gets one woman to fall asleep on him with the drink he fixes her!) are up to the challenge of making a silly farce that has aged only somewhat decently. It's not really a 'must-see', but for fans of the actors, specifically Sellers and Allen (who share a great scene on a riverbank), it's worth the while of a couple of hours with a few drinks.
Some jokes just fly over one's head, as they're meant to be fast as hell with the dialog and a little strange with the physical movements. O'Toole, in an odd way, is even more apt at playing a clumsy yet successful womanizer than he was at playing an epic hero in Lawrence of Arabia. Sellers, donning an accent similar to that of his Dr. Strangelove character, is dependably nutty as the doctor who tries his best to help out his patients, but is almost too desperate- i.e. suicide attempt- and finally comes around back to the screwball fold. There's not much of a plot, but it doesn't matter; as long as you know what to expect- O'Toole and company (including a first-timer klutz Allen who gets one woman to fall asleep on him with the drink he fixes her!) are up to the challenge of making a silly farce that has aged only somewhat decently. It's not really a 'must-see', but for fans of the actors, specifically Sellers and Allen (who share a great scene on a riverbank), it's worth the while of a couple of hours with a few drinks.