Critic's Choice (1963)

A New York theater critic (Bob Hope) is known for his delight in writing clever if negative reviews of plays. But when his wife (Lucille Ball) not only writes a play but gets it produced on Broadway, he finds himself in a dilemma. If he writes a bad review, it could impact his marriage. Based on the play by Ira Levin (ROSEMARY'S BABY) and directed by Don Weis (LOOKING FOR LOVE). The play (with Henry Fonda in Hope's role) was only a middling success running just over six months. The concept is interesting and I can see why the film makers thought they could make a successful film comedy with Hope and Ball. They didn't. They didn't solve the problem of the weak material but the casting is off. Hope is a comedian, not an actor and although the movie rewrites some of the play to allow for some broad comedy, it backfires. Hope has an extended drunk scene and he's just terrible (it's got to be a career lowpoint) and suddenly his smart character is turned into a buffoon. As an actress who does comedy rather than a comic (as she often pointed out), Ball fares better but she can't survive the material either. It has its moments but not enough to hold it together. With Rip Torn, Marilyn Maxwell, Marie Windsor, John Dehner, Soupy Sales, Jessie Royce Landis, Jim Backus, Dorothy Green and Joan Shawlee.