Some of you older folks might remember the days when Peter Bogdanovich made movies that played to big audiences and brought in big bucks at the box office. One of those movies was What's Up, Doc?, a crazy screwball comedy that I find hilarious. Here's the gimmick. There are four overnight bags that look just alike. One contains rocks, one contains jewels, one contains a dictionary and some clothes, and one contains some top-secret government papers. If you can keep up with the bags as they change hands and places in the movie you should be able to win at the shell game 100% of the time.
Ryan O'Neal is the uptight smart guy who meets up with the smartass uneducated woman (Barbara Streisand) who might be smarter than he is. His fiancée is played by Madeline Kahn in a wonderful performance (not that O'Neal and Streisand aren't very good, too. There's a great chase scene through the streets of San Francisco (as good as the one in Bullit? You decide) and many great comic moments with a fine cast. If you've never seen this and if you ever need a laugh, give it a try.
11 comments:
I haven't seen WHAT'S UP, DOC? in decades. Loved it when I first saw it. I'll have to see if it's available on Blu-ray.
I liked it a lot too. Madeline Lagniappe was great.
For a real forgotten Bogdanovich movie that I'm probably one of the few people to like, you should do They All Laughed.
Jeff
I liked it, too. Saw it in the theater, even.
Not-spoiler alert: O'Neal and Streisand's exchange on the plane at the end is absolutely priceless, and the one thing I really remember about the movie.
Yes, another great scene. One of many.
What I remember about What's Up, Doc?:
John Hillerman as the hotel manager; it was one of his first movie appearances (he was a pal of Bogdanovich's).
Only one scene, but Hillerman's whole career stems from it.
I miss John Hillerman.
The scene I've remembered for four decades.was the "use your charm" scene with Sorrell Booke and Mabel Albertson.
Jeff
Loved it as a kid.
Thanks to Mike Doran for reminding us of JH. I miss him, too.
I LOVED that movie. I can't count the number of times I saw it.
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