Good Neighbor Sam (1964)

I noticed that this was called a 'sex romp' or 'adult comedy', however, the film really is pretty wholesome and not the sensual film you might imagine.The film is a merry mix-up film starring Jack Lemmon, Dorothy Provine and Romy Schneider. Lemmon and Provine are happily married and he has a lower-level job working for an advertising firm. However, his hum-drum life is about to be turned upside down when some seemingly harmless lies begin to snowball. First, when his wife's friend (Schneider) is about to inherit $15,000,000 dollars, there's a problem--because it's stipulated that she can only have the money if she's happily married. But, she's separated from her husband (Mike Connors)--and Lemmon agrees to pretend to be the husband. At the same time, Lemmon has a VERY old fashioned client (Edward G. Robinson) and Robinson prizes Lemmon for being a decent family man. However, the 'wife' he sees Lemmon with is Schneider--and to keep this account, they must continue to pretend to be married. Plus, some of Schneider's cousins now have hired private detectives to prove the two are not happily married--and there's even more reason for them to pretend to be married. It all gets pretty crazy and the lie continues to snowball even more. How far it goes and how it all ends is something you'll just need to see for yourself.Aside from people THINKING there is hanky-panky going on, this is a pretty chaste and rather funny comedy. In many ways, it's reminiscent of an old-time Hollywood screwball comedy and I enjoyed it very much. My only quibble, and it's a minor one, is that Schneider was miscast. Her Austrian accent was not adequately explained away in the plot and although very beautiful she just wasn't right for the part because of this inexplicable accent. However, Lemmon was terrific and the film was quite clever.

The film begins well with its depiction of 1960s suburbia, the introduction of the Bissell family (including the ducks), the amusing jibes at the advertising industry (including the inaccurate but hilarious depiction of the filming of a Hertz car rental commercial), provides some great performances from all the principals, and from a great supporting cast, such as Edward Andrews, R.Q. Jones, and Neil Hamilton. It has a smart, yet affectionate quality to it. But as the film chugs along, it seems to run out of steam, as the gags keep repeating themselves, and it begins to seem more like a less successful imitation of the popular Doris Day/Rock Hudson romantic comedies of the time, and one can begin to understand why Lemmon didn't put this one in the top drawer of his memories.

I grew up in the 50's & 60's so this is what I call a comfort film. Aside from the plot, I get a kick from watching the morning scene of everyone waking up in the upper class 1960's suburbs, the office scenes, the morning commute, the after work cocktails, the clothes. Remember the business hat? Everyone wore one with their business suit until Jack Kennedy hit the scene bare-headed. Kind of like Clark Gable taking off his shirt and not wearing a T Shirt. I've always felt that the scene where Sam Bissell does the double-take on the car full of commuters next to his car and sees sheep was an innocent preview of the coming unrest of "The 60's". So while it's a great comedy with great actors/acting I watch it to take me back to a time when there was no globalization and no competition for the US. Everyone was making "good money" and there were no threats, no negativity. Several of the films from approximately 1958-1965 were like this - I've always felt the 60's officially began between that period after Kennedy was shot and the Beatles landed in NYC (which is the starter's gun). Certainly How To Murder Your Wife is a close second, YUM YUM Tree, some of Doris Day's movies, Ride The Wild Surf (best fiction Surfer Movie ever made). What a great time to grow up. So don't be a Nurdlinger - watch this movie. Hope this adds an enjoyable note when you watch this movie.

"Good Neighbor Sam" bombed big time when it was released in 1964. At the time I thought, "What a shame. This is Jack Lemmon's best comedic acting in years, and this is a pleasant movie."Looking at it now, I understand why "Good Neighbor Sam" was a failure. For one thing, it's way overplotted (there's enough subplots for THREE sparkling comedies). It's played at the sitcom level and runs over two hours. The "domestic violence" subplot is disturbing, even for the times. However, it is still funny, beautifully cast (especially Lemmon, Dorothy Provine, Romy Schneider and Edward G. Robinson) and mostly gentle satire (the Hertz commercial retakes are a hoot). Best of all, the "billboard defacing," which happens near the end of the movie is the funniest sequence of all, meaning "Good Neighbor Sam" NEVER lets up.Special note should be taken of Frank DeVol's music (the recurring theme is a classic). I recommend this one highly