It starts off well with some nice visual comedy, courtesy of director Bud Yorkin. I especially like the husband and wife post dinner party, pre bed time quarrel, sans dialogue, with the soundtrack provided by slammed closet doors and clothes drawers, aggressive tooth brushing and manic exercise. I also liked the mutual bank withdrawl scene with the soon to be split up couple oblivious of the other's presence.
However, about thirty minutes in Yorkin yields to his scenarist, Norman Lear, and the movie starts to over reach, both for black comedy and yucks and, in the process, prove that you can take the writer (Lear) out of sit com but you can't take sit com out of the writer. Performances tend to mirror this problem. For every Jean Simmons, etching a subtle study in mid age loneliness, there is an over the top Jason Robards trying too hard to do the same thing. As for the two leads, Debbie Reynolds does much with little (i.e. Lear doesn't give her many good lines) while Dick Van Dyke seems content to play a slightly darker Rob Petrie. The result is a too long, occasionally funny and not very satisfying film. C plus.
However, about thirty minutes in Yorkin yields to his scenarist, Norman Lear, and the movie starts to over reach, both for black comedy and yucks and, in the process, prove that you can take the writer (Lear) out of sit com but you can't take sit com out of the writer. Performances tend to mirror this problem. For every Jean Simmons, etching a subtle study in mid age loneliness, there is an over the top Jason Robards trying too hard to do the same thing. As for the two leads, Debbie Reynolds does much with little (i.e. Lear doesn't give her many good lines) while Dick Van Dyke seems content to play a slightly darker Rob Petrie. The result is a too long, occasionally funny and not very satisfying film. C plus.