Most helpful customer reviews
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2.0 out of 5 stars
A poor copy by any standard., Mar 14 2000
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.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Mediocre Remake by Blake Edwards... With a Few Surprises, Jun 16 1999
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.
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2.0 out of 5 stars
See the French Version, May 2 1999
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.
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