Reviews (47)

Great movie and the DVD Transfer is Crystal Clear!
I don't think I've ever seen a good print of this film till I bought the DVD, which is fabulous! I'm not a die-hard Audrey Hepburn fan, but she is very charming and looks fabulous in the fashions. I love the ability to skip the numbers I don't like with the DVD since I find this a very uneven film. When it is good it is nearly flawless (and that's most of the time--opening credits, Think Pink, Funny Face, Bonjour Paris, The Photo Shoots, S'Wonderful, the final fashion show) but when it is bad it is horrid (a 60 year old Fred Astaire trying to be a beatnik, Fred's unending "matador" dance number, the whole plot with the Professor, Clap Yo'Hands). I was disappointed in the additional features--the original trailer is ho hum and the Paramount "documentary" is really just an extended sales pitch with bad stock footage. Where's an interview with the great Stanley Donen? Still, overall well worth purchasing.

A Marvelous Movie!
Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn together on screen. Just that alone makes seeing this movie worthwhile. However, this film has a lot of other things going for it. To begin with, this film gives the fabulous Gershwin score a first class treatment. Astaie's version of the title song is definitive, and while no singer, Hepburn's rendition of "How Long Has This Been Going On" has a sensitivity and power that is quite hard to find in many musicals. Next, The lush Paris locales are simply beautiful. After decades of musicals that were done entirely on soundstages, it is a breath of fresh air to see the realism and freedom of space that on location shooting can bring to a film. Then, there's Kate Thompson. While Fred and Audrey are glorious, it's Ms. Thompson who's the real scene-stealer as the bossy magazine editor. She transforms "Think Pink" into a delightful Showstopper, and always gets the best lines. Enugh talk. Go see this movie. It's a treasure you won't soon forget.

P.S. If your wondering why I took off a star, it's because of the age difference between Astaire and Hepburn. Astaire was in his late 50's when he made this film, and Hepburn was not yet 30. I simply don't believe that their romance is reasonable. After a few great song and dance numbers, it's not really a big deal, but it's worth a star.

Where Was MArni NIxon?
Funny Face has just about everything going for it. Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Stanley Donen, great Gershwin tunes, a terrific rare glimpse of the incomparable Kay Thompson and above all some of the most exciting visuals and overall art direction ever caught on film. So what happened? The sad decision to let Hepburn do her own singing. That's not to say her voice is bad. It's very... nice. But for a full blown musical of this scale, the audience is yearning for Hepburn's character to really give out with a great set of pipes. Perhaps not quite to the extent of Kay Thompson, an actress perhaps better suited for the stage than the intimacy of the screen. Yet while the movie does not fulfill its promise, it's still well worth seeing. The transformation of Hepburn from mousy bookstore clerk to haute couture model is as wonderful as her similar transformation in "Sabrina". The modeling sessions with Astaire directing Hepburn are delightful and above all the VistaVision presentation of late 50s gloss can not be matched, (the opening credits nearly make up for the entire movie). With Richard Avedon and Suzy Parker's influence the movie almost makes you forgive its failings. Still by the last frame the audience is left with only one thought: "Where's Marni Nixon when you need her?".

The Ultimate Fashion Musical!
Anyone who loves Breakfast at Tiffany's and Roman Holiday knows that Audrey Hepburn is one of the most magical women ever captured on film. But there is something special about Funny Face. It captured a part of the real Audrey -- part book worm, part great dancer, part reluctant star. The "On How to be Lovely" scene with Patricia Neal is one of the most glorious moments in film. You just cannot help but smile when they start singing that song. It will make you fall in love with Audrey over and over again!

Isnt bad. Far from Great.
Fred Astaire, the greatest movie star of all time (Along with Chaplin of course) paired with Audrey Hepburn in this enjoyable, but still slightly dissapointing romantic musical set in France.

If your expecting this film to have great dancing, then dont. It hasnt. What you get however is a very colourful movie with a few decent songs, but others can be questionable.

The basic story is, Fred Astaire is a photographer who discovers a girl (Hepburn) who works in a bookstore and makes a model out of her (Check other reviews for more on the story).

Overall, not too bad a movie. Could have been better, but recommended for fans of either Astaire or Hepburn. ... Read more

Reviews (30)

A very silly but lovely 1950s soap opera
There are some wonderful reasons to add the newly released-on-DVD "The Best of Everything" to your film library. For one, it is a glittering and colorful glimpse into New York City circa 1959. Fox certainly has done a commendable job with the DVD--the picture quality and sound are both crystal clear. Cinemascope has rarely been this fun to watch, because now one can see it digitally mastered in widescreen with vivid color photography by Deluxe brought to sparkling life.

The film is very, very lush. From the beginning, when the screen fills with a sunny view of the Manhattan skyline to the sounds of Johnny Mathis crooning the Oscar-nominated theme song, you know you are in for grand entertainment. All of the performances are fine, with Crawford a standout.

I think it's funny that although Joan Crawford only has five to ten minutes of screen time in "The Best of Everything," her picture is featured very prominently on the back and front covers of the DVD. The casual watcher may never know that the ultimate movie star had a only a supporting role, yet with that tiny role she managed to steal the entire picture and make it her own!That's star power!

As enjoyable as the film is, it is incredibly flawed. If one was interested in sexist attitudes (concerning men AND women) and how they have changed since the 1950s, there couldn't be a more relevant movie to watch. It is shocking, and sometimes disturbing, how much attitudes have changed.

For example, at one point during the movie, Catherine (played by lovely Hope Lange) is told by David, one of her romantic interests, that once she has proven to herself she can make it in the publishing world (which, in his view, could be the only reason a woman might have some kind of ambition) she should quit it all, get married, and "love happily ever after." Now there is nothing wrong with wanting to be in love happily ever after, but it certainly represents a double-standard. Who would ever tell a man such a thing?Could you imagine Hope Lange telling David that a man's ambition is only him trying to prove himself, and that he should cut it out and love happily ever after? (now I can imagine Joan Crawford saying that to Clark Gable, but there weren't any characters with that kind of will or independence in this film).

So much of the dialogue and morality in the film is dated, and some of it is very disturbing, but there are still some good things about the story. There are some great viewpoints on love, and how casual dating and hookups can hurt people, and my favorite line has to be, "Here's to men, with their clean-shaven faces and their dirty little minds." It's funny to say the least!

OH, YES... TAKE ME BACK TO '59
Yes, please take me back to 1959, to New York in 1959, or even back to Rio de Janeiro, a couple of years before, where I met Rona Jaffe practically every single night at the then world-famous "Sacha's" nightclub, where Rona was already drafting her novel mentally...
When the film started shooting the exteriors in front of the Seagram's building, one could actually walk-up to lovely Suzy Parker and chat with her about how real was the "new morality" of the liberated New York girls in the executive suites, decades before Sex and the City became the post-mortem of the sexual revolution of the Sixties.
At night we had the many parties thrown by Negulesco and his charming wife, while Stephen Boyd was being charming to my wife, Brazilian actress Mariza Woodward, featured in LIFE Magazine as one of the most beautiful gals in Rio.
Oh, yes, take me back!
And if you were not there then, if you were not even born then, do get this DVD and visit New York 1959 and see how charmingly it all started, despite where it eventually ended.

Good Peek into Women in Publishing in 1959
"The Best of Everything" is based on the novel by Rona Jaffe and it's popular fiction roots show.With a wonderful splashy opening song by Johnny Mathis and the sight of young, pretty Hope Lange as Caroline Bender answering an ad (hilariously promising "the best of everything" in a secretarial career) at a posh Manhattan publishing house, the film revolves around three young women seeking their fortunes in the Big Apple. The three central characters (all of whom start in the typing pool at Fabian's Publishing and come to share a cold water flat) include Lange as impeccably and jauntily suited Caroline (she really does wear a suit well), the woman with the most smarts and dignity of the three, who quickly demonstrates a natural aptitude and moxie for the publishing business; impossibly gorgeous Suzy Parker as aspiring actress Gregg Adams (Parker, a top model of the time, seems way too glamorous, sophisticated and beautiful to be lost in the typing pool or ignored by casting agents); and Diane Baker as chirpy, annoying, naive April Morrison, fresh from Hicksville and willing to swallow any hook or line that is thrown her way.Her main goal is to marry.

The usual soap opera commences, but it's fun stuff with lots of dish and dirt.Although the attitudes towards women remind women of why the feminist movement began (sexual harassment tolerated by the resident lecher, Mr. Shalimar, played with alcoholic panache and humor by Brian Aherne; all women with careers looked on as "hard" and having missed the boat in romance; double standard between men and women), honey, anyone who has seen the inside of a secretarial pool today can tell you things haven't changed terribly much beyond --cosmetically--the sexual attitudes. The secretaries storming the Bastille in the morning, brimming with gossip and tales of engagements, are much the same today, and Joan Crawford is believable as the tough editor Amanda Farrow who gives her "girl" a hard time -- with the exception of some of her unintentionally hilarious lines.(When Farrow retires to pursue a love affair, hoping it's not "too late," she later returns and announces, "It was too late.")And what man today would hand his girl socks to darn with she so cheerfully happy to comply?

But it's all fun!My favorite line:when the busload of employees are en route to the company picnic, singing, and Baker chirps to Lange, "Isn't it wonderful?" and Lange says, "I'd rather be shot in the head."

Great Slice of Nostalgia, but NOT campy!!!
After reading the reviews posted here, I ordered "The Best of Everything" with eager anticipation as so many reviewers mentioned the archaic dialogue, gorgeous scenery, and retro sets and costumes.The biggest influenece on my buying this however, was the constant comparison to my all-time favorite movie, "Valley of the Dolls".If you purchase this looking for the same campy, kitschy experience you get from VOTD, you will, like me, be very disappointed.This movie was indeed charming and a great look back at how it used to be, but not a camp delight by any means.Just don't expect something else like I did!

A Manhattan Melodrama Meets a Valley of Dolls
I am still trying to figure out why I like this film (and so many like it), when in truth, the submissiveness of females and their dependence on the love of a man really sicken me.The depiction of women in this film is perhaps a bit more progressive than that in other films of this genre, as the women are, at least, "career women", and much of the story is set in the office, of a large publishing firm, Fabian Publishing.However, among the three key friends and principal characters (played by Hope Lange, Suzy Parker, and Diane Baker), Lange's character Caroline Bender is the only one determined to be an editor.However, at the same time, when her colleague Mike Rice (Stephen Boyd) asks her if she has any ambitions beyond working a year or so, she quite adamantly says "no..none at all"...so, it's a bit contradictory, and frustrating. And he, of course, says it's "wonderful" when she agrees with him that it would be quite satisfying for her to "get her feet wet in publishing for a year or two to prove what she has "to prove", marry a doctor or lawyer, and have babies".UGH!!!But, it's 1959, so, you have to keep it in perspective.

Some of the dialog is beyond hope, but I inexplicably continue to watch this film, every so often.Maybe it's the women's clothing...I love suits, and I miss dressing up for work.(Business casual has been one of several downfalls of today's workplace, as far as I'm concerned). No, but really...perhaps it is because I want to see if at least one of these women wakes up and takes stock in her own life, and throws back all of the garbage that her "sweetheart" dishes out at her.Hope Lange does so to a degree when she rhetorically asks her slime-bucket hometown beau Eddie, in paraphrase, "what is it about men that they think they deserve the most refined, cultured, "respectable" women from the "best schools and the best families" only "part-time", for only fun, but ignore all of the attendant responsibilities that would turn frolic into long-term, serious relationships."She then goes on to say that a number of women will play the same game as men, for a while, but eventually, they'll have to pick up a few extra men of their own, to fill in the time when they're not with the one they really want.I at least admire her honesty about the pitfalls and emptiness of "casual dating" and "hooking up".

The opening credits are very nice...Manhattan in the spring/summertime is always glorious.Though I need to laugh that it's Johnny Mathis singing the title song, "The Best of Everything" (I've always thought that he was a very funny singer...he often breaks what should be long-held notes with silence...perhaps he's breathing, but we don't hear him inhale), it's also perfect....who else would be singing this song for a 1950's movie about finding your way in life and in love.

Joan Crawford's boss is in many ways no different from some of the tyrannical maniacs for whom I've had the complete displeasure to work.Joan Crawford's Amanda Farrow was more or less a direct, no holds barred, right-in-your face "meanie", telling Hope Lange that she does not have what it takes to become a Reader, much less an Editor.And, she did it in front of the rest of the typing pool (how unprofessional is that?).In the 80's, people stabbed you in the back.In the 90's, and to a degree, now, people smile at you directly, and let you believe all is well, until you're laid off in one life-altering second.

I found it inconsistent how the Suzy Parker character started out as an independent, career-minded, aspiring actress, who prided herself on never having needed a man ("to love, and to let go...that's me"), but ended up becoming the most debilitated by the rejection of a man with whom she had fallen in love.And of course, it's also amazing how Diane Baker, fresh from being thrown out of a speeding car and losing a baby (out of wedlock, no less, in the 1950's!) manages to attract the attention and heart of a young, studly doctor when she's still wearing bandages and no make-up in her hospital bed.Wonders never cease in a 1950's melodrama!

If you hedonistically enjoy "Valley of the Dolls", or "Written on the Wind", you'll love "The Best of Everything".
... Read more

Amazon.com

Cary Grant--the man who defines "movie star"--plays Andy Crewson, a Navywar hero at the tail end of World War II who cons his way into a four-dayleave in San Francisco. While a slick PR guy tries to turn Grant's herostatus into a well-paying job, Crewson only has eyes for Gwinnith (SuzyParker, one of the first supermodels)--who just happens to be the fiancéeof a shipbuilding tycoon. Grant is always watchable, but the rest of themovie suffers from an identity crisis; while an aspiring Congressman (RayWalston, The Apartment) cheerfully admits joined the Navy tofurther his political career, a buxom young woman (Jayne Mansfield, tryingvery hard to be Marilyn Monroe) offers herself to everyone in uniformbecause she sincerely feels it's her patriotic duty. A strangeblend of cynical humor and light-hearted romance. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Not a great Cary Grant movie, not a bad movie
"Kiss Them For Me" is a 1957 movie staring Cary Grant as Commander Andy Crewson who is able to get four days shore leave for himself and three of his buddies in San Francisco. While there, they meet women (Jayne Mansfield, Suzy Parker), old friends from the navy and when they are offer safe state-side jobs, these fun loving flyers realize that being in combat with buddies is what matters most.
For me, these was not the best Cary Grant movie that I have seen so far. But it was pretty decent, but clearly Grant's earlier works were better.

Too many talents for nothing...
Based on a play bearing the same title, 'Kiss them for me' is now completely forgotten, in spite of the names of Cary Grant, Stanley Donen, or Jayne Mansfield.
The original idea could have led to a bitter sweet comedy about bravery, patriotism, cowardice and lies.
But it's too confused. Cary Grant delivers his line with his usual panache, but cannot save a particularly clumsy script.
One can understand why Jayne Mansfield was so thrilled to be his new leading lady, but she finds nothing interesting to do in the film, except being this over-the-top sexy squeaking blonde bimbo who's unable to calm down, a character she would also offer to her audience off-screen. Unfortunately, Donen doesn't manage to use her comic talents as Frank Tashlin did in 'The girl can't help it' and tried instead to focus on the other more controlable leading lady, namely former model Suzy Parker. That was quite a mistake, for her acting remains annoyingly wooden and expressionless throughout the film.
'Kiss them for me' has its funny moments though, (turns out to be be quite bitter and pessimistic), and Jayne Mansfield's enthusiasm saves the whole project from total boredom.
Donen who had previously delivered such gems as 'Funny Face', Singin' in the rain' or 'On the town' obviously seems lost (or not interested). And it's really a shame.

Cheaper than Ambien as a sleeping aid.....
In his later years, Cary Grant wasn't so picky about what films he did, as long as the paycheck was there. This bomb is one reminder of Grant's many mis-fires, and one that will surely put you to sleep while watching it, as it is quite dull and boring. Although certain viewers can enjoy moments here to admire the physical attributes of Jayne Mansfield, most people will be downright bored by this dull movie. It was a failure when released to theaters, and remains so now.

A DUD!

The two biggest stars in this film are Jayne Mansfield!
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With a title like "KISS them for me" and Jayne Mansfield in the film, there can be no doubt in anyone's mind what the "them" are that Jayne wants kissed!

Because of on-screen presence of the fabulous Jayne Mansfield, this film is a camp classic! But let's face it... this is a pretty bad movie. It's horribly dated, and corny beyond belief.

However... the film has two big things going for it: Jayne Mansfield! If you know who Jayne Mansfield was, you understand what I'm saying. If you don't know who Jayne Mansfield was, then I pity you, poor fool!

This film features Jayne at her Outrez-Hollywood best, long before the drugs, alcohol, and hard living took their toll on her beauty. Jayne squeals, shreiks, giggles and wiggles, as only Jayne could. Jayne Mansfield is quite fabulous in this film!

Jayne Mansfield was way ahead of her time. She was a living work of pop-art. If she were alive and in her prime today, she would rightfully be referred to as a "Performance Artist". Jayne was a living, breathing, squealing, jiggling bowl of Jell-o squeezed into a tight dress and topped off with the most fabulously platinum hair that Hollywood has ever produced! (I think her particular shade of platinum was actually called "Jet Blonde"!)

For anyone who loves Jayne Mansfield, or even for someone who hasn't experienced the phenomenon that was Jayne Mansfield, this film is a MUST-SEE event!

I think this film is absolutely worth seeing simply for Jayne's sake. It's worth sitting through the corny story just to witness Jayne Mansfield at her most beautiful and comedic best! You won't be disappointed... Jayne is simply FABOO!

The film can be summed-up in two words that Jayne herself would often say... "It's DIVOON!"

Donen delivers!
"Kiss Them for Me" is a little known (or at least, lesser known), comedy gem from 1957. Stanley Donen works wonders with a reserved approach, allowing the stellar cast to do their thing, which brings alive the comdeic elements while not overshadowing the more serious moments.

Cary Grant is always marvelous, and his performance here is no exception. His Commander Crewson is a fairly typical Grant role of a part-goldbrick, part-devil-may-care military officer, a standard Grant character. But then, we have some magical moments interspersed with the suave Grant comedy that gives him a chance to really go for the dramatic gusto.

Three soldiers, who have made incredible and heroic contributions to the battles of World War II are being set up for a PR tour to promote the war effort. Crewson and his cohorts decide to have some fun in San Francisco instead, and finagle their way into a few days leave. Once there, it's a life of ease, except for the fact that they're not exactly on an approved leave, and the shore patrol is on the lookout for the rogue heroes. Each man wants to just get out of the line of fire, having seen enough of it, and are not interested in promoting anything but their own freedom, if just for a few days.

Two great Grant dramatic moments will stay with you for sure; in the first, Grant tells off a pushy millionaire who wants the men to give a rah-rah speech to his factory workers. In the other, Crewson meets a fellow soldier he knew, a young man who got a bad break in battle.

Ray Walston and Larry Blyden offer excellent support as Crewson's war hero comrades, and Werner Klemperer ("Hogan's Heroes") stands out as a military PR man shepherding the three semi-awol soldiers. Jayne Mansfield plays a typical "dumb blonde" as usual, and Richard Deacon ("The Dick van Dyke Show") appears in a small, but memorable supporting role as a shy paper magnate.

It's too bad this one isn't better known. Perhaps this is beacuse the movie does not touch the lofty heights of comedy met in "Operation Petticoat" or "Father Goose". Instead, the film is a comedy-drama about WWII, and was possibly aimed at a more mature audience, both of which make the movie a bit more tense for the casual viewer. This is especially true in the last third or so, as the focus wanders a bit into more mature and serious areas, then tries to wander out again by the end.

Regardless, the film is well worth viewing at least once, and is an excellent example of a late 50's "grown-up" film. ... Read more