Customer Reviews

That's Life!

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a great movie but unfortunately this DVD version is very poor indeed. The picture quality is sad. It seems all that was done was the transfer of the video print on to DVD. The picture is even un-steady during the final credits scene. The sound is mono. No extras to this DVD at all. If you own the video of this film don't bother to purchase this DVD. On top of all of this, the price of this DVD is the same as most other DVDs that contain remastered prints, stereo sound, and extras. This is a very good film and it deserves a quality release, not this cheaply done version.

The main character, Harvey Fairchild, is an ARCHITECT. This is critical to the story and to much of the dialog.

My wife and I love this film; it's witty, fun, sad, and relevant to our world today. It's really about a man's mid-life crisis and his revelation about what is REALLY important in life, like family, love, admitting to yourself that you're human.

If ever there was a movie director in Hollywood who knew how to use the "scope" aspect ratio to perfection, it's Blake Edwards! So when Pioneer/Artisan decided to release this very interesting film in pan and scan format only, they managed to ruin it completely! Every single camera setup clearly tells me that this was not the vision of Mr. Edwards and his camera crew, so why bother to watch? As far as I'm concerned, I find this DVD defective, and - thankfully - that is also the opinion of my dealer. A big boo to Pioneer and Artisan!

I gather Blake Edwards set out to make a "small movie" here. He enlisted his real-life wife, daughter and step-daughter, brought old buddy (and star of his classic "Days of Wine and Roses") Jack Lemmon aboard and provided parts for Lemmon's wife (Felicia Farr) and son. Farr, it may be said, lucks out if anyone does--she doesn't play one of the neurotic family members--although it appears that she has a several little problems of her own.

Does it work at all? Well, the first time I saw this movie, I HATED it. Since Lemmon's death last summer, I have been sort of running my own little "Jack Lemmon film festival" whenver I think of it, and upon re-view, it's not half bad. Seeing Lemmon's character wrestle with his mortality strikes me as poignant now after the actor's actual death. Equally eerie in its way, is seeing Julie Andrews character, a professional singer, struggling with potentially devestating vocal problems--and in her own stoic way, her own mortality.

The improvisational storyline is the real problem with this film, however. It's rather undeveloped. Lemmon typically needs a broader canvas than Edwards provides him here. He is intense here as in "Days..." but to lesser effect. He's all wound up with no place special to go. We've seen Lemmon do this kind of shtick before ("Tribute" comes to mind), and like Julie Andrews' Gillian in this movie, we feel like telling him to snap out of it--or we're leaving!

Hello. I just wanted to share my oppinion about this dvd. I simply loved it. Julie Andrews is simply stunningly spectacular in this movie. Imagine a woman struggling with her own problems while she is trying to keep her, quite selfish, man happy and dealing with her adult children's lives. It is really quite hilarious. This movie is also serious, the themes is death, cancer and familyaffairs. If you like Julie Andrews I promise this movie will definetly be something for you.

First of all, I don't understand why this wonderful film hasn't been released as a DVD. I just read a review of this film, and wondered if we had seen the same film. Hard to follow, uncohesive were implied. As is well known,this is the only semi-autobiographical film of Mr. Edwards. It's about a man turning 60 and having a difficult time coming to terms with this transition. His wife is played by the beautiful and talented (and his real-life wife) Julie Andrews. At the same time she is planning her husband's big day, she is finding out from her doctor if the vocal polyps he has discovered are cancerous. As Dame Andrews did go through a similar experience, and basically had to stop singing, this is as real as it gets. The film is helped, as if it needed it, by having their offspring, including Jack Lemmon's son Chris Lemmon, play the pair's offspring. Of course, it has a happy ending. And there are some very funny and touching parts. It's a must see. Come on, Julie Andrews and Jack Lemmon in a Blake Edward's film. It definitely doesn't dissapoint and rarely gets better than this.

I love this movie made me laugh and CRY...only because I could see the way Julie was hurting. Who to know it was to come true years later???? This is one of my favorite one of hers... A must see for everyone who loves Julie

LOVE this movie. Depicts male menopause to a T (no offense to the men-folk here, my dh loves it, too.) It's very well done, builds tension well, and has many interesting characters.

Jack Lemmon plays a character who is reaching his 6oth birthday and is convinced he's dying. He becomes sort of a raving spoiled maniac, totally neglecting his long-suffering wife (Julie Andrews) who really IS dying and knows it but keeps it to herself. (Kind of; the ending is a bit of a surprise.) Lemmon's antics seem to go on too long and become tiring, and Andrews's stoicism is a bit too strong to believe. But the movie is effective in spots and is not a total disaster.

Jack Lemmon drove me crazy, and as usual, Julie Andrews is the tolerant, long-suffering spouse. This movie gave me the opportunity to see what these actors real life children look like. The storyline should have focused more on the wife's emotional state instead of the husband's hyperchondria. With the exception of the beach scene and the party, Julie Andrews' character keeps her emotions locked up inside. I felt sorry for her. There were, however, some very funny scenes.