Woohoo, it's 1965! Women can show their bellybuttons and say "sex" in movies! Okay, now you've just learned the gist of John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! The 1960s were a glorious time period for Hollywood; during no other time could movie stars be forced to take part in extremely silly movies, and then continue to have a long and glorious career despite them. Doris Day quit the business because she was only offered silly movies, but that was just the sign of the times. Everyone made silly movies! Shirley MacLaine's role could have been played by any number of silly actresses, and clearly, taking this part didn't ruin her career.
Richard Crenna plays a government man notorious for getting lost during assignments. In fact, straight-laced "iceberg" journalist Shirley MacLaine has written several stories about him, dubbing him "Wrong Way Goldfarb". Terribly embarrassed, Crenna pretends he's disappeared in the Siberian Mountains, when he's actually taken a wrong turn and landed his plane in the Middle East. He's taken in by Peter Ustinov, a king with a never-ending sex drive, and told he can choose one woman of his very large harem. Little does he know that Shirley MacLaine has smuggled herself into the harem to write an undercover report on the king! That isn't exactly how the plot is unfolded in the movie; the exposition (and really the rest of the movie) is riddled with 1960s sex gags, portrayals of women as objects, stereotypes about the Middle East that would later be looked at as offensive, and bumbling government jokes. For example, at the start of the movie, the men in the office are talking about Shirley behind her back. "Oh, all she needs is a good roll in the—" one man says. The scene cuts to Shirley bent over a water cooler, and man slaps her bottom. "Hey!" she exclaims. Oo! Look what they were able to get away with in 1965! As silly and offensive as this movie is, it actually has some cute parts to it. Shirley doesn't want to have to sleep with the king, so she dons a disguise so hideous he literally jumps on his go-cart and speeds away from her. Offensive, but still pretty hilarious. Crenna helps Shirley out by selecting her from the harem so that she still won't have to sleep with the king, and randomly throughout the night, the king barges into their room (still on his go-cart) to see if Crenna is satisfied or if he's prepared to give her up. Offensive, but still a little funny.
So, if you're not a modern day feminist and you won't get on your high horse about the Middle East stereotypes, and if you're in the mood for a silly 60s movie, get ready for a few laughs.
Richard Crenna plays a government man notorious for getting lost during assignments. In fact, straight-laced "iceberg" journalist Shirley MacLaine has written several stories about him, dubbing him "Wrong Way Goldfarb". Terribly embarrassed, Crenna pretends he's disappeared in the Siberian Mountains, when he's actually taken a wrong turn and landed his plane in the Middle East. He's taken in by Peter Ustinov, a king with a never-ending sex drive, and told he can choose one woman of his very large harem. Little does he know that Shirley MacLaine has smuggled herself into the harem to write an undercover report on the king! That isn't exactly how the plot is unfolded in the movie; the exposition (and really the rest of the movie) is riddled with 1960s sex gags, portrayals of women as objects, stereotypes about the Middle East that would later be looked at as offensive, and bumbling government jokes. For example, at the start of the movie, the men in the office are talking about Shirley behind her back. "Oh, all she needs is a good roll in the—" one man says. The scene cuts to Shirley bent over a water cooler, and man slaps her bottom. "Hey!" she exclaims. Oo! Look what they were able to get away with in 1965! As silly and offensive as this movie is, it actually has some cute parts to it. Shirley doesn't want to have to sleep with the king, so she dons a disguise so hideous he literally jumps on his go-cart and speeds away from her. Offensive, but still pretty hilarious. Crenna helps Shirley out by selecting her from the harem so that she still won't have to sleep with the king, and randomly throughout the night, the king barges into their room (still on his go-cart) to see if Crenna is satisfied or if he's prepared to give her up. Offensive, but still a little funny.
So, if you're not a modern day feminist and you won't get on your high horse about the Middle East stereotypes, and if you're in the mood for a silly 60s movie, get ready for a few laughs.