I loved Ann Margaret in Viva Las Vegas, but found her trying to be a teenager a bit annoying in this musical...even though there was a glimmer of Viva in her dance number towards the end.
I am also a big Dick Van Dyke fan, I think he absolutely shines in musicals like Mary Poppins...but I feel he is really underutilized in this film.
The real stars are Janet Leigh as Rosie and Paul Lynde as the father Harry McAfee.
The general story is that a big teen Elvis-like heartthrob has been drafted into the military and songwriter Albert F. Peterson, with the help of his secretary/fiancee writes a song called "last kiss" that he is going to sing and then bestow a kiss on a wholesome Ohio girl from his fan club. And the lucky winner is Kim McAfee, only she has just been pinned by her boyfriend Hugo, who isn't too thrilled with the idea.
There are some side stories around Albert's mother, but otherwise it is a pretty straightforward plot. The songs were kind of mediocre as was the dancing.
I am a big musical fan and can honestly say there are much better musicals out there, I am not sure how this one did as well as it did. Sadly, not a recommendation from me. I particularly hated the little girl voice used by Ann Margaret, to make herself seem younger. I also thought the one girl, one boy number was really derivative of the "sixteen going on seventeen" number from The Sound of Music.
I am also a big Dick Van Dyke fan, I think he absolutely shines in musicals like Mary Poppins...but I feel he is really underutilized in this film.
The real stars are Janet Leigh as Rosie and Paul Lynde as the father Harry McAfee.
The general story is that a big teen Elvis-like heartthrob has been drafted into the military and songwriter Albert F. Peterson, with the help of his secretary/fiancee writes a song called "last kiss" that he is going to sing and then bestow a kiss on a wholesome Ohio girl from his fan club. And the lucky winner is Kim McAfee, only she has just been pinned by her boyfriend Hugo, who isn't too thrilled with the idea.
There are some side stories around Albert's mother, but otherwise it is a pretty straightforward plot. The songs were kind of mediocre as was the dancing.
I am a big musical fan and can honestly say there are much better musicals out there, I am not sure how this one did as well as it did. Sadly, not a recommendation from me. I particularly hated the little girl voice used by Ann Margaret, to make herself seem younger. I also thought the one girl, one boy number was really derivative of the "sixteen going on seventeen" number from The Sound of Music.