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Friday, September 11, 2015

Mock Squid Soup: What's Up, Doc?

MOCK! and The Armchair Squid are proud to welcome you to Mock Squid Soup: A Film Society, meetings on the second Friday of each month. This month, each of us is choosing another society member's movie to review as listed in The Mock Squid Soup Film Library.  My choice was first reviewed by Birgit in May.

Title: What's Up, Doc?
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Original Release: 1972
My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5
via Wikipedia
What's Up, Doc? is a zany homage to the great screwball comedies of old.  Howard Bannister (performed by Ryan O'Neal) is a musicologist from Iowa who has traveled to San Francisco with his fiancee Eunice (Madeline Kahn) in hopes of winning a lucrative research grant.  In the hotel gift shop, he meets Judy (Barbara Streisand), a deceptively ditzy schemer who takes quite a shine to him.  Howard and Judy have identical overnight bags.  So do two other hotel guests, each containing more interesting and valuable contents than either Howard's or Judy's.  The plot follows one mix-up after another.  Bags get switched, rooms get switched, lovers get switched.  It's tricky following all of the twists and turns but it's loads of fun, too.

All of the actors - including a young Randy Quaid - are at the top of their games.  But then, acting's easy when the writing is this good.  Bogdanovich's best films are dependable in that regard - What's Up, Doc? was the first movie after his masterpiece, The Last Picture Show, one of my favorites.  The wit is sharp and quick, maintaining a fast clip throughout.  Out loud guffaws abound.  My favorite scene finds Howard, Judy and their formal dinner companions merrily chatting underneath their table.

My first consideration in choosing between a 3 and a 4 rating for a film is whether or not I think it would hold up to a repeat viewing.  I wasn't entirely sure about What's Up, Doc? but once it was over, I found myself hoping it would become part of our regular family rotation.  If I were to watch again, I'd want to follow the movement of the bags more closely.  I thought that story would end differently.

Great movie, Birgit!  Thanks for adding it to the mix.

Trivia challenge again for October!  Pick your own movie to share.  Post three clues on Friday, October 2nd.  Post your reveal and review on Friday, October 9th.  Meanwhile, please visit my friends today:



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16 comments:

  1. Musings of a Creative WriterSeptember 11, 2015 at 6:37 AM

    That sounds like an interesting film; I'll have to check it out! I love older films and this sounds like it'd be up my alley.

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  2. sageSeptember 11, 2015 at 7:27 AM

    I saw this 30 or 40 years ago and maybe it's time to watch it again. Good review.

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  3. Andrew LeonSeptember 11, 2015 at 8:46 AM

    I know I've seen this before, but I'm not remembering it, right now.

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  4. mshatchSeptember 11, 2015 at 9:05 AM

    Loved this movie. It was hilarious!

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  5. BirgitSeptember 11, 2015 at 9:35 AM

    Love that you love this movie and picked it:) It is great and 2 of my favourite scenes is when the thug has to show charm to the rich old lady so he keeps tripping her and then helping her up. The other scene is Madeline Kahn being dropped off at Dorilla St. I recall my dad having tears in his eyes from laughing so much

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    1. The Armchair SquidSeptember 11, 2015 at 9:29 PM

      Eunice is great. I love her completely unnecessary, unflattering wig.

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  6. AnonymousSeptember 11, 2015 at 2:49 PM

    Sounds like a good movie! I don't usually rewatch movies unless they're exceptional good so heading someone say they'd rewatch is a great sign to me!

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    1. The Armchair SquidSeptember 11, 2015 at 9:34 PM

      I can see myself one day reciting lines along with the best scenes.

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  7. UnknownSeptember 11, 2015 at 6:14 PM

    Definitely sounds like good fun to me. We're big re-run people, and catch a lot of older flicks on cable... But I've never seen this.

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    1. The Armchair SquidSeptember 11, 2015 at 9:35 PM

      I hope you will check it out.

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    2. Maurice MitchellSeptember 14, 2015 at 11:30 PM

      I haven't seen this In a while but a lot of these old comedies Still hold up like "Mad Mad World"

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    3. The Armchair SquidSeptember 20, 2015 at 7:39 AM

      My wife is a big fan of screwball comedies, especially Preston Sturges and Billy Wilder.

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