Customer Reviews

Good Neighbor Sam

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This movie should be on DVD. Anyone that enjoys Jack Lemmon in comedy will thoroughly love this one. Fans of Doris Day and Rock Hudson comedies should enjoy it too. For that matter anyone that enjoys any of the comedies from the 1940s to 1970s will probably like it. This is one of Lemmon's best comedies. Be sure and catch this on TV since you can't find it at rental stores any longer and they unfortunately have not shown the wisdom to put it on DVD yet.

The plot is that Lemmon, who is married, has a married neighbor that needs him to pretend to be her husband to get an estate settlement. When her real husband comes home things get screwy as jealousy and trying to cover each others stories leads to some wacky chase scenes and painting billboards all over town. A good cast, decent writing, funny action, and good look at 1960s style comedy, make this fun to watch.

I am a HUGE Jack Lemmon fan and this has to be in my humble opinion, for what it's worth, one of Jack's funniest movies. I originally saw it on TV while growing up during the 60's. If memory serves me correctly, I believe Lemmon regretted making this movie and considered it one of his worst. That said... I happen to think it is hilarious, filled with a great cast and memorable scenes of the old Hertz commercials showing bloopers of the ads being filmed of the Hertz man being lowered through the air into a moving car, continually tripping over something whether it be the seat, windshield, or whatever as he is lowered into the car.

Jack Lemmon plays Sam Bissell who is married to Min (Dorothy Provine). He is an employee who works at the bottom entry level of a major Advertising Agency when suddenly he is chosen as an unknown and fresh candidate to be the Account Executive by the head of the Agency's powerful client, "Nurdlinger Dairy" to be their model of what they stand for: wholesome and family-oriented.

Min's beautiful European friend Janet (Romy Schneider) suddenly shows up on Sam & Min's doorstep after separating - and I think, technically divorced - from her husband (played by Mike Connors - formerly "Mannix"). Janet moves into the house next door then learns that her grandfather has died and left her an inheritance of $15 million IF she meets the qualifications of being happily married. Enter Janet's relatives who want in on the inheritance and contest the Will unexpectedly show up at Janet's. The $15 million proves too irresistible to Janet so during the introduction between her relatives, Sam & Min she impulsively introduces Sam as her husband.

To convince Sam (& hesitant Min) to agree to let Sam play her husband until the legal hearing, she offers to share a portion of her inheritance to them. Min hesitantly goes along with the plan. But things get really complex when Janet is falsely introduced to the owner of Nurdlinger Dairy as Sam's wife. The pressure is on when Janet's suspicious relatives hire Louie Nye as a private investigator to find out if Sam is truly exactly who Janet claims him to be--her husband.

Louie the P.I. camps out across the street in a truck disguised as a vacuum-related business. On the truck a vacuum is mounted on top with the vacuum serving as a periscope vessel to enable Louie to spy on them day and night.

It gets even more complicated when Janet's tentatively-divorced husband returns to reconcile but by now, pictures have been unknowingly taken of Sam & Janet for the Nurdlinger Dairy advertisement billboards which are now displayed all over town. And the race is on.

This is a funny movie and will guarantee a lot of laughs.

This Jack Lemon comedy is sheer delight from beginning to end. There are no movies being made like this today! However, it seems to me that every sit-com in history copied some aspect of Good Neighbor Sam. So, why is there no DVD?

I like Jack Lemmon and of the movies of his that I have seen Good Neighbor Sam is my favorte and I'm very disappointed that this movie hasn't been put on DVD yet. Please put out a widescreen DVD for this very funny and cute movie!

Oh man, watching Louie Nye hanging out the door of that T-Bird and screaming like an 8 year old girl was the funniest thing I've seen in a while.

Jack Lemmon plays his usual obsequious nobody that is thrust into situation after twisted situation impacting everything in his world until he finally goes POW with the "fulminator mercury." Along with the beautiful Dorothy Provine and Romy Schneider all chasing a $15M inheritance while dodging snoopy relatives, detectives, billboards, boxsprings, and pacifying bosses, clients, and ex-husbands. Just hysterical. 5 Ducks

This is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. Jack Lemmon was a VERY funny comic actor in the 50's and 60's. This is one of his better roles. The movie has a classic 60's retro feel to it: colorful, clever plot, funny supporting characters. Why oh why can't they make movies like this anymore???

Jack Lemmon is always at his best playing the average joe trying to make everybody happy. This movie is best enjoyed as part of a trilogy, along with "How to Murder Your Wife", and "Under the Yum Yum Tree" Buy them all. It's also interesting to see Marin County in the 1960's, when it was a new suburb. Contrast it to Marin County in the 1970's as seen in ""Serial", with Martin Mull.

A silly story, yet entertaining. The underdog splash for success with "help" from friends. Jack Lemmon is extremely whitty. Well matched cast. I truly enjoy the flash from the past clothes and how dressed up people once were. A true nostalgia step. If you want a "no brainer" entertaining classic film this is it.

WHERE IS THE DVD FOR THIS WONDERFUL COMEDIC MASTERPIECE ONE OF JACK LEMMONS BEST!!!!!!!!!!
GET BUSY AND MAKE A DVD

This is a review of the DVD. The image quality of this DVD is excellent. The colors and sharpness appear to be just as bright and clear as the day the movie was first released in the theaters. The DVD is the movie only. There are no extras of any kind. The only bit of strangeness is that when the movie first loads up, the screen says "Disk Two." I imagine that the manufacturer probably broke up all the disks that came from "The Jack Lemmon Collection" set of DVDs and is releasing the individual disks.

I won't bother with re-telling the story line, other reviewers have taken care of that. I will say that this is a "must own" for any true Jack Lemmon fan and any fan of just plain old fun movies. For those who are old enough to remember the 1960s, as I am, the movie is also a fun trip down memory lane for styles, fashion, and cars. I especially loved grandma's black Corvette Stingray.