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Days of Wine and Roses is one film not to watch if you are melancholic by nature, as this tale of middle-class alcoholism rings very true. Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick are the besotted couple who find that life is not always fun when viewed through rosé-colored glasses. He's the San Francisco business executive who marries Remick and seduces her into a cocktail culture that soon overpowers them both. It is not a pretty picture when their life shatters around them, but this film is extremely compelling for their performances. It is matched only by Billy Wilder's Lost Weekend and the more explicit Leaving Las Vegas. This was nominated for five Academy Awards and won for the title song by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer. Filmed by Blake Edwards in 1962, it is based on a Playhouse 90 television production from 1958, starring Cliff Robertson and Piper Laurie. --Rochelle O'Gorman ... Read more

Reviews (27)

HEARTBREAKING
"Days of Wine and Roses" ranks right up there with "Lost Weekend," "Leaving Las Vegas" and "I'll Cry Tomorrow" as the most powerful cinematic portrayals of the destructiveness of alcoholism. Jack Lemmon gives one of his most honest and powerful performances as a man who lures his young bride into a life of alcohol induced pleasure and, ultimately, pain and suffering. Lee Remick is equally marvelous as his helpless wife who's own addiction proves more overwhelming than her husbands. A very personal and intimate film that will prove most unsettling to anyone who's known, first hand, the horrors brought on by alcohol abuse. Fantastic but, be warned, very depressing.

Drink It Up
I grew up laughing out loud, as film director Blake Edwards teamed with the likes of Peter Sellers, in the Pink Panther movies, and Dudley Moore in 10. These comedies went straight for the funny bone. The slapstick stuff was just outrageous. While I have seen the likes of some of his latter films, including SOB and Victor/Victoria, they weren't as "classic" as those I mentioned before. Up until the 2004 Oscar Ceremony, I had no idea that Edwards even did any dramatic films. The fact that The Days Of Wine And Roses starred one of my all time favorite actors, the late great Jack Lemmon, just made me want to finally see the movie all the more.

The film is a disturbing adaptation of J.P. Miller's Playhouse 90 story. Joe Clay, (Lemmon) is a San Francisco public relations man who likes to hoist a few and have a good time. When he meets secretary Kirsten Arnesen (Lee Remick), who doesn't drink, he is taken be her, and after a short time they marry. After a few more months, Kirsten is able to put away as much liquor as her husband. As the years pass, Joe loses one job after another and his wife neglects their child until he begins to realize that both of them are alcoholics. soon the couple moves into her father's (Charles Bickford) nursery to dry out, but following a couple of weeks "on the wagon", they go on a total drinking binge. Joe nearly destroys a greenhouse in a fanatic search for a drink and ends up in hospital ward. Former alcoholic Jim Hungerford (Jack Klugman) tries to help them both...

Edwards offers an unflinching look at alcoholism. I remember seiing The Lost Weekend (also featuring an alcoholic) in film school, and being amazed, I felt the same way after I saw this movie. Lemmon and Remick are very good together. The film avoids any cliche about the subject and can make you feel for the couple, while at the same time being repulsed by some of their behavior at the same time--not an easy task. Anyone expecting a laugh riot from the director need not apply or want to. Edwards comedies are funny--most of them anyway--it's nice to know that his was willing to tackle a tough issue.

The DVD boasts a fine audio commentary by from Edwards. He is very easy going and informative about the production. You also get to see a vintage interview with Jack Lemmon, in which, he also discusses the film. The theatrical trailer tops off the bonus material.

To those viewers, who want to see Lemmon in one of his best dramatic roles, watch this. I still can't believe it took me this long to see this movie--I'm very glad I did

LAUGH AND RUN AWAY
When this movie first came out, I was much too young to appreciate the veracity and power. Blake Edwards helms an extremely powerful, if tragic, tale of alcoholism and how it affects the marriage of two middle class individuals.
Jack Lemmon proves what a tremendously versatile actor he was, and he gives a performance that is honest, brutal and unbelievably brilliant. His scenes in the greenhouse and in the drying out unit are some of the best acting caught on celluloid. Lee Remick, the late and underrated beauty, matches Lemmon's performance which is even more devastating as her plunge into alcohol is at Lemmon's urging, and she's the one who can't go without a drink. Remick is mesmerizing in the motel scene where she forces Lemmon to drink with her again.
Wonderful support comes from Charles Bickford as Remick's father and Jack Klugman as Lemmon's AA friend. Of course, the score by Henry Mancini is one of the best.
This is a must see for anyone who wants to see powerful acting and an unforgettable movie.

A Message For All Young People About The Dangers Of Alcohol
The Days of Wine & Roses has equal impact today, as it did more than 40 years ago. It tells the story of alcoholisim as seen through the eyes of a "normal", white, middle class couple. The sickness creeps up on the viewer gradually until it's almost unbearable to watch. This is yet another fine example of the marvelous tempo all Billy Wilder movies posessed. Sunset Blvd had it in Spades. But The Days of Wine and Roses is perhaps the only Wilder movie, so completely void of humor.

Lemmon and Remmick are compelling as is the fine supporting cast. This is a great movie to covey the message about the dangers of drinking to young people. As a side note, I attended high school and was quite freindly with one J. D. Miller's sons. Unfortunatly the lessons of the story were not learned by his offspring. Then again, that was almost 40 years ago. Maybe there's a happy ending in there somewhere.

Skip the DVD version
A classic, no doubt about it. But if you're buying the DVD version for anything but the widescreen effect, forget it. The "extras" consist of two versions of a self-congratulatory trailer (Jack Lemmon breaking character to expound on what a bold movie they'd made.) Meanwhile, the much-touted "interview" with Lemmon is a corny promotional device apparently aimed at local TV stations, with the actor, seen talking on the phone, rattling off answers to trite pre-scripted questions, giving the impression that he was actually having a phone interview with local TV personalities whose own images were later edited into the split-screen featurette.And the less said about director Blake Edwards' "commentary", the better.After explaining that he's not much good "at this kind of thing," Edwards proceeds to prove it in spades by confessing he hasn't seen the movie in 40 years, professing to be surprised when he realizes (10 minutes in!) that the film wasn't shot in color, then actually wonders aloud how audiences will be able to understand the plot if he keeps talking throughout the movie. Sad! ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Classic acting, classic directing
When I was younger, the appeal of SOB was seeing Mary Poppins bare her chest. Well, it's still great.
But when I got older, and really watched this film again, it was the incredible timing and acting chops of the entire cast that blew me away. The skewering of the Hollywood system this movie delivers is first-rate. It's fascinating seeing a film so greatly crucify the underside of Hollywood, when these days its so common knowledge the incorporation and bureacracy the film industry is. We have the internet and a million entertainment magazines now, its common knowledge how cut-throat it is. But in 1981 things were different and when SOB came out, it disappeared quickly it seems. It was probably too "inside" for general audiences to appreciate. Plus I'm sure the forces that be made sure to not trumpet a film which made fun of the people who brought it to screen.

If you appreciated the 'adult' humor of Blake Edwards other films such as '10', and 'Skin Deep', you must see 'SOB.' You have veteran actors tackling matters and situations that really apply to being an adult in the adult world. Mid-life crisis', integrity over indecency, getting older, standing up for principles as society seems to worsen around you...these themes run rampant in Edward's films. Its as though Edwards was the last 'Rat Pack''-ideaology director making movies about loveable drunks and womanizers who's hearts were in the right place, though we watch them comically learn life's lessons through trial and error choices. Good people dealing with the anxiety of getting older and realizing truths about themselves and the world, good and bad. But Edward's always presented it with a 'Boy's Club' mentality that, at least for me, made one hope to have such colorful characters as friends as I matured and got older.

To any prospective watcher of the film reading these reviews, I'd suggest one thing per your first viewing. Pay attention to the repoire between Felix (the suicidal director) and his cohorts Erving (the doctor), Cully (director friend), and Ben (Felix's wife/Julie Andrew's publicist). These guys are pros and the timing of the scenes they share is stellar , old-school, drinking pal ensemble acting. Especially as they 1-by-1 come by the beachhouse to see Felix and fall into their routine of spending time together (drinking and one-liners). These characters were partying Hollywood-style in the 50s and 60s and are now alumni of that classic generation, elders in the world of late 70s early 80s starlets and studios. They've seen it all and nothing shocks them. And boy do they still keep up.

Just lots of little moments, subtle nuances of comraderie that make this film a gem.

I've spent the last few years anxiously awaiting SOB on DVD, searching and contacting studios,websites, anyone who may have known something but to no avail. Suddenly one day it was just another title on a DVD site's "Upcoming Releases." I was ecstatic. I hope it looks and sounds as good as I imagine.

Wish Edward's would have done a commentary track for this, like supposedly he's done for 'Skin Deep'. Then again, maybe since most of the male leads of the film are deceased, it may have been tough for him to watch and reminisce.

Have you come to see her bare herself?
Well, Julie Andrews DOES bare herself in this movie--which is why some may first want to see it--but this film by her real life husband Blake Edwards (who also brought us The Pink Panther) does have some other very good qualities. The trouble is that the film-and the DVD itself--also have some potentially bad points.

On the bright side, we are treated to excellent performances by some very talented people including Julie Andrews, Richard Mulligan, William Holden, Loretta Swit, Larry Hagman--and more! These actors really worked! The story is comparatively simple: in Hollywood, director Felix Farmer makes a terrific flop of a movie and despite his many previous successes in true Hollywood style the studio, his wife (Julie Andrews) and everyone else are abandoning him. Yes, as another reviewer points out, some people in Hollywood try to shield them from reporters and publicity backlash--but they really don't succeed. Felix tries four times to kill himself until he realizes if they re-shoot the film as some type of pornography flick it will make millions and be the biggest money making film of all time. Everyone is afraid at first of taking the gamble; but they see Felix's idea may just well be right and then they all jump on the bandwagon in a brazen and crude greedy rush. When the film makes it even Felix thinks gleefully of the money it will make as he dies a premature death! The film therefore really lashes out at Hollywood greed and backstabbing. A good reminder to us all of how NOT to behave in life! The characters rush around so deeply concerned about money and JUST money that the film illustrates very sharply how shallow, greedy and cruel Hollywood "people" can be.

Then there are the potentially bad points. I say they are potentially bad because not everyone will think they are bad! The film does go downhill a bit because of Edwards' heavy reliance on slapstick to make the film funny. There are, as another reviewer points out, very few exciting extras on this DVD. I agree that it would have been great to have Julie Andrews discussing the scene where she bares her chest as well as her thoughts about the movie in general. An interview with Blake Edwards himself would also have been a really interesting extra.

All in all, this is a movie noteworthy for its attack on Hollywood politics, greed, corruption, game playing manipulation and shallowness. The actors worked their tushies off, too! I was impressed with their fine effort. The humor is fairly good, about a B+ in quality--although if you like slapstick (which is perfectly fine, of course!) then the humor grade goes higher. Nevertheless, the sound quality could definitely be better and there are few extras, however, so I give this DVD four stars.

Almost saved by Julie Andrews's secret talents
And I don't mean her bared chest. S. O. B. was Blake Edwards's attempt to get his own back after the failure of his film DALING LILI over a decade previously: in this film, a director (Richard Mulligan) has a complete nervous breakdown after his film starrign his famously wholesome movie star wife (Julie Andrews) fails at the box office: he tries to recoup his losses by reshooting the film as a softporn fantasia with his wife baring her breasts.

This film was considered wildly funny satire at the time of its release but has aged less well than you might expect. The Lew Wasserman-style Hollywood Edwards mocks was already on its way out when this movie was made in 1981: it reflects the Hollywood of the 1970s much more than the blockbuster-driven Hollywood that was already taking its place. Most of the actors (particularly Robert Preston, Robert Vaughan, and Loretta Swit as a shrieking harpy of a gossip columnist) seem to be having the time of their lives. Julie Andrews isn't very good in her scene throwing an Oscar at Mulligan, and she may wear the most hideous clothes ever in this film, but she redeems not only her performance but almost the entire movie when Preston has to make her high to ensure she can do her breatbearing scene: she's really, really funny whooping it up.

Smutty soft porn
I know that Julie Andrews was trying to make a statement as to how versatile she is and after Victor Victoria she showed the world how versatile she was, but did she have to make this film in between?
This showed a side to her that people who liked her didn't know about, the "i'm going to be modern and trendy and stay the box office draw, even if i have to bare my breast," attitude. She sings brilliantly in it but her acting is over the top, especially in the confrontation with Felix, when a bloke who's in bed is sick through a whole in the roof on Felixs head. The whole film is boring and over the top sexiness and Richard Mulligan, good actor that he is, does go over the top and starts acting like Jim Carrey on happy tablets.
Generally, i'd say rent it or see it on T.V and if you are a Julie Andrews fan then buy it but other that don't bother.

Viking Funerals and Hollywood
Blake Edwards's filmography is quite impressive. This is the man who brought us the Pink Panther films, The Great Race, Victor/Victoria, and 10. Edwards was the king of the 1970s, creating films that blended adult themes with memorably comedic moments. The filmmaker carried this approach into the early 1980s with S.O.B., a black comedy about the backbiting, cynical world that is Hollywood. This 1981 film fields some heavy hitters in its cast: William Holden, Richard Mulligan, Robert Vaughn, Julie Andrews, Robert Preston, Larry Hagman, Loretta Swit, Robert Webber, Stuart Margolin, Shelley Winters, and Robert Loggia all play parts, both big and small, in this movie. Look for a young Rosanna Arquette as one of the hitchhikers Culley (William Holden) picks up on the highway.

S.O.B. is a movie within a movie. Felix Farmer, played with brilliant alacrity by the late Richard Mulligan, never lost money on a picture until "Nightwind" came out starring his wife Sally Miles (Julie Andrews). Now Felix is on the outs with his studio head David Blackman (Robert Vaughn), his wife is divorcing him, and he just tried to kill himself. Since this is Hollywood, a whole host of publicists, agents, and advisors try to shield Felix and Sally from the critical backlash. As Felix stumbles around his beach house in a dazed stupor, his friends Tim Culley, Dr. Irving Finegarten (Robert Preston), and publicist Ben Coogan (Robert Webber) all arrive on the scene to lend a hand. Nothing seems to bring Felix out of his funk until he arrives at the realization that the only way to save his career is to reshoot his stinker by having wife Sally, who is a G-rated film queen, bare her all. When it looks like Felix might be on to something, everyone jumps on the bandwagon to make a buck or take some credit for the success.

I had hopes that this film was as funny as it was when I first saw it in the mid 1980s. It isn't, but there are still some great performances along the way. Mulligan is electricity as Farmer, adding even more gusto to his character here then he did as Bert Campbell in "Soap." Holden always does a good job as the weary soul that must witness the slow decay of those around him. Preston is great too as Finegarten, whipping out one-liners with great aplomb. The problem I had with the film is that it is almost too sad to watch it. Here are all these great actors giving one last gasp before passing into the great beyond. S.O.B. was Holden's last film, made before he hit his head and bled to death during a drunken binge. Preston died a few years later from lung cancer, and Mulligan died in 2000 from colon cancer. It is difficult, nay impossible, to forget this as you watch the film. The habits of the characters do not make it easier, either. Holden actually plays a drunk in the film, so knowing that he was one in real life makes it a tad painful to see it here played for laughs.

Another problem more noticeable with repeated viewings years later is the schizophrenia of the film. Edwards starts out with a bang, introducing the characters and establishing their quirky traits. After Felix buys the rights to "Nightwind," however, the movie morphs into a farce with slapstick elements. The latter half of the film still delivers laughs (Felix's last words concern bringing in another ten million at the box office, hardly what a normal person would think during their last seconds of life), but it doesn't mesh as well with the scathing first half. Add to this a mediocre DVD transfer, with some haziness and sunburns on people who shouldn't have them, and this adds up to a good, not great, film.

I would have liked to see more extras on this film. While Holden, Preston, and Mulligan are dead and therefore unavailable for comment, Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards are still alive and could have contributed many insights on a commentary track. Hearing Andrews discuss her topless scene would have been worth the price of the movie in and of itself. As it stands, there is a filmography of Blake Edwards plus the trailer for the film and that is about it in the way of treats. Taken as a whole, S.O.B. falls strictly into the "rent, not buy" category. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Willis and Garner make a great team
I actually enjoyed this movie tremendously, and I try to catch it whenever it appears on cable. Bruce Willis (who, for the record, looks darned sexy in a cowboy hat) and James Garner have fantastic chemistry - I really wish they'd do another picture together, preferably a western.

The movie does play fast and loose with history - but heck it's not a documentary! Repeated through the movie is the line, "That's the way it really happened - give or take a lie or two." When taken in that spirit, "Sunset" is a very entertaining couple of hours.

Always a pleasure to watch.
I must have been one of the few people who actually saw this film in a theatre when it was released. I got the impression I was the only one who liked it, too, and I'm glad to see now that I'm not alone. From James Garner's always-likeable, always-masculine performance as Wyatt Earp to Bruce Willis's engagingly flirtatious performance as Tom Mix (and wearing some incredible outfits - he manages it beautifully and believably!) to a pretty darned good murder mystery, this film always pleases me. I guess perhaps the mix of old West and silent films confuses some viewers, but I found it very intriguing.

A well made, well paced movie.
Good acting, a good script and well edited. This film captures Hollywood of the day, in it's glory and it's decadence.
Gardner's portrail of Wyatt Earp reminds me (favorably) of Kurt Russell's role in Tombstone.

"Give or Take a Lie or Two."
I happened to catch the last fifteen minutes of SUNSET while flipping through the Western channel on cable. I was so intrigued by the movie that I rented it as soon as I was able to find a copy (not an easy task). The movie stars James Garner as Wyatt Earp and Bruce Willis as Tom Mix. Mix is starring in a movie based on Earp's life and Earp has been brought in to Hollywood to serve as a consultant. The famous lawman and the colorful cowboy quickly become friends and are drawn into a murder mystery that ultimately leads to a shootout on the evening of the first Academy Awards. The movie is funny, has some good action scenes, and even a touch of romance. The film is a tribute to not only the old Westerns, but to the silent movie era in Hollywood. The setting seems very real and there are some great classic cars that are displayed throughout the film. There isn't any sex, hardly any foul language, and the violence is tame. SUNSET is an overlooked gem that's worth mining.

mining nuggets
After raking through the dross of over rated and overpriced Hollywood hype,i found this gem.Fine cast,top story line,fine acting,modest price.A little mystery,a dash of comedy,a bit of Hollywood in the twenties when the studios own'd the police and could get away with murder.I know anyone who is a Jim Garner and Bruce Willis fan won't be sorry with this dvd.
PS.If you like classic cars you'l see some beautiful restored Duesenbergs,Caddys,Packards,Rolls,etc. ... Read more

Description

Jack Lemmon and Julie Andrews, two screen legends with eleven Academy Award nominations between them, grace the screen in Blake Edwards' human comedy "That's Life!" Lemmon frantically portrays Harvey Fairchild, a wealthy California architect, father of three successful children, husband to a beautiful wife and neurotic as hell. Confronted with his 60th birthday, Harvey is coming down with a severe case of male menopause. Julie Andrews is Gillian Fairchild, the loving, supportive wife of ranting Harvey. Gillian's got her own problems: she's nervously awaiting the results of her hospital tests. One daughter is going through a breakup, the other is seven months pregnant...and son Josh has brought home another brainless beauty. This chaotic clan has all gathered to welcome Harvey into old age. Jack Lemmon and Julie Andrews ... Read more

Reviews (11)

don't pay attention to the critics
Jack Lemmon (Harvey Fairchild)and Julie Andrews (Gillian)shine in this story of a husband unwilling to accept the age of 60 and a wife dealing with a potentially terminal illness. The film explores a very happy family with the kids all grown up and now have their own problems. Jack Lemmon was perfectly cast as the hyperchondriac husband and Julie Andrews is just as good as the loving but somewhat reserved wife. Critics complained about the use of improvisation and a flat story. Nothing could be further from the truth. You see some of the wacky things people do at the spur of the moment,(Harvey goes to a fortune teller), and the true frustration with getting older. Blake Edwards assembled a fine cast of real-life family and friends. Robert Loggia and Sally Kellerman add to the supporting cast as do Lemmon's son Chris, Edward's daugher Jennifer, and Andrew's daugher Emma. "That's Life" may not be the most outstanding Blake Edwards film, but watch it anyway.

Is that REALLY life?
I gather Blake Edwards set out to make a "small movie" here. He enlisted his real-life wife, daughter and step-daughter, brought old buddy (and star of his classic "Days of Wine and Roses") Jack Lemmon aboard and provided parts for Lemmon's wife (Felicia Farr) and son. Farr, it may be said, lucks out if anyone does--she doesn't play one of the neurotic family members--although it appears that she has a several little problems of her own.

Does it work at all? Well, the first time I saw this movie, I HATED it. Since Lemmon's death last summer, I have been sort of running my own little "Jack Lemmon film festival" whenver I think of it, and upon re-view, it's not half bad. Seeing Lemmon's character wrestle with his mortality strikes me as poignant now after the actor's actual death. Equally eerie in its way, is seeing Julie Andrews character, a professional singer, struggling with potentially devestating vocal problems--and in her own stoic way, her own mortality.

The improvisational storyline is the real problem with this film, however. It's rather undeveloped. Lemmon typically needs a broader canvas than Edwards provides him here. He is intense here as in "Days..." but to lesser effect. He's all wound up with no place special to go. We've seen Lemmon do this kind of shtick before ("Tribute" comes to mind), and like Julie Andrews' Gillian in this movie, we feel like telling him to snap out of it--or we're leaving!

Will the real Julie Andrews stand up?
Being a Julie fan, I wanted to start collecting some of her movies. This one I didn't have. Upon watching it, I found myself Fast-Forwarding through most of it because of the language (her husband). The movie has a wonderful story behind it but it really bothered me when I heard Julie spoke some language herself in one part of the movie. Definitely not a family movie.

That's career murder!
The film starts with a biopsy: A sampling of Gillian Fairchild's (Julie Andrews) tissue shall decide over life or death. The findings won't be ready until monday. It may cost her her voice. She clears her throat, then she puts on lipstick - an outward sign that she has no intention of betraying her feelings. Her husband Harvey (Jack Lemmon) is celebrating his sixtieth birthday this sunday, and, for heaven's sake, he cannot be upset.

Harvey arrives. He is unkempt like a tramp. Self-restraint is not his thing: He doesn't mind if the others take part in his suffering. His garden is well-kept. Plastic-sheep graze on his lawn. But he takes no comfort from his luxurious villa and starts complaining at once. He is vexed that people congratulate him for his birthday, and his clients have no taste. He is plagued by all those infirmities old age has to offer. When his wife dares to argue that he never looked better, he is perplexed: "Are you out of your mind?". He has an amorous impulse - and backs down immediately - there is more that troubles him than just the gout. The food (lobster) is not to his taste and when an obtrusive neighbor (Sally Kellerman) observes Gillian's hoarseness he seizes this as a clue to continue his lamentation.

Their children arrive for the planned birthday party. Emma Walton (Julie's daughter) broke up with her boyfriend, Chris (Jack's son) brings his new girlfriend, and the very pregnant Jennifer Edwards (Julie's stepdaughter) is accordingly nervy. But Gillian proves herself as "mother courage" and responds to all their apprehensions. Meanwhile Harvey runs the gauntlet: His physician and an attractive client who tried to seduce him suggest that he consults a psychiatrist and the priest who confesses him turns out to be an old buddy (Robert Loggia). The "happy" family gathers round the dinner-table. No one makes tabula rasa, they dish out banalities. The camera registers this snapshot from behind closed windows...

Blake Edwards shot his film in his own house at the cost of about $1 million. An actor's strike took place at the time - the blacklegging did not further the careers of those involved. There is something depressing about Edwards' career: A much beloved director during the sixties (he directed Lemmon in DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES and THE GREAT RACE), he fell completely out of fashion, until he landed a big hit with TEN. His immediate reaction was to make SOB, the ultimate that'll-gonna-show-them-film. During those years, his protagonists were only thinly disguised mouthpieces of himself. With THAT'S LIFE he expected the impossible: He pushed his leading actor into icy water and ordered him to improvise. How can you improvise another man's life? The result are some of the most painful moments in Lemmon's career: The abortive seduction scene is embarrassing enough, but wait until you see him trying to bike himself to death on his home-trainer or visit a fortune-teller (his own wife Felicia Farr). She tells him an interesting fairy-tale about his toes. He leaves her tent - but not alone: crablouses are his constant companion from now on. They itch when he is attending the church...THAT'S LIFE may be Lemmon's most suicidal film. It effectively ended his film-career and, except for the funeral-like DAD he did not return to the screen until the early nineties. Julie Andrews, on the other hand, gives one of her most personal, and therefore essential, performances. Edwards' observation on the lives of the idle rich is accurate, but perhaps too close for comfort.

a good movie with some faults
Consider that you just found out that you may have terminal cancer. You won't know for sure for a couple of days so you keep it to yourself so as not to worry your loved ones. The problem is that your loved ones take up those two days with endless complaints about their own lives. That, in a nutshell, is what "That's Life" is all about. It's an interesting movie primarily because of the non-stop monologue of Jack Lemmon. He is almost maniacal at times with his compulsive self-examination and fear of aging. At times it gets overdone: We get the point. The adult children have come home to help Mr. Lemmon celebrate his 60th birthday. They all seem to have their own disfunctions and Dad, in his self-pity, was no help. Thus the mother, excellently played by Julie Andrews, has her hands full.

The problems with this movie center around its' excessiveness. As I mentioned above; we get the point. I realize that Blake Edwards has a good reputation for comedy and I think that there is good comedy in this movie. However, the drama seems to suffer for having too much comedy. The character of the priest, for example, is woefully made to look silly. Other characters seem to be too eccentric. If this is supposed to be a comedy then let me change my rating to two stars. The beauty of this movie is watching someone facing death while burdened by everyone's lesser concerns. The movie loses that focus periodically to its own detriment.

I checked for Oscar nominations for "That's Life" because I wondered if Andrews or Lemmon were nominated. They seemed good enough to be. However, the only nomination was for this awful song at the end. I can't believe that Tony Bennett agreed to sing it. Oh well, the team of Blake Edwards and Henry Mancini requires at least one nomination per collaberation. But boy did they pick the wrong category here! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A poor copy by any standard.
In the climatic moment of one of the great film scripts of all time, "The Verdict" by David Mamet, attorney Edward Concannon (James Mason) implores the judge, "We can't be expected to accept a (photo)copy when we have the original." Many consider Truffaut's 1977 "L'homme qui aimait les femmes" a wonderful film. Anyone who has seen this original, need not venture to this 1983 remake, the land of Blake Edwards, his family and his friends.

This film likely falls under the category of 'the studio still needs another film from me (Edwards) and I have not a single inspired idea'.

Don't get me wrong. I'm an avid fan of Edwards, and consider many of his films (notably Days of Wine and Roses, Breakfast at Tiffanys, S.O.B., and Operation Petticoat to ALL be amongst my favorites. Of course the Pink Panther series is a masterpiece in and of itself.

But this film is weak, and uninspired, laden with narrative-I've never really figured who came up with the idea of opening a 'comedy' with the main character's funeral, and an accompanying heart-wrenching eulogy from one of his lovers.

Don't accept a copy when the original is available.

Mediocre Remake by Blake Edwards... With a Few Surprises
Blake Edwards's 1983 remake of Francois Truffaut's classic, "The Man Who Loved Women" (1977) has the basic elements of countless adult films: it plays like an extended male/female sexual fantasy. Male viewers may place themselves in the role of David Fowler (Burt Reynolds), the stud who can be loved, adored, and physically satisfied by scores of women at once; female viewers will adore Burt's sensitive, artistic, sexually aggressive male lover. Thus, on a psychological level, Edwards's film is completely unrealistic hogwash; it treats its subject with half-seriousness, half-camp, and becomes extremely dull. Blake Edwards scores in a few areas ignored by Truffaut, however; first, he includes a riotously funny subplot where Fowler travels to Texas and has an affair with an oilman's wife (Kim Basinger) who is turned on by sexual activity in high-risk places. (When Basinger tries to seduce Reynolds in an empty hotel room, he warns her, "Oh, no! I know how you operate. There's some sort of danger here, isn't there? What is there, an Elk's Club meeting here tonight?") Second, Edwards exploits Reynolds's image as the sweet-talking ladykiller to perfection; it becomes extremely satisfying to hear Reynolds wheedle his way into womens' lives with carefully-chosen words and phrases.

See the French Version
Too slick, hip and cool for my britches. An Americanization of a European classic that doesn't work. Funny for American audience tastes, but too physical, too materialistic in its approach for my liking.

There's a spiritual element to the Truffault version that's missing in the American one with Mr. Reynolds. The French one is more subtle, deeper and sincere.

Arguably Truffaut's Best Movie
Blake Edward's spoof of this movie is funny, but the original is much funnier. It's funny cuz it's true.

Entertaining, Sexy, every man's fantasy with a unhappy end.
I have seen this movie several times, and each time I love it more. Burt Reynolds holds many of the same thoughts that others fantasize about. He loves them and leaves them........but never realy leaves them. They all love him. He is constantly searching for his real love, and when he thinks he finds it, it is too late. There is brief nudity done in excellent taste. The women selected to play these parts are excellent choices. The real beauties of Hollywood come out. Burt love them all and they love him. A really great movie. Be prepared to leave horney. ... Read more