It's certainly charming, but it's also just a tad too sweet. Vincente Minnelli's direction is possibly his glossiest...there's not an inkling of reality allowed to seep in...Glenn Ford's wife dies and he and son Ronny Howard a left at sea trying to make it without a woman in their lives. WHO will they get to take her place? Neighbor Shirley Jones seems an ideal fit as does potential beauty pageant entrant Stella Stevens...not so much fashion maven Dina Merrill. The three leading ladies are all fine, but Ford is just awful...he's way too cold for this material. Howard is just as bad (clearly taking cues from someone off camera) and particularly grating when he's supposed to be distressed (running a fever, melting down after discovering one of his goldfish has died). Ford and Howard are supposed to be emotional zombies, but their acting just clashes with the overall light feel of the rest of the movie. And what genius decided to cast Jerry Van Dyke(!) as Ford's comic foil (a caddish DJ at the radio station Ford works at)? When compared to brother Dick, it's clear that Jerry came from the shallow end of the comic gene pool.
