What does it take to be a bad movie? 1. When your lead actor (Tony Curtis) gives the most wooden, lifeless performance of his career; 2. When your lead actress (Debby Reynolds), playing a reincarnated lady-killer, just about fondles herself on screen (in a rather disturbing scene) when discovering the change, and never really conveys the fact that she is a man's ghost in a woman's body; 3. When you cast a Playmate of the Year (Donna Michelle, 1964), list her among the principal actors, then briefly show her dancing at a party in the opening sequence, never to be seen again. 4. When your best performances come from Roger Carmel, of all people, as a homicide detective who suddenly arrives to throw the plot into a needless twist; 5. When you waste Pat Boone's talents (unfathomable as it seems) by having him play a rich boy wooing she-male Debby.
This, no doubt, is one of the most disappointing movies I have ever seen. The writing is abysmal (one particular scene with Debby and Tony drags on for 15-20 minutes, and you wish for death to take you); director Minelli makes no attempt to elevate it above a filmed stage play; and the Cinemascope is so cluttered, one is often more interested by the props than the performances.
One gem amidst the dross--Walter Matthau as a fraud Hungarian director. One hopes for Carmel's character to grill Matthau, but it never comes to be. Truly, one film to avoid at all costs.
This, no doubt, is one of the most disappointing movies I have ever seen. The writing is abysmal (one particular scene with Debby and Tony drags on for 15-20 minutes, and you wish for death to take you); director Minelli makes no attempt to elevate it above a filmed stage play; and the Cinemascope is so cluttered, one is often more interested by the props than the performances.
One gem amidst the dross--Walter Matthau as a fraud Hungarian director. One hopes for Carmel's character to grill Matthau, but it never comes to be. Truly, one film to avoid at all costs.