One reason the old TV sitcom I Dream of Jeannie remains popular is that it keeps us yelling at our screens: "Major Nelson, you idiot! Can't you see that Jeannie is totally gorgeous and is hooked on you? You can make any wish. What are you waiting for?" We wonder if he'll ever wise up. A similar plot element drives this innocent yet sometimes wise story, made in a happily more naive time than today, and depicting a time and place even more so. About half-way through this movie, I angrily thought somebody should compose a sarcastic plot synopsis that begins: "A blind, gay, castrated, autistic mountain man is accompanied on a journey by a beautiful blonde nymphet..." But then I realized that the filmmakers had hooked me in precisely the manner they meant to. Sandra Dee does an excellent job as Rosalie. And at a dewy and budding 17, she is very attractive, modern society's scolding admonitions that teenage girls cannot possibly be appealing to normal adults notwithstanding. This movie's heart is in the right place. Some of the characters are perhaps a bit archetypal and cliché, but that is part of the charm and fun of it. See it if you get the chance.
Review of The Wild and the Innocent
