For the first three quarters of this update of "The Guardsman", everything is fine. But once the plot wraps up, the film continues needlessly and totally goes off track. If it wasn't for stars Maggie Smith and Christopher Plummer, the film might sink into total boredom, but the likability of their characters and their individual charm makes the film much more tolerable.
Smith and Plummer take over the famous roles originated by Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt years before in their only appearance together on screen. She is a film producer searching for the perfect leading man and he is her stage actor husband upset that she considers him to be wrong for the part. She also makes him slightly jealous by looking at only the hunkiest of men, so Plummer decides to disguise himself as an Italian "from the north" who happens to be blonde but obviously not as young as the otherwise actors she considered. It is obvious that she knows the ruse being pulled on her even though she never verbalizes it. Smith gives a soft but sly performance, playing one of her most gently characters, while Plummer gets to chew the scenery a bit, especially in the final quarter which makes little sense. Smith has a sweet moment when she reveals to the disguised Plummer that a woman never reveals the truth about what she thinks of a man in bed, whether it be good or bad.
The stage roots of this story are made all the more obvious because of the fact that Smith and Plummer seem more theatrical than cinematic. Toss in theater legend Adolph Green as Plummer's co-conspirator pal for further evidence of that. Elke Sommer is relatively over the top as the film within the film's leading lady. I enjoyed it overall in spite of some slow moving areas and the situation which carries the plot long after Plummer's facade has been revealed.
Smith and Plummer take over the famous roles originated by Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt years before in their only appearance together on screen. She is a film producer searching for the perfect leading man and he is her stage actor husband upset that she considers him to be wrong for the part. She also makes him slightly jealous by looking at only the hunkiest of men, so Plummer decides to disguise himself as an Italian "from the north" who happens to be blonde but obviously not as young as the otherwise actors she considered. It is obvious that she knows the ruse being pulled on her even though she never verbalizes it. Smith gives a soft but sly performance, playing one of her most gently characters, while Plummer gets to chew the scenery a bit, especially in the final quarter which makes little sense. Smith has a sweet moment when she reveals to the disguised Plummer that a woman never reveals the truth about what she thinks of a man in bed, whether it be good or bad.
The stage roots of this story are made all the more obvious because of the fact that Smith and Plummer seem more theatrical than cinematic. Toss in theater legend Adolph Green as Plummer's co-conspirator pal for further evidence of that. Elke Sommer is relatively over the top as the film within the film's leading lady. I enjoyed it overall in spite of some slow moving areas and the situation which carries the plot long after Plummer's facade has been revealed.