Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)
Director: Billy Wilder
Starring: Dean Martin, Kim Novak, Ray Walston
Synopsis:
In order to shield his wife from a womanizing nightclub singer, an insanely jealous composer and his friend hire a bar girl to pose as his wife and take one for the team so that they can sell a song or two.
Impressions:
This movie caused a fair bit of controversy during its day. It's rather tame by today's standards and I have a hard time believing it was particularly shocking to most audiences when it came out except for the most stridently conservative. Anyway, it's generally a funny movie, though it often veers toward cringe comedy, which is one of the comic strains I like least. Dean Martin is amusing as a (slightly) fictionalized and exaggerated version of himself, Kim Novak is good as Polly Pistol and Ray Walston is pretty entertaining as protagonist Orville Spooner. The soundtrack is also pretty good. I particularly like the tune that plays during Orville's fits of jealousy. Also, Mel Blanc has a live-action cameo as the dentist, which is kinda neat. It's a bit hit-or-miss, all told, but it's funny enough to warrant a watch.
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