A New Kind Of Love

Fun in Paris!
This glossy and sophisticated romp with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward is delicious fluff. From the opening title song by Sinatra and the early voice-over of Newman comparing a group of bargain hunting women to a herd of cattle, we know this one is going to be fun indeed. Made in 1963 when both were at their finest, the chemistry between the two leads carries this film to make it the most entertaining piece of nonsense you're likely to ever see.

Samantha Blake (Woodward) buys, or steals, all the latest fashions from around the world for her department store. Her boss Joe Bergner (George Tobias) gets it into his head to go to Paris and 'steal' the hottest new fashions and off goes Samantha and Leena (Thelma Ritter) to the City of Lights.

Steve Sherman (Paul Newman) is a columnist who gets caught playing with the wife of his boss and promptly gets sent far away to Paris until said boss can figure out a way to break his contract and fire him. He meets pal Harry...

This One Grows on You
Yes, this is fluff, but the stars, production values, and comedy are so good in this classic romance of two people who hate each other finally falling in love, that it goes over beautifully. The first time I saw the film I was puzzled by its wonderful stars being in such nonsense, but repeated viewings have made this one of my favorites; a real "comfort-film." The production values are not nonsense. Written and directed by Melville Shavelson, who apparently cut his teeth on Samuel Goldwyn productions starring Bob Hope and Danny Kaye, the comedy is superb. Sharp digs are everywhere--commercials, journalism, the fashion industry, testeronic males, and politics (both international and sexual). Visual comedy is great too, such as the split-screen mutual parody of the strip-tease and the fashion runway. Joanne Woodward's being processed by the fashion industry is a hoot. Thelma Ritter--need I say more?--has her razor-sharp timing and delivery intact. Plus: the title song sung by Frank...

Delicious
Only 2 gripes. If you haven't heard the title song before (I have), you still won't have heard it when the movie is over. Except the 1st 8 bars sung by Chevalier in the middle of the flick. 2nd gripe. These idiots (including the Amazon staff reviewer) who think the way to review a movie is to tell you the whole damned story, thus ruining the show. Puke! When I saw this flick on Amazon I snapped it up. I saw it when it came out and remembered only 2 things. That I loved it (particularly Woodward), and that for some reason Paul Newman is pouring her a snifter of brandy and tells her to say "when" which she does when her glass is brimful. The director/screenwriter was brilliant. The star-studded cast outdid itself. Every one of them. The jokes were at times laugh out loud funny. The special effects were perfect. The whole thing (as you now know if you've read the other reviews!) was clever and original. I loved the hell out of it. This one I'm keeping!

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