Un favor muy especial

This is one of many ROCK HUDSON sex comedies made in the 60's. It's all talk and no do, like the others. Pure formula from start to finish with Rock hired to "teach" the Leslie Caron character about life in the bedroom. Some funny moments and Caron is delicious, but bogs down toward the end and becomes to contrived for its own good. Look for some familiar character actors such as Dick Shawn as a nerdy fiancé' Larry Storch as a cab driver and George Furth in a barroom scene. The always excellent Nita Talbot has a nice role as one of Mr. Hudsons many man hungry females. For a nice confection, it's worth a view. Now on DVD with HAS ANYBODY SEEN MY GAL.

Charles Boyer asks Rock Hudson for "A Very Special Favor," a 1965 film starring Leslie Caron, Walter Slezak, Dick Shawn, Nita Talbot and Larry Storch. Boyer is Michel Boullard, a man estranged from his cold, rigid daughter, a psychiatrist, Lauren Boullard (Caron) engaged to a wimp (Shawn). Impressed by his colleague Paul Chadwick's (Hudson) success with women, he asks Paul to seduce his daughter. However, Michel then reconnects with his daughter and, becoming angry with Paul, turns against him and works with Lauren to extract revenge on his mistreatment of her. This involves inventing a lover for Lauren, a bullfighter named El Magnifico and convincing Paul he's lost it in the sack.

Paul finally catches on and enlists a female friend who isn't getting any at the moment (Nita Talbot) and has her impersonate a man so that Lauren will think he's now gay.

I notice people on the board have all kinds of theories why this film isn't on DVD except that now, of course, it is. It also isn't the only time this inside joke was used in a Rock Hudson film, if anyone recalls his description to Doris Day about her boyfriend in "Pillow Talk." "Well, there are some men...who live with their mothers..." etc. I'm sure that in those days (unlike today) Hudson's private life was safe enough that no one thought twice about using something like this in a script. Everyone probably thought it was pretty funny.

These sex comedies were all the rage in the '60s, and this one has its moments, with Hudson and Caron very good in their roles and surrounded by excellent people. In one of the first scenes, Boyer and Slezak, two suicides in real life, embrace - it really didn't get the comedy off to a good start for me. But they're both delightful, Boyer moving from romantic leads to the father roles still possessing that wonderful, easy charm he had. Slezak was a very versatile actor who could go from playing an invincible Nazi in "Lifeboat" to a role like this. Nita Talbot is one of my favorite actresses of all time - seeing her made me nostalgic for the old days.

If you like this type of comedy, at which Hudson really excelled, you'll enjoy this one. This is on a DVD set of some of the more obscure Hudson films such as "Has Anybody Seen My Gal," and the collection shows the trajectory of his career from young supporting player to lead. The fact that Hudson has since been "outed" shouldn't make his work any less enjoyable. He was, after all, doing what he was hired to do - act.

Rock Hudson is at his best when it comes to romantic comedy. Their is excellent chemistry with the cast of this film. This movie should be on everyone's agenda to see if ever it becomes available. There are a lot of enjoyable laughs and you come away from it feeling good. It will definitely lift your spirits.

I am reviewing the DVD I saw, which combined two "Rock Hudson" movies under the heading "Rock Hudson collection". 2 movies for the price of 1? Bring'em on! The first film: "Any Body Seen My Gal", is a Douglas Sirk comedy I had never heard of. Yet…I found this film to be a pleasure from beginning to the end! It is 1952 and Rock Hudson is very handsome and so young, and the whole movie (story, 1930s setting, colors, the ensemble cast of actors) is a delight to watch. What an enchanting piece of movie-making, with dark existential realities behind the apparent lightness. The second film ("A Very Special Favor") is a mixed bag. Because it was made in 1965, its first 30 minutes are a must-see priceless candy bordering on parody (except it is the real stuff, ah ah!): 60s decor, 60s orchestral music, Pink Panther-style opening credits, rear view projections in "Paris" or "New York", sexual banter, witty dialogue, split screens, Yves Saint Laurent dresses. After these first 30 minutes, however, the story line veers off into a war of the sexes theme that makes a modern viewer cringe, even though the film still has some very funny scenes. Rock Hudson, Charles Boyer and Walter Slezak are excellent. Leslie Caron is probably miscast.

"A Very Special Favor" has a very clever idea for a movie plot. Oh, sure, it's strange, even weird, and hardly believable. But that's the kind of stuff that often makes for wonderful comedies. And, this could have been such - with the screenplay and very funny dialog, and supporting cast. But there's a big problem with the film that actually detracts from the humorous schemes and dialog of Charles Boyer's Michel Boullard. It may be two parts of a problem, or two separate problems.

The first and biggest one is Leslie Caron as Dr. Lauren Boullard. In her women's suits, professional demeanor and wise, controlled persona, Caron is about as attractive as a mackerel in the market. And she is as exciting, alive, and believable as an alluring pursuit of Rock Hudson's Paul Chadwick, as a wet fish. She never loses this persona at any time, so that in each scene with Chadwick, any attraction seems impossible. The second minus for the film is related to the first - there is absolutely zero chemistry between Hudson and Caron.

Again, there is very funny dialog between Hudson's and Boyer's characters and others. And Boyer's schemes and reversals are hilarious. Doris Day would have been perfect for the part of Dr. Lauren Boullard. With a couple of strokes of the pen, she could have been the American-born daughter of Michel's American wife who left him or who died.

As is, the unattractive, cold fish character of Caron's Dr. Boullard is a real turn-off for this film. The absence of any spark between her and Hudson's Chadwick is all over the screen, and his slight show of interest isn't at all believable. Leslie Caron had a marked beauty about her, and she was very attractive in many films. But not so in this one. Universal really needed to do a makeover of the leads for the cast here.

The ending of this film is a surprise and almost shouts for the female lead to have been Doris Day. It could have been a real funny and good closing. Instead, it puts a nail in the coffin of disbelief in the story.

But for the superb script and very good comedy provided mostly by Hudson, Boyer and Walter Slezak as Etienne, this film wouldn't even rate four stars. When fans had been flocking to Rock Hudson movies, especially his comedy romances, this film had just $4.5 million in box office ticket sales. It barely covered its budget, if that, in a year that had blockbuster films such as "The Sound of Music" ($145 million box office), "Doctor Zhivago" ($127 million box office), and four comedies that had $20 to $38 million at the box office.

I don't think that Rock Hudson's scheme of pretending to be gay (which he was in real life) had anything to do with this film almost tanking. In 1959's "Pillow Talk," Hudson's Brad Allen schemes over the phone with Doris Day to make her think the Texan she has met and is dating (a role he assumed when he met Day's Jan Morrow by chance) is an effeminate momma's boy. It was done with great humor and didn't stop that film from being a box office hit.

I'm not one who thinks of movies as occasionally miscast. But this one surely is an exception. Here are some funny lines from this film.

Arnold Plum, "I was a mess. And the sad thing is, I never knew it. She had to point it out to me."

Paul Chadwick, "What does she look like now... today... this minute?" Michel Boullard, "How does one describe inner beauty?" Paul, "Forget the inside. Let's stay on the outside for a while." Michel, "I feel safe in saying she's attractive..." Paul, "YOU feel safe? Would it be risky for anyone else to say it?"

Paul Chadwick, "She's a skinny, flat--chested girl with buck teeth. And so far, you've only been talking about her good points."

Paul Chadwick, "Oh, doctor, it's a curse, a nightmare. Do you know what it feels like to be wanted just for your body?" Dr. Lauren Boullard, "Nooo." Paul, "Ah, how I envy you. What I'd give to have a body nobody'd want..."

Paul Chadwick, "I had just enlisted in the Marine Corps that morning.... Wanda was a decent girl, but in a moment of patriotism, she offered herself to me." Dr. Lauren Boullard, "She offered herself to you." Paul, "I said, 'No!' I was a Marine now. I didn't want to do anything to besmirch the honor of the Corps. But, if I hadn't said no, she never would have jumped."

Dr. Lauren Boullard, "Mr. Chadwick, not all women destroy themselves when a man refuses to make love to them." Paul Chadwick, "I can't risk another woman."

Dr. Lauren Boullard, "Believe me, Mr. Chadwick - you can accomplish just as much within a group." Paul Chadwick, "Mmm, yeah, but it makes it a little more difficult."

Dr. Lauren Boullard, "And what is the next step? Even if a woman is standing there with no clothes on, you will be able to walk out on her." Paul Chadwick, "That'll be the day."

Etienne, "But you said he had to be destroyed." Michel Boullard, "I was thinking of a normal revenge. In France, what happens? The woman shoots the man. That's civilized."

Etienne, "Michel this is madness. Your daughter cries, so you break down and tell her the truth. In the hands of an outraged woman, that's a dangerous weapon."

Michel Boullard,, "For what she did, make her suffer, my son - marry her." Paul Chadwick, "I'm being broadsided. You said 'my son' again and my stomach didn't turn. There's something evil going on and I don't know how to fight it."