Cheap Paris When It Sizzles (DVD) (Richard Quine) Price

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Customer Reviews of Paris When It Sizzles

Overly Broad Farce Doesn't Show Off Hepburn or Holden in the Best Light
Even though this 1964 comedy is not a complete misfire, this is not remotely my favorite movie of either Audrey Hepburn or William Holden. A decade after their initial coupling in Billy Wilder's class-conscious romantic soufflé, "Sabrina", the two stars are re-teamed under the far more heavy-handed direction of Richard Quine in an overly contrived, intermittently funny screenplay by George Axelrod. The result feels like the old-style French farce upon which it is based but with the artificial veneer of 1960's Hollywood studio product (even though it was filmed primarily on Paris sound stages). That's a shame since Hepburn and Holden can be game farceurs when properly motivated, but here they are unfortunately made to play more broadly than usual with an over-reliance on their screen personas. <
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>The frothy plot centers on aging Hollywood screenwriter Richard Benson, who is holed up in Paris attempting to beat the deadline set forth by big-time producer Alexander Meyerheim to finish his latest screenplay. Benson has to hand in the completed script in two days, but the problem is that he hasn't even started since he has been busy boozing and womanizing in typical alpha-male fashion. He hires impressionable Gabrielle Simpson as his live-in secretary and becomes inspired to write the aptly named "The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower" (complete with an opening theme from Frank Sinatra). The rest of the movie goes back and forth between the reality of the impending deadline at Richard's apartment and the fantasy scenes of the screenplay coming to life. <
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>There is no suspense as to how it will end, but it does have its charms with some silly spy-caper turns and cameo appearances by Marlene Dietrich in a walk-on, Noel Coward as Meyerheim, and a particularly amusing Tony Curtis as Gabrielle's Method-style actor boyfriend. At 110 minutes, the movie feels overlong, and the film is visually hamstrung by phony backdrops and studio sets typical of the period. Right between "Charade" and "My Fair Lady", Hepburn is never less than charming here, while Holden keeps his innate hamminess in check. However, neither seems especially challenged by the comic proceedings. The only extra on the 2001 DVD is the original theatrical trailer.

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Spare Us While it Fizzles
I'm a big William Holden fan. For a major star of the late 40's and 50's he doesn't have a large stock of motion pictures playing the Late Show or TCM. Thus I watch 'em when I can and I figured "Paris When it Sizzles" would be at least an average Holden-quality movie. Unfortunately, it isn't; at least not by my standards. <
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>The concept is interesting; a once great film writer has a deadline on a script the day after tommorrow and he hasn't even begun. A typist is sent to help him "finish" and after some romantic fencing, they get down to crunch time. Their hasty ideas appear before us on the screen in a wide range of false starts and repeats. Eventually, we have to ask ourselves if they finished their task or was "Paris When it Sizzles" their final script (with the "joke" being on us). Along the way, I found myself caring not so much HOW it was going to end so long as it DID end. Holden has that great glib voice of his but there wasn't much of note coming from it. In the interst of trying to find something positive to say, I'll spare my opinions of Audrey Hepburn. On the positive note, this was one of the best performances I've seen by Tony Curtis. His was the one character that, however briefly, managed to really crack me up. <
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>I've alluded to it earlier and I'll close by stating it more directly; "Paris When it Sizzles" appears to me to be the result of a writer who had to put something together in two days while balancing that time with fun and games.

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love it!
a diamond in the rough! very silly with lots of twists! you will enjoy it!