T'es plus dans la course, papa !

Looks like a stage play......feels like a stage play.....acted as if the audience is sitting fifty yards away.....they just couldn't shake the roots of this production. Certainly, an insignificant Simon property, raised beyond oblivion by its casting. I'm not sure why they just didn't change the age of Sinatra's character to his actual 48 - he doesn't look remotely 39 - actually, he looks about 55. Tony Bill's role would play better on stage, where his over-emoting wouldn't be quite so grating.

Yes, the parents are perfectly cast, if you can tolerate the stereotypical Jewish mother and father, screeching incessantly. What children WOULDN'T run away from that?

The bachelor pad is certainly hip Early 60s - and unbelievable (regardless of the explanation of its affordability).

The song interlude is a bit jarring, although if they had to do it, it certainly works best where it is.

Overall, not a film I'll watch again.

This was my first Frank Sinatra movie. I have seen clips of his work, and I have enjoyed his singing for years, but this was the first time I really took a good look at his acting.

Sinatra plays Alan Baker, a crafty ladies' man who is a disappointment to his overbearing father, who is also his boss (and given Alan's work ethic, that's a good thing). His 21-year-old brother Buddy, who also works for his father and has a 'gee-whiz' quality about him, does everything he can to please his parents, but never manages to satisfy them. One day Buddy decides to move in with his brother. This does not please the father one little bit, and the mother is not happy either. Alan wants his brother to be just like him, so he has the brother 'made over' and, when he has too many girlfriends, lets Buddy pose as a Hollywood producer and take out one of the girls, who wants to be an actress. Alan still has two women to juggle, and unfortunately, one of them is married and a big client of his father's company. And her husband is Dan Blocker (who comes across, unfortunately for Alan but not for us, more as Little Joe than Hoss).

Sinatra is good, giving the impression of a much younger man than he would have been when the film was made. He doesn't seem like the Sinatra I knew at first, but later becomes more serious and more like the familiar image. He also gets to sing one song, doing a great job. The actors playing the stereotypically Jewish parents are wonderful (Religion isn't mentioned, but the image of Jewish parents is a familiar one). I haven't seen much of Molly Picon's work, but from seeing this performance and one episode of 'Gomer Pyle, USMC', I can't see anyone portraying the guilt-inducing Jewish mother any better. The actor playing the father made quite an impression as well.

This was a good movie, and though slightly off-color, nowhere near as naughty as movies being made today.

I have to agree with most of what the previous commenter says; this is a largely disappointing movie. Neil Simon's wit here is not yet up to "Odd Couple" or "Sunshine Boys" speed, and some of the acting is lame. Jill St. John is a tad too cutesily dumb, and Tony Bill's Buddy is somewhat grating, especially after his unconvincing conversion from youthful innocent to roue. However, Sinatra is always worth watching and listening to, especially in the masterful Nelson Riddle's arrangements (here an original song, actually). However, the movie is almost worth watching solely for Lee J. Cobb's performance as papa Baker; his sidesplitting performance as the terminally frustrated Mr. Baker is a study in comic skill, particularly in the scenes where he invades the brothers' apartment. I had never see Cobb do comedy before; now my estimation of him as an actor has increased immeasurably. Catch this one just for Cobb.

The names Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear always look good on the credits for a comedy--until you realize Lear's success was relegated strictly to the tube and Yorkin has no sense of humor. Add to the mix a script based on the play by the highly uneven Neil Simon, and you have a slick but scattershot affair. Frank Sinatra sleepwalks through role as swinging New York bachelor (now there's a stretch) who takes his gawky younger brother under his wing, much to the chagrin of their mother and father (the torturous Molly Picon and Lee J. Cobb, both giving the term 'Old World' a bad rap). Just about every one-liner falls flat, Tony Bill is hopeless in his debut as the kid brother, and Sinatra's one song (the title cut) is mediocre. Assets: Dean Martin has a cameo that's not bad, and Dan Blocker is wonderfully big and colorful as a disgruntled businessman. *1/2 from ****

This film is the first one based on a Neil Simon play and the screenplay is by Norman Lear. According the IMDb, Frank Sinatra's character is actually based on Simon's older brother--a playboy who apparently was quite the lady's man. While Sinatra is good in the film, he was badly miscast as he is easily old enough to be his brother's father! In fact, he and the father (Lee J. Cobb) are about the same age--and so I had a seriously hard time believing Sinatra was Tony Bill's brother.

The film begins with a young man showing up at his brother's bachelor pad. Apparently he's moving in and it's quite the surprise. However, he IS welcomed by his brother--but not the over-protective parents who want this young man to return home. The younger brother (Tony Bill) seems quite naive and he's in for a shock when he sees that his brother is quite the player--and is currently stringing three ladies along at the same time! But, when he can't possibly make all his commitments to the ladies at the same time, the naive brother is convinced to help! What's to happen to the sweet younger brother and will his older brother ever grow up and become responsible and settle down? The acting was fine in the film and the writing very good. In fact, apart from Sinatra's age, I have no serious complaints about the film. It is a bit of a trifle of a film but enjoyable throughout--and is well worth your time.