Smokey the Bear says..."Only you can help preserve our precious bodily fluids."

Rating: Null/10 (12 March 2004)

Being a Stanley Kubrick creation, one can expect an artistic and multi-layered film with the usual abnormality in the screenplay. Needless to say, this one takes the cake. Packed with a plethora of Freudian innuendo, Dr. Strangelove is sure to keep you laughing and thinking throughout its duration.
The story takes place during the arms race of the Cold War and features Sterling Hayden who plays the role of Gen. Jack D. Ripper, an eccentric all-American cowboy on brink of madness. In a desperate attempt to oppose communist oppression and preserve the `precious bodily fluids' of the American people, he orders an unauthorized nuclear attack on the U.S.S.R. Getting word of this maniacal act, U.S. President Merkin Muffley (Peter Sellers) holds a meeting with his advisors. There he finds out that the Soviets also have a trick up their sleeve, a `doomsday' device set to destroy all life on earth. With only hours remaining, man's very existence rests solely in President Muffley's hands. Can the bombers be stopped from setting off the end of mankind while still preserving our precious bodily fluids? All this and more in this comedic mockery brought to you by the one and only Stanley Kubrick.

This black and white farce exploits our `strange love' to nuclear arms in a relaxed but hilarious manner. It's main strength came from its characters. Each one had individuality and life. Peter Sellers was absolutely hilarious as the president, particularly in his lengthy and somewhat feminine phone conversation between him and his Soviet counterpart. It was rich with originality, peculiarity, and comedic timing. His other roles as British Group Captain Lionel Mandrake and Dr. Strangelove, a German physicist/genius, were just as comedic, but were more over the top and energetic, which not only added a strong contribution to the film's entertainment value, but also revealed Sellers' versatility in comedic acting. Sterling Hayden was also very interesting to watch as he played the psychotic Gen. Jack D. Ripper. He preserved a very dominant, loud and peculiar persona throughout the film that was far from dull. His paranoia of the communists conspiring to pollute the `precious bodily fluids' of the American people opened doors for humorous dialogue and physical bits in the film that kept the laughs rolling.
Another strength this film had was the film's overall flow of dialogue and imagery. Kubrick's masterful control on the film's story helped it evolve from a very delicate and tense situation involving nuclear arms, communist prejudice and a doomsday device to a side-splitting turn of events revolving around sexual innuendos anddare I saybody fluids?
Laughable as well as enjoyable, Dr. Strangelove is for anyone who likes comedy that's 3-dimensional and in depth. This film has a lot of symbolism and sexual innuendo which surprisingly enough is easy to spot if you think like the average hormone-driven teen, but keep in mind that this film is not for the simple minded.