S.O.B.

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.

How rare it is to see a terrific comedy meant for adults. "S.O.B." is Blake Edwards dark look at life in Hollywood. And believe me he pulls no punches. Everyone and everything is a target and he hits it almost every time.

"S.O.B." tells the story of a big director whose latest film is the biggest flop in movie history. Despondent he spends the first half of the film trying to kill himself and the second half trying to save the film by re-shooting it as an arty porno film complete with a nude scene by the virginal female lead (played by the virginal Julie Andrews).

As I said no stone goes unturned. We get hints of drugs, death, murder, suicide, sex, homosexuality (both men and women), transvestism, back stabbing, grave robbing, and much more. But it is done in a tone that is dark but extremely funny. Watching William Holden, Robert Preston, and Robert Webber in their scenes in the third act is worth the time alone. And, yes, we do get to see Julie Andrews in a brief topless shot. It's nice if you like her but nothing special.

The only complaint is that the film runs a bit too long. Edwards would have benefited the film with a trimming of about 15 minutes. But if you like your comedy dark, this is a must see.

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.

I never quite figure out Blake Edwards as a filmmaker. He had a side that was as sophisticated and poignant as it was funny. Think "The Party" or the first Pink Panther, the other side was pure commercialism without any regard for its audience. SOB is a blatant example of that. Here he even uses his characters to badmouth "Last Tango In Paris" - The premise is terrific for a biting Hollywood satire but a premise is just a premise. He has to resort to farting during a sequence that should have been a comedy showstopper. Hey he got his wife to go topless and his wife was Julie Andrews - he must have heard cash registers in his mind like Richard Mulligan's character when he decides to put his wife in a porno=erotic something or other to make zillions of dollars. Richard Mulligan plays his suicidal director like he was in a Mack Sennett routine. Outrageous and I'm tempted to say, unforgivable. I must also confess that made me uncomfortable to see William Holden in the middle of it all. Shelley Winter, Robert Preston, Stuart Margolin, Larry Hagman, Robert Vaughn even a glimpse of the very young Rossana Archette keeps the film going. Loretta Swit - of MASH fame - plays a gossip columnist in such a way that may very well explain why she didn't have much of a film career. So, even if I'm aware I've spent a couple of hours with a bunch of characters I hope I never meet in real life, SOB deserves to be seen if only because it is a piece of film history solidly set on its day.

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...