I may be stretching it a bit to rate this film six stars. And it gets that rating mostly for the fine performance of Art Carney as Dr. Amos Willoughby. Glenda Jackson is good as Ann Atkinson. While Walter Matthau isn't bad as Dr. Charley Nichols, his character is missing the zip he usually brings to comedy. I think that may be due to a very weak screenplay.
For a comedy, this one is quite lame, with little humor other than an occasional smile. The romance is the best part as Charley settles down and gets very comfortable with Ann. One can see and sense that happening in a middle-aged couple that hit it off. I think Matthau is supposed to be playing an MD a few years younger than his true 58 years here. Jackson is about on target as a 42-year old divorcée.
The humor in the hospital was so-so. A good screenplay could have made much more out of this. Again, with the march of time, movies about ineptitude and incompetence of hospital staff, doctors especially, aren't likely to set too well with most audiences of today.
For a comedy, this one is quite lame, with little humor other than an occasional smile. The romance is the best part as Charley settles down and gets very comfortable with Ann. One can see and sense that happening in a middle-aged couple that hit it off. I think Matthau is supposed to be playing an MD a few years younger than his true 58 years here. Jackson is about on target as a 42-year old divorcée.
The humor in the hospital was so-so. A good screenplay could have made much more out of this. Again, with the march of time, movies about ineptitude and incompetence of hospital staff, doctors especially, aren't likely to set too well with most audiences of today.