Doctor, You’ve Got to Be Kidding!

In the opening moments of the film, we see perky but very pregnant Heather Halloran (Sandra Dee) being rushed to the hospital by her three suitors and her mother.  As the film plays out in flashback, we discover how she got into this predicament and who the real father is.  Is it Pat (Dick Kallman), the boozy musical arranger?  Or the hilariously named Dick Bender (Bill Bixby), the play-boy next door?  Or Hank (Dwayne Hickman), the shoe salesman/aspiring actor?  And then there’s her attractive but robotic and uptight boss (George Hamilton).  And what will become of Heather’s singing career, a move that’s pushed on her for her entire life by her mother (Celeste Holm)?

I had braced myself for a pretty awful experience based on the IMDb rating, but it really isn’t that horrible.  It’s true that much of the humor feels forced.  Gags are plentiful but many of them land with a thud.  The appearance by Mort Sahl as the cynical nightclub manager doesn’t help much (again I find that these “classic” comedians are rarely all they’re cracked up to be).  Director Peter Tewksbury tries to spice things up with bits of business like freeze-frames and fantasy sequences but a lot of it feels like throwing stuff at a wall to see what sticks.  And yes, there is something dated about the whole thing.  Dee is trying to shake off her wholesome reputation (“Look at me, I’m Sandra Dee/Lousy with virginity”) but her character, and the film in general, is pretty chaste for 1967.  Also, Hank takes Heather to what appears to be a beatnik club.

But I dunno, there’s something a bit charming about it.  Dee doesn’t sing that well and doesn’t really act that well either, but she does have a certain quality that suits this kind of goofball comedy.  Maybe it’s kinda stupid, but it’s a light, breezy, come-along-for-the-ride stupid.  Holm is somewhat fun, and although Hamilton is going through the motion, he actually pulls off one or two really funny moments.  Kallman, Bixby and Hickman are playing simplistic archetypes but none of them are terrible.  I guess what I’m saying is that it’s forced, dated nonsense, but it’s easily palatable nonsense.  If a lot of it doesn’t work comedically, at least none of it made me groan.  I’m not recommending it or anything, but you could do a lot worse.  Trekkies take note: Nichelle Nichols has a small role.  Rating: Fair

IMDb