The April Fools was one of the strangest movies I've ever seen. I lost track of how many times I asked the television set, "What's wrong with these people?" only to have the answer as, "It's the sixties." If you don't long for the days of blue feather boas, overdone eye makeup, ratted out ridiculous hairdos, and "swingers", you're not going to like this movie.
Jack Lemmon gets a promotion, but instead of an interview at his new boss's house, he finds himself walking into a swinging party. He doesn't fit in, because he's a square-the worst thing in the world to be-but he finally gets into the spirit of things and picks up a beautiful woman, Catherine Denueve. He's married to Sally Kellerman and has a young son, but he decides to play around anyway. What he doesn't know is Catherine is also married, to Peter Lawford, his new boss!
Jack and Catherine spend the first several scenes of the movie dancing in various clubs, not getting to know each other, then miraculously falling in love. They meet an older couple, Myrna Loy and Charles Boyer, and in another sequence of bizarre scenes involving Tarot cards, fencing, and a swimming pool, they decide that the only way to be happy is to leave their spouses and run off to Paris together.
This movie makes no sense, and it isn't very politically correct anymore. Most of the women, besides Catherine, are portrayed as interchangeable, marriage is something dreaded by most of the men in the film, and many of the gags in the last portion of the movie deal with making fun of an alcoholic. The two leads have absolutely no chemistry together, and the script doesn't give the audience any reason to root for them. I'll tell you the only good joke from the movie so you don't have to waste your time: Charles Boyer asks after Jack Lemmon's profession. "I'm on the street," Jack answers, meaning Wall Street. Charles doesn't get the reference and says, "I'm sorry. You'll find something soon."
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. The opening scenes at the party, nightclub, and discotheque are filmed with a combination of swirling camera angles, zooms without warning, and strobe lights.; and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"
Jack Lemmon gets a promotion, but instead of an interview at his new boss's house, he finds himself walking into a swinging party. He doesn't fit in, because he's a square-the worst thing in the world to be-but he finally gets into the spirit of things and picks up a beautiful woman, Catherine Denueve. He's married to Sally Kellerman and has a young son, but he decides to play around anyway. What he doesn't know is Catherine is also married, to Peter Lawford, his new boss!
Jack and Catherine spend the first several scenes of the movie dancing in various clubs, not getting to know each other, then miraculously falling in love. They meet an older couple, Myrna Loy and Charles Boyer, and in another sequence of bizarre scenes involving Tarot cards, fencing, and a swimming pool, they decide that the only way to be happy is to leave their spouses and run off to Paris together.
This movie makes no sense, and it isn't very politically correct anymore. Most of the women, besides Catherine, are portrayed as interchangeable, marriage is something dreaded by most of the men in the film, and many of the gags in the last portion of the movie deal with making fun of an alcoholic. The two leads have absolutely no chemistry together, and the script doesn't give the audience any reason to root for them. I'll tell you the only good joke from the movie so you don't have to waste your time: Charles Boyer asks after Jack Lemmon's profession. "I'm on the street," Jack answers, meaning Wall Street. Charles doesn't get the reference and says, "I'm sorry. You'll find something soon."
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. The opening scenes at the party, nightclub, and discotheque are filmed with a combination of swirling camera angles, zooms without warning, and strobe lights.; and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"