There can be no Paddy Chayefsky without comedy, nor can there be without drama. His work is always serious, channeled with humor, but his presentation is so on-point, so honest, so blatant, that as viewers we are forced to soak it all up, and we are left the better for it.
Set in wartime, the Americanization of Emily looks at changing times in a very changing world. The balloon will go up' any day now, signaling the Invasion of Europe and all around will be forever changed.
It is not solely the warriors, the decision makers, that are central to the battle. Chayefsky knows that, and shows us that war will change all it touches, from the simple Emily (Julie Andrews), a kind, intelligent, sensitive single English woman to the devil-may-care scrounger', Lt Cmdr Charles Madison (James Garner-somewhat a reprise of his role in The Great Escape).
This movie is a romance, and a serious examination of people over-matched by forces outside their control, who struggle to do everything in their control to find their way.
A well-told story, skillfully delivered. It's hard to ask for much more than that.