La señora y sus maridos

A 1960's slightly dark comedy with a whole host of massive names but there is only one star, that is Shirley MacLaine, who is one of the most under-rated actresses of any generation. The main idea of the film is Shirley MacLaine's character is only interested in finding love and hates wealth, and this being a comedy, you can imagine the rest. Well acted with good humour, this is a good comedy film, though not one of MacLaine's best.

To describe WHAT A WAY TO GO as an ultra-light 1960s confection would be an understatement: frothy, foolish, and seeking no more than to be mildly entertaining, it is a classic of its kind and of its era.

The plot is episodic. When multi-millionaire Louisa May Foster tries to give away her money she finds herself slapped onto a psychiatrist's couch--where she details the story of a little girl from the wrong side of the tracks who was only interested in marrying for love. But as fate would have it, every husband she touched turned to gold, and their successes spelled finish to the marriage in no uncertain terms, with each widowhood leaving Louisa even more fabulously wealthy than before. What's a poor little rich girl to do? The charm here is in the cast and the production values. Although she offered considerably more in her most celebrated films, Shirley MacLaine had a remarkable way with light comedy, and she pulls out all the stops as the eternal widow, at times sassy, at times silly, but never less than completely watchable. Her unlikely co-stars--Dean Martin, Dick Van Dyke, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Gene Kelly, Robert Cummings and (in her final film) the amazing Margaret Dumont--are also up to the task.

The humor is both obvious and sly, lampooning various rags-to-riches (or in one case riches-to-riches) stereotypes with a wink, a nod, and now and then an unexpectedly sophisticated bit of wit. The film works best when it gently mocks both itself and the more obvious cinematic conventions of its day, as when Louisa recalls each of her marriages with the words "it was like one of those movies where..." Everything from silent film to musicals gets a poke, and over-budgeted romantic blockbusters suddenly become considerably more comic than you'd ever imagine.

The production values are first rate, and to say there is always something to look at on the screen would be an understatement: they are deliberately and often deliciously over the top--and often as amusing as the performances. (The "Lush Budget" sequence, in which MacLaine changes gowns every few seconds, is particularly witty.) True, the movie is a no-brainer, but it is a fun one. Only a sour-puss could resist! Recommended.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

This was a film which, like many in the old days, used to come on 'regular' commercial television as a weekend matinée. Now, of course, it is nowhere to be found on television and is just itching to be released on home video. In retrospect, it impresses even more as a dark comedy; how much darker can you get when the central character is a four-time widow? And what a cast: Dick Van Dyke at the height of his TV popularity; Paul Newman (one of the biggest movie stars of the 1960's); and veterans Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, and Gene Kelly. And the fantasy vignettes!! Some viewers have commented that they don't like them, but I think they add to the insane atmosphere of the film: MacLaine's union with Newman viewed as a black-and-white, slightly X-rated, Italian film or her life with Kelly imagined as a Hollywood musical (a clever way, incidentally, to show off her own talent as a dancer- not to mention those long, magnificent legs). My favorite one (isn't it everyone's?) is the fantasy sequence with husband Robert Mitchum- which shows off a spectacular Edith Head fashion show. I don't know who is sitting on the rights to this film, but it would be a wonderful gift for the movie-loving public to see this released to the masses ASAP.

"WHAT A WAY TO GO" is the epitome of the lush mid 60's style comedies. Great cast. Shirley MacLaine as Louisa, is a simple girl who longs for the simple life. Although her mother, played by the great Marx Brothers straight woman Margaret Dumont, pushes her to get with the money, Louisa marries for love. Once a little prosperity has touched hubby # 1, he works himself to an early grave. Poor Louisa goes through 3 more husbands who also are devoured by their various forms of greed leading to their demise(s). Finally with husband # 5 , Dean Martin as Leonard Crawley, she has found the simple life...or has she ? As Louella Parsons would have put it : Shirley was never lovelier than in this picture ! Edith Head clothes, and hair by Guilaroff, MacLaine looks wonderful wallowing in her chicest mourning weeds...Best Segment : Hubby #3 Bob Mitchum ........

The premise is amusing - a woman who seeks the simple life, yet inadvertently ends up four times widowed and fabulously wealthy. There is also the charming conceit of each marriage being represented by a stylized mini film within a film. (Alas, these bits are often cut in network airings.) In the end, though, the whole thing devolves into little more than a lavish fashion parade of Edith Head's reported $500,000 worth of creations. And many a time everyone seems to be trying just a bit too hard to be amusing (except for the ever cool Robert Mitchum).

But if there is no real "there , there" cinematically, it doesn't much matter. Not every movie needs to be another "Citizen Kane". Just relax and have fun.