S.O.B. Sois honrados bandidos

People may hate this movie for the exact reason it was made: it blew the facade off Hollywood, exposing it for the cutthroat atmosphere that it is. Both Julie Andrews & Blake Edwards had every reason to hate Hollywood for what they did to them (chastising Blake for his indulgence, boxing Julie into a corner with sticky-sweet roles), so this wicked satire was their way of firing back & people either got the joke & were offended or didn't get it & just hated the movie for what it was. No doubt the film industry had the former reaction, proved by the little publicity the film received. Moviegoers probably thought more the latter, causing it to flop at the box-office & not exactly giving Julie & Blake the better opportunities they were looking for (both have found it difficult to find films outside of the stereotypical ones they made their name with). Some thought the famous breast-baring shots of Julie were gratuitous & shameful, yet they were the point of the film: wanting to evolve in the name of art & being talked out of it in the name of commerce. A movie like S.O.B. might actually play better today because such diatribes against the movie industry by its employees can find an audience who are now much wiser to the evil workings of the business (notice how THE PLAYER & SUNSET BOULEVARD are classics today, recognized as such by the industry they set out to skewer).

Blake Edward's, who had an ax to grind with Hollywood, gets his revenge in this biting (and sometimes cruel) look at tinsel town. I found the film hilarious and one of his best efforts. His real life wife (Julie Andrews) destroyed her "Mary Poppins" image by showing her naked breasts in one scene. This is also William Holden's last screen appearance.

Dark satire about Hollywood; funny at times, but, as others have noted, uneven. A tune-up for Blake Edward's next movie, Victor/Victoria, but worth watching for Robert Preston's very amusing performance alone...

Next to Victor/Victoria, S.O.B. is probably my favorite Blake Edwards film. I'm not a great fan of his movies, but when his films are funny, they're usually hilarious. This movie has its fair share of laugh out loud moments that more than make up for some of the slow and less-well-scripted parts. It features a number of wonderful, if sometimes over-the-top, performances by many well-known performers. Most of the scenery chewing is very well in tune with the theme of this Hollywood harpooning. Given the ever-increasingly cynical nature of movie producing, some of S.O.B.'s elements even seem quaint.

The Viking send-off is one of my all-time most memorable movie scenes, and the fact that this is also William Holden's last role gives this section an added air of sadness.

Director Felix Farmer (Richard Mulligan) directs a kids movie with his wife Sally Miles (Julie Andrews) in it. It bombs and Felix goes crazy. However he thinks he can save the movie by having Sally bare her breasts.

Vicious satire on Hollywood. Writer/director Blake Edwards just lashes out at Hollywood and all its executives. He also got a very talented cast in it--there's William Holden (in his last film), Robert Preston, Larry Hagman, Robert Vaughn, Shelly Winters, Loretta Swit and Robert Webber. They're all enjoying themselves and it rubs off on the audience. They're all good but Holden and Preston are excellent. This is primarily known as the film where Julie Andrews swears AND bares her breasts but it's got more going for it then just shock value. It does derail at the end getting way too dark and morbid but most of the way through it's a lot of fun. This was not a big hit which is too bad but I think it was too cruel for mainstream audiences.