Call this one a guilty pleasure. Everything about it is bad - the writing, the acting, the direction, etc. And yet, once you stop taking it seriously, it's a surprisingly entertaining movie.
The story centers on Elena Schneider (Jaclyn Smith), a pretty young woman stuck in a small town caring for an ailing mother (Joanne Linville). One day, aging movie star, Randy Brent (Tony Curtis) comes through town. He and Elena meet, fall in love, and suddenly her mother is urging her to marry Randy and head off to Hollywood, which she does. Once there, she gets caught up in the intrigue of trying to revive Randy's career, while trying to start her own. Along the way, she meets Randy's daughter, Marina (Michelle Phillips), who is involved in a dead end affair with Adam Baker (George Hamilton), discovers Randy's bisexuality when she walks in on him and a male lover, and drinks writer, Henry Waller (Darren McGavin) under the table in order to get Randy a part which will give him his comeback. Once Randy is established, she leaves him for dashing Reade Jamieson (John Forsythe), with whom she has somehow fallen in love along the way.
Silly story, and little was done with the writing to lend any credibility to it. It's just a Hollywood soap opera presented for the entertainment, and it doesn't pretend to be anything else. It is however, representative of its time in that its attitudes are both sexist and homophobic, but since it wasn't meant to taken seriously, it's a little hard to get too riled up about that.
The acting was okay. A good cast tries to rise above bad material, and is only partially successful. Smith's performance is reasonably good, and Forsythe does his usual excellent job. Curtis swishes his way through his part (rather ironic given his outspoken stance again Brokeback Mountain). Phillips and Hamilton both come off as stilted.
This is not film making at its finest. Nonetheless, as long as you don't expect that, it is campy fun.
The story centers on Elena Schneider (Jaclyn Smith), a pretty young woman stuck in a small town caring for an ailing mother (Joanne Linville). One day, aging movie star, Randy Brent (Tony Curtis) comes through town. He and Elena meet, fall in love, and suddenly her mother is urging her to marry Randy and head off to Hollywood, which she does. Once there, she gets caught up in the intrigue of trying to revive Randy's career, while trying to start her own. Along the way, she meets Randy's daughter, Marina (Michelle Phillips), who is involved in a dead end affair with Adam Baker (George Hamilton), discovers Randy's bisexuality when she walks in on him and a male lover, and drinks writer, Henry Waller (Darren McGavin) under the table in order to get Randy a part which will give him his comeback. Once Randy is established, she leaves him for dashing Reade Jamieson (John Forsythe), with whom she has somehow fallen in love along the way.
Silly story, and little was done with the writing to lend any credibility to it. It's just a Hollywood soap opera presented for the entertainment, and it doesn't pretend to be anything else. It is however, representative of its time in that its attitudes are both sexist and homophobic, but since it wasn't meant to taken seriously, it's a little hard to get too riled up about that.
The acting was okay. A good cast tries to rise above bad material, and is only partially successful. Smith's performance is reasonably good, and Forsythe does his usual excellent job. Curtis swishes his way through his part (rather ironic given his outspoken stance again Brokeback Mountain). Phillips and Hamilton both come off as stilted.
This is not film making at its finest. Nonetheless, as long as you don't expect that, it is campy fun.