Netflix can be the bearer of some great surprises every now and again, even if they're really not surprises. You know, you create your queue when you set up your account, then you keep moving items to the top of the queue, then you forget about updating your queue for a while, and BAM! Surprise! Some random movie you totally forgot you added on that first day shows up in your mailbox! Well, that's what happened last week for me. I've had my Netflix account for about 10 months now and there are a ton of films that have yet to make their way to me from my original entries. This next one is one of those....
When I was a little kid, I remember watching a movie with Shirley MacLaine and a bunch of different well-known actors. The story involved how MacLaine would marry some poor sap, then presto! They're rich and famous, and soon to be dead, with Shirley inheriting all their wealth - and it's A LOT. Rather morbid, I know, but I really had a hankering to watch that film again, especially since Paul Newman AND Gene Kelly play two of MacLaine's beaus. It's called What a Way to Go! from 1964 and it proves its quirky, kinda strange nature right at the beginning. What I love about these American comedies that found themselves caught between Old and New Hollywood is how bright and colorful they are. And this film - WOW - is bright. And colorful. Shirley was an established star at this time and well matched with - get this - Dick Van Dyke, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Gene Kelly, Dean Martin, and Bob Cummings. Talk about a line-up - especially for me! A great aspect of the film is the way Shirley explains her marriages to her psychiatrist - in movie terms. With Dick Van Dyke it was a Chaplin silent comedy; with Paul it was a French art house film; with Robert Mitchum it was a lavish, Hollywood production; and with Gene it was - shock - a musical. What a Way to Go! is slightly bizarre, yes, but very entertaining! It's fun, silly, and is a great distraction from all the seriousness in one's life. It was actually nominated for a couple Oscars - one for its Art Direction and the other for its Costumes. And both are really outstanding. And that Gene Kelly segment just might get you in some Singin' in the Rain mood. Add that to your queue, too!
When I was a little kid, I remember watching a movie with Shirley MacLaine and a bunch of different well-known actors. The story involved how MacLaine would marry some poor sap, then presto! They're rich and famous, and soon to be dead, with Shirley inheriting all their wealth - and it's A LOT. Rather morbid, I know, but I really had a hankering to watch that film again, especially since Paul Newman AND Gene Kelly play two of MacLaine's beaus. It's called What a Way to Go! from 1964 and it proves its quirky, kinda strange nature right at the beginning. What I love about these American comedies that found themselves caught between Old and New Hollywood is how bright and colorful they are. And this film - WOW - is bright. And colorful. Shirley was an established star at this time and well matched with - get this - Dick Van Dyke, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Gene Kelly, Dean Martin, and Bob Cummings. Talk about a line-up - especially for me! A great aspect of the film is the way Shirley explains her marriages to her psychiatrist - in movie terms. With Dick Van Dyke it was a Chaplin silent comedy; with Paul it was a French art house film; with Robert Mitchum it was a lavish, Hollywood production; and with Gene it was - shock - a musical. What a Way to Go! is slightly bizarre, yes, but very entertaining! It's fun, silly, and is a great distraction from all the seriousness in one's life. It was actually nominated for a couple Oscars - one for its Art Direction and the other for its Costumes. And both are really outstanding. And that Gene Kelly segment just might get you in some Singin' in the Rain mood. Add that to your queue, too!
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