Customer Reviews

The Thrill of It All

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After falling in love with Doris Day's Les Brown recordings, I decided to give her later movies another chance. Before hand I had the impression as many people do of her being a 50's housewife stereotype. Through her big band music I learned otherwise. But this movie didn't help.
The first half hour had promise. It had ideas but about half way through and then just threw in whatever it could. It was obvious Rob Reiner who I'm not too fond of ran out of ideas. Doris Day was charming towards the beginning but even she couldn't hold this together. The person who really steals this movie is Kym Karath, the little cutie who later played Gretl in The Sound of the Music. The children's scenes and their observations about their parents are the best moments of the movie.

Rock Hudson was lucky not to be in this project. These roles were made for Rock but James does okay. The problem isn't him. It's that his character is so unlikable. For a better Doris Day film of this period see Pillow Talk. It's worthy of her talent.

This movie basically relies on Doris Day's charm to make the movie work. James Garner just isn't that charming, he just doesn't have that chemistry that Doris Day used to have with Rock Hudson. I felt that the plot was a little old fashioned. I enjoyed it for what it was but I wouldn't watch it again. It was still a fun movie to watch especially the scene where the whole house fills up with soap suds. That was hilarious.

Doris Day is good in every movie of hers Ive seen, however this movie came under my expectations . . too predictable . . not bad, but not as good as some other movies that feature her . . overall 3 1/2 stars . .

When housewife, Doris Day, is asked to do live tv commercials for Happy Soap, her doctor husband, James Garner is not pleased. But when things start getting really crazy (like when the owners of Happy Soap install a swimming pool in their backyard without telling them and James Garner drives his car into it ) things start going downhill. This is one of the funniest and at the same time most adorable family movies I have ever seen. When Doris Day gets frustrated in her first live commercial and introduces herself by saying "Hello, I'm Beverly Boyer, and I'm a pig..." you start laughing and don't quit. It's a rare movie that doesn't resort to bad language, nudity or sex to find its audience. I enjoyed every minute of it and recommend it to anyone wanting to find a movie for the whole family that you don't have to censor.

Doris day and James garner are paired up nicely in this old classic, she is an ordinary house wife and he's a doctor that delivers babies, they go for dinner at one of his patience houses and the hilariousness begins. My mom and I loved watching this movie.

I really enjoy Doris Day's movies from the 1960's. It's a light romantic comedy. And, the theme of this movie is almost 50 years old (1963) yet the same theme plays out in movies today - man verses woman in the workplace and in the home.

this movie may be dated but hey just sit back and enjoy it is worth it.

A hip and happening Doris Day comedy in which the girl next door becomes a media sensation. Doris stars, not surprisingly, as a wholesomely sexy suburban housewife who is hired to become the spokesperson for the Happy Soap company, because Happy Soap's crotchety old president finds her stammering, unprofessional endorsements to be refreshingly honest and -- more importantly -- so does the soap-buying public. In fact, the only one who doesn't like her ascent into the media is her grouchy, fragile-egoed husband (played by James Garner), who can't stand the thought of his own wife having a job -- it's just too much of a blow to his masculinity, and besides, who will raise the kids if mommy goes to work? The depth and sheer matter-of-factness to the sexism in this pre-women's movement comedy will be both astounding and instructive to a modern audience, but besides all that, it's also a great vehicle for Day's bubbly, frowsy charm. Garner's character is a bit hysterical, but it's all worth it for the big payoff: his double-take during the swimming pool scene is a golden comedic moment. Scriptwriter Carl Reiner's touch is easy to pick out; Reiner also has some choice cameos as a hammy TV actor on the show that Happy Soap sponsors. There are also plenty of great early '60s character actors, such as Edward Andrews, who you may recognize from old TV re-runs and the like. [Crazy cast note: the Pamela Curran, who plays "Spot Checker," the glamorous model who was the former Happy Soap Girl, is a dead ringer for Drea de Matteo (best known as Adriana, of the Sopranos...) The likeness must be seen to be believed.] Anyway, this is a fun movie, entirely enjoyable and also a real blast of Kennedy-era camp.

This film has a real cute opening with Arlene Francis ("What's My Line" game show 1968-1975) and Edward Andrews (Send Me No Flowers [1964]). Nice surprise! James Garner is Arlene's doctor and Arlene invites the doctor and his wife Doris Day to celebrate. At the dinner party, they meet an excited old man who is the owner of the Happy Soap Company. They all hush to see the new Happy Soap commercial on color tv. There is the new girl naked in the bathtub explaining Happy Soap. Afterwards, Doris day begins to tell the man about how Happy Soap saved her life today. Her kids took a bath today and liked Happy Soap instead of Pine Tar. The older man gets excited and enjoys her story. He decides to make Doris, the ordinary housewife, the new spokesperson for Happy Soap in the next commercial. The commercials work and she becomes a star. However, her husband feels neglected. With her busy schedule and his schedule at the hospital, they just can't find time to be together or with the children. Also the first maid quit due to a misunderstanding and the new maid speaks German and misunderstands english. This is really a cute and funny movie and I highly recommend it to those new mommies and new daddies. The children are: Brian Nash (Please Don't Eat The Daises tv series 1965-67) and Kym Karath (Spencer's Mountain [1963], Sound Of Music [1965]). Directed by Norman Jewison, Produced by Ross Hunter and Martin Melcher. A great filming of a movie with good camera angles and one-shot moving scenes by Director of Photography Russell Metty & Associates.

"The Thrill Of It All" was one of my favorite childhood memories. In the days prior to wall-to-wall cable stations, there were certain films that enjoyed a regular place on the weekend matinee lineup on local TV stations. This was one of them. And the funny thing is when I originally saw it, I never thought of it as dated or sexist (this is a memory from about 28 years ago). Even though I grew up in a household where both my parents worked (and my dad never gave it a second thought since there were six of us), I merely accepted the script as a reflection of the 1963 sensibility and not my own. You really can't watch a movie that's older than you are (I'm guessing lots of you are waaay under 40) and expect it to reflect modern-day sensibilities. That said, the film is expertly written taking several stabs and jabs at the TV advertising (as well as the network) industry. Doris Day was the quintessential (and exquisitely beautiful) screen wife and mother, and James Garner was a perfect spousal foil for her. And what you had from Arlene "What's My Line" Francis was a welcome touch of class in the role of a mature expectant mother (heady stuff for 1963!) along with nervous expectant father Edward Andrews. The movie is right in line with the other 60's comedies with Hudson, Grant, and Rod Taylor- fun!!