Somehow I had never really heard of this film until it was picked for a movie night. Not sure how, since it was nominated for multiple Oscars and won one of them. I also walked into it with no idea what genre it would be. I think I assumed drama, just based on the cast and plot outline.
I was very wrong. It didn't take long into the movie for me to see some of the strong comedy moments. I was pleasantly surprised to get a lot of very hilarious scenes and characters. My biggest enjoyment was Norma Cassady. That character was just so over the top and wonderful. I want to see a spinoff with just her reacting to different environments.
Now don't get me wrong, Julie Andrews is always wonderful in everything. Her musical scenes were all great as expected. James Garner and Robert Preston were also enjoyable, and Alex Karras (Mongo) surprised me with his acting skills.
The only real negative I have is with the runtime. This movie feels about 20-30min too long. I don't really know where to cut this time after the first act, but the movie just feels like it should have ended sooner. The first act took a long time for me to get into it too. I was worried that the whole film would be this slow, but luckily it picks up about 15min in and sticks to that the rest of the way.
If you've never seen this, I'd certainly recommend giving it a viewing. I think you'll have a good time, especially if you watch it with a few friends.
Review by saundrewBlockedParent2016-02-09T01:27:18Z
Somehow I had never really heard of this film until it was picked for a movie night. Not sure how, since it was nominated for multiple Oscars and won one of them. I also walked into it with no idea what genre it would be. I think I assumed drama, just based on the cast and plot outline.
I was very wrong. It didn't take long into the movie for me to see some of the strong comedy moments. I was pleasantly surprised to get a lot of very hilarious scenes and characters. My biggest enjoyment was Norma Cassady. That character was just so over the top and wonderful. I want to see a spinoff with just her reacting to different environments.
Now don't get me wrong, Julie Andrews is always wonderful in everything. Her musical scenes were all great as expected. James Garner and Robert Preston were also enjoyable, and Alex Karras (Mongo) surprised me with his acting skills.
The only real negative I have is with the runtime. This movie feels about 20-30min too long. I don't really know where to cut this time after the first act, but the movie just feels like it should have ended sooner. The first act took a long time for me to get into it too. I was worried that the whole film would be this slow, but luckily it picks up about 15min in and sticks to that the rest of the way.
If you've never seen this, I'd certainly recommend giving it a viewing. I think you'll have a good time, especially if you watch it with a few friends.