By Richard Winters
My Rating: 3 out of 10
4-Word Review: Bo Derek is hot.
George Webber (Dudley Moore) is a successful songwriter who has just turned 42 and finds himself longing for a beautiful younger woman (Bo Derek) that he sees while driving. Problem is he meets her on her wedding day and yet he still pursues her all the way to Mexico where she goes for her honeymoon.
It’s really, really hard to believe that this was such a big hit. It meanders badly and has a lot of slow stretches. It is also not that sexy. Bo is only shown sporadically and you never really get to see her naked, or at least not from the front. Writer/director Blake Edwards incorporates his patented slapstick humor, but it’s uninspired and doesn’t mesh well with a film that is supposedly working on a more mature and sophisticated level.
The issue of middle-age, or better yet ‘male menopause’, has been handled before and better. In fact this thing can’t hold a candle to Tom Ewell and The Seven Year Itch. The issues it brings up are quite general and handled superficially. It offers no new perspective and is shockingly unimaginative.
Dudley Moore fits nicely into his role and it seems not too far removed from the man himself as it deals with a uniquely talented man that harbors a degree of cynicism and detachment. His relationship with girlfriend Samantha (Julie Andrews) has some interesting elements and it could have been a foundation for a movie in itself.
Derek is stunning, but rather poor in the acting department. Having a beautiful lady portray such a shallow person is a real turn off. Sure it’s done to give the film its point, but it seems extreme.
Overall I found the film to be weak and empty and unable to even come close to meeting its reputation.
My Rating: 3 out of 10
Released: October 5, 1979
Runtime: 2Hours 2Minutes
Rated R
Director: Blake Edwards
Studio: Warner Brothers
Available: VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, Amazon Instant Video
Scopophilia 