Product: Unfaithfully Yours (1984)
Rating: 3.0
"Unfaithfully Yours" Is Remade In Good "Faith"
I'm not exactly sure which version of "Unfaithfully Yours" I've seen first, but the original Preston Sturges verison is my favorite among his films, which is a pretty large order considering this is the same man who directed "The Palm Beach Story" and "The Lady Eve".Given my feelings towards the original I wasn't sure if I'd like this remake. It has almost become a Hollywood rule remakes are never on par with the originals. Just as sequels are not as good as the original.Howard Zieff's "Unfaithfully Yours" is a nice exception. I admit I don't think it's quite as good as the Sturges film (that one I would give 4 stars) it is still entertaining and funny at moments. I thought the absence of Preston Sturges would cause a decrease in the comedic possibilities, but, I forgot how good Dudley Moore and Albert Brooks are.Moore plays Claude Eastman a famous conductor who suspects his much younger wife Daniella (Nastassja Kinski) is cheating on him after the thought is first put into his head when a misunderstanding between Claude and his friend Norman (Albert Brooks) takes place and Norman thought Claude wanted him to hire a detective to watch his wife while Claude was out of town.Howard Zieff is not exactly what I would call a great director, he was the man behind "The Main Event" and the "My Girl" films, but, he strings things together nicely here. The script, while perhaps not as funny as Sturges' is not completely a dud. Barry Levinson had a hand in the remake, so expects some funny bits.One of my favorite scenes is at the restaurant when Moore "thinks" Armand Assante is confronting him about having an affair with his wife, and the start a dueling violin contest of Tchaikovsky.Also I should mention I the film's one advantage. In the scene dealing with Moore's plan to kill his wife it's set-up much funnier.Bottom-line:Remake of the classic Preston Sturges comedy is not exactly as good as the original but offers its own nice moments. Good performances by Moore and Brooks (who isn't used enough).