 Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
Tony Randall as "Loverboy" puts the moves on his fake-fiancee (Jayne Mansfield) in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?. Introduction: All hail '50s sex comedies! ... No, I normally dislike the genre. For some unfortunate reason, I subjected myself to that awful and criminally overrated How to Marry a Millionaire? twice (as if I didn't lose enough vomit the first time). But to my happy surprise Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? is a unique and unexpectedly funny addition to the genre. I'd even call it a minor gem. Plot overview: Tony Randall plays an advertising writer who fears that he is nearing the end of his career. Not only has his advertising ideas been worthless lately, but the company he works for is about to lose its highest paying client, which peddles lipstick. He complains that he 'can't keep his pipe lit long enough to be a success at anything.' His lovely and understanding fiance (Betsy Drake) encourages him to stick with it. A high profile, platinum blonde movie star (Jayne Mansfield spoofing Marilyn Monroe) comes into town, and Randall's niece (Lili Gentle) happens to be the president of the fan club. Randall comes up with the brilliant idea to have Mansfield sponsor the line of lipstick. Since his niece knows where the actress is staying, he has the inside foot in the door already. Randall visits the movie star, who is in the middle of a phone conversation with her muscle-head boyfriend who stars in Tarzan movies (Mickey Hartigay). She convinces Randall to pretend that he is a socially important business executive. In return, the actress would presumably agree to star in those commercials (although this isn't made explicit). Unexpectedly, the Tarzan star would tell a TV reporter about Mansfield's new boyfriend, and Randall would become an overnight celebrity. His nickname would become 'Loverboy,' and he would even become the latest teenage heartthrob (being chased by mobs of women .......... lucky). So, he has to live with this front despite the obvious objections and trouble from his fiancee, which Randall still wants to honor. Commentary Easily the best aspect of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? is the script. There are more than enough clever moments to make watching this film a joy. Albeit, it wasn't off to a right start. The beginning of the film consists of a string of commercial spoofs, and they all come off as stilted. Sure, some of them sound good on paper (a woman peddles a hair product and combs her hair, which slowly peels off), but the delivery was completely wrong. Granted, it was probably a lot funnier in its day since that style of advertising was actually current. I do enjoy the plot, however, and I sympathize with Randall's character who basically just wants to live an average life! The jokes are more hits than misses, though. These are thanks not just to the script but to Randall's likability and gift for slapstick. I always enjoy watching Tony Randall, and this is another example of his ability. (I had a more-heated-than-necessary debate about Tony Randall's acting abilities once around the time of his death... I know. I'm a nerd.) The funniest parts in this movie, in my opinion, happened when Randall was promoted. He didn't seem to be extremely thrilled to have gotten the promotion at first, but when he was given the key to the executive washroom, it was as though he had just discovered the fountain of youth! Another bit interested me as a Talking Heads fan. It involves Randall donning an oversized suit! One slight nit I have is the scenes in which Randall's fiancee tries to adjust her appearance to compete with Mansfield. At first, she's serious about it (she does so many push ups that she exhausts herself). And then a few scenes later, she's wearing a stuffed bra and making fun of the Mansfield character. It was misleading exactly what she was trying to do. The first part seems sexist, but the second seems anti-sexist. Who knows? And the biggest nit I had is an over baked running gag. Mansfield's high shrills. It's a non verbal noise meant to bring home the fact that she's an air headed blond, but that ear-grating noise is only funny once or twice. It's annoying after that. We hear it a dozen times at least. I do like the moral of the story. At the end of the movie, the main characters revert to pursuing their dreams. (Although, this was played very tongue-in-cheek ... Randall becomes a chicken farmer.) I also adored Randall's charmingly old-fashioned attitude toward his fiancee. Even though he was fake-dating a sex symbol, his character always made it clear that his real affection was for his fiancee. Trivia, etc: It's certainly notable that this movie was selected by the United States Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2000. They only pick 25 movies for preservation each year, so this is an honor! It was deemed "culturally significant," which I assume means that it was chosen as a prime example of a sex comedy. I checked and discovered that How to Marry a Millionaire? has not been preserved! I had no idea they had good taste ... they chose a movie with B-category actors (at best) over one with such star-power and popularity! That might also explain this DVD's unusually clear and high quality picture. I watch a lot of old movies, but this picture was so clear that it was shocking. It was widescreen and in full color. Plus, I watched this on a high def TV! The film's director is Frank Tashlin who's not too notable unfortunately. He did a nice job with this film, usually, but the film's success was more due to the funny script and Randall's screen presence. Tashlin was compared to Preston Sturges after this film's release, but I wouldn't agree with that. The direction seemed flat and notably some of the visual gags didn't work as well as they might have. Randall received top billing in the film, but Mansfield gets top billing in the DVD literature. Obviously, this was done because Mansfield has become a cult figure. She was a playboy centerfold who lived hard and died young. (It's ironic that she shared the same fate as Marilyn Monroe, who she was spoofing in this film.) But in reality, Mansfield isn't in this movie that much----It's Randall's movie from start to finish, and he carries it well. Randall's no cult figure, because he was a B-list actor at best and lived until a ripe old age---long enough to even spoof this sort of role in 2003 with the amusing Down With Love. It's also interesting to note that the film spoofs the poor quality of '50s television sets, and then pans out to prove how superior the picture quality of theaters are. Nobody questioned that, but the '50s movie studios were scared out of their wits that television would lure viewers away from the theaters. This section of the movie was OK funny, but my cynical mind assumes it was big propaganda! Make sure you look for the Groucho Marx cameo. Not that you would miss it. It's obvious. (He chomps a cigar and everything.) Just look forward to it! Concluding remarks: It's not a perfect movie and some of the jokes have either dated with age or were never funny. But most of the jokes are still funny with 21st century eyes, which is much more than you'd expect. It is one of the best '50s sex comedies I've seen (and the Library of Congress backs me up on that). It still doesn't seem like it's that well-known, which makes this a prime candidate for your Netflix queue if you're into this kind of movie. I argue with myself whether this deserves four stars or five stars. The flaws are kind of glaring, but I'm giving this five stars for being better than usual for the genre. Date reviewed: April 1, 2007 FINAL SCORE: A-
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