How could you take several Hollywood stars at the peak of their success - Dick van Dyke had just made Mary Poppins, Ethel Merman had just made It's a Mad, Mad... World, etc. - and turn out something so lame? I don't know, but that's what happened here.
Some of these actors, all BIG names in the 1960s, must have been downright embarrassed to do what they were asked to do here, especially the women. Angie Dickinson, who was never more beautiful than here, is reduced to little more than a slinky body with no brain. Elke Sommer. Little more than that.
It's not much better on the male side. Van Dyke is constantly bumping into things and people. Garner starts the movie without a shirt, and isn't given much more than that in the scenes that follow.
The basic premise - that art sells better once the artist is dead - was a cliché even then, disproved by artists such as Picasso whom the movie mentions more than once.
Things move from one cliché to the next.
It just isn't funny, unless you can laugh when someone hits their head on the same ceiling beam for the tenth time.
Watch it if you want. All of these performers gave much better performances in other movies. It's no wonder it was a flop at the box office in the 1960s, even with all this star power and several very attractive actresses.
Some of these actors, all BIG names in the 1960s, must have been downright embarrassed to do what they were asked to do here, especially the women. Angie Dickinson, who was never more beautiful than here, is reduced to little more than a slinky body with no brain. Elke Sommer. Little more than that.
It's not much better on the male side. Van Dyke is constantly bumping into things and people. Garner starts the movie without a shirt, and isn't given much more than that in the scenes that follow.
The basic premise - that art sells better once the artist is dead - was a cliché even then, disproved by artists such as Picasso whom the movie mentions more than once.
Things move from one cliché to the next.
It just isn't funny, unless you can laugh when someone hits their head on the same ceiling beam for the tenth time.
Watch it if you want. All of these performers gave much better performances in other movies. It's no wonder it was a flop at the box office in the 1960s, even with all this star power and several very attractive actresses.