Illégalement vôtre

That quote is from P.J. O'Rourke's guide to hosting a party in his classic work, "The Bachelor's Home Companion". To me, it pretty much sums up the appeal (what there is of it) of this film. Or to put it another way, in his effort to construct a "screwball comedy", Bogdonovich kept throwing things at the wall in the hopes that some of them would stick.Fortunately, some things do.

Nothing about "Illegally Yours" is particularly inspired (in fact most of it is strained and contrived), and no one in it is particularly great at comedy...the best most of the actors can muster is a kind of wide-eyed incredulity. But the plot throws so many twists and turns at the viewer, and there are so many rapid-fire "bon-mots" and quirky lines and bad puns that eventually the movie reduced me to a state of mild bemusement...and after the movie had been hitting me over the head with "funny funny funny" for 40-50 minutes. I gave in and actually snorted with laughter once and chuckled a couple of other times. I even guffawed once. Just once, but that's still better than anything Ben Stiller has been able to do since "Mystery Men".

I think it was easier for American filmmakers impress American audiences with screwball humor before Monty Python,Red Green,"Black Adder","Fawlty Towers" and similar imports caught on here. In comparison to Pythonesque and Newhartesque whimsy and wordplay, this movie's script is a bit stodgy and leaden. But it's still mildly funny even today, and none of the players (even Rob Lowe, who I've never liked) have anything to be ashamed of here.

Do not skip your fiftieth viewing of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" to see "Illegally Yours", but if IY is on opposite something dull and unfunny like "Gone Fishing", you may want to check it out.

Director Peter Bogdanovich seemed to have it all at one point early in his career, but I can't imagine a worse string of pictures than "At Long Last Love", "Nickelodeon", "Daisy Miller" and "Texasville", not to mention this one, a dud meant for theaters but relegated to dusty bins at the video store. Rob Lowe, outfitted to look like either Cary Grant or perhaps egomaniac Bogdanovich, stumbles around as a juror smitten with murder-suspect Colleen Camp. Camp, as proved in "They All Laughed" (a Bogdanovich bright spot), has the knack for screwball antics, but her character here is too brash and she fails to click with Lowe, whose bumbling is forced--to say the least. The convoluted plot hangs together by a thread, not helped by a bunch of "lovable" dopes in the supporting cast (including future Mrs. Bogdanovich, L.B. Straten). Cheeky, yes. Successful, no. *1/2 from ****

While this movie may not be a show-stopping classic, it is funny and has an entertaining plot. Rob Lowe does seem somewhat out of his element here, though he does a good job with what has been given to him. Colleen Camp fans will love this movie, as she is as attractive as ever and we get to see her in a rare leading role. Some silly moments, but overall not a bad film. Some good footage of historic St Augustine as well.

This tight, consistent, clever script acted by the excellent Rob Lowe and the voluptuous Colleen Camp should have resulted in a 1980s WHAT'S UP DOC? Sadly, Lowe is no Ryan O'Neal, and Colleen Camp, while lovely to look at, shows why she typically plays the Friend and not the Leading Lady in her many films. Still, good direction could have saved the day, but Bogdanovich is no less miscast than his actors. The sense of comedic timing, so crucial to this or any type of comedy, is sorely lacking here. Possibly the lion's share of the blame should lie with the film editor, but the director is ultimately responsible for the failure of this film.

On the other hand, Colleen Camp gets more screen time in ILLEGALLY YOURS than in any film I can remember, so fans wishing to see more of her will want to view this flick. Rob Lowe fans, on the other hand, will find it more profitable to spend their time on his other, much better performances.

When Rob Lowe decided to wear his glasses for real in this film (in real life he's quite nearsighted) I think it was his and director Peter Bogdanovich's homage to Cary Grant in Bringing Up Baby. Would that Bogdanovich had as good material as Howard Hawks had with Grant and Katharine Hepburn.

Rob's a near do well here, living at home with mother Jessica James and brother Ira Heiden and sometimes whomever mom's current boyfriend is, in this case it's Harry Carey, Jr. in one of his very few roles not in a western. Rob gets a jury duty notice and like most of us, he considers it one royal pain. But when he's chosen for the jury trial of Colleen Camp it's an opportunity he's been waiting for since grade school. Back in those childhood years he was crushing out on Camp big time and now she's on trial for attempted murder.

I wrote a review for 12 Angry Men in which I said the film was flawed because of what Henry Fonda did, going to the accused's neighborhood and buying a switchblade similar to the murder weapon. That was absolutely nothing compared to what Lowe does while he's not deliberating on the evidence to prove the object of his affection is innocent.

The film has its moments, but I'd have to say it was more silly than funny. Colleen Camp is not quite Katharine Hepburn, though Lowe does give a good try at a Cary Grant type comedy part.

Still fans of Rob Lowe will like it.