Delightfully Dry

Rating: 8/10 (1 March 2013)

A Film Comedy that at its wits is as dry as a Martini and as a Film Romance it is as plastic as the lifestyle of those it criticizes. A sharp looking and creatively edited piece of the 1960's newly emerging, anti-establishmentarianism.
This was a "new" way to use Cinema, breaking taboos and pandering to the moral shattering of its "hip" audience riding the New Wave of Artistic expression. A timepiece to be sure, its basic storyline of intergenerational sex and rebelliousness without a cause is not as easily approached today as it was in 1967.
The second half and the unfortunately contrived ending are nowhere as good as the first half, but it isn't so bad that it ruins the rest. It just is a bit of a letdown and seems forced and faked. A shame because the best of this is not at all that. It is naturally quirky and overplayed somewhat to give it a biting, surreal feel.
The songs, inventively intersected for the day, now seem overused, if not completely overdone. The performances are spot on and along with the innovative Director have made this a reflection of its time and should be embraced for its fresh, seductive style. But there is a definite weakness in the romantic part of the story and that keeps it from being a great Movie.