Le piment de la vie

I LOVE this movie. It's super kitschy, especially the '60s opening graphics, and the plot is really fun. Doris Day was at her most beautiful during this time period... the fashions she wears in this film are really stunning, and even the most casual outfits are classics. The "sexist" plot does annoy me a little - and I'm over 40 - but it's pretty typical Carl Reiner fare from this era. As most may recall, he was the force behind the Dick Van Dyke Show, which also reflected this attitude between Rob & Laura. As "hip" and sexy a couple as they were, Rob still didn't want Laura to work outside the home. I wish James Garner (as Dr. Boyer) could have relaxed and enjoyed his wife's career success a little... who wouldn't want more money?? But I suppose his resistance was crucial to the storyline here. Other than these minor points, this movie remains really good entertainment, well acted and with wonderful chemistry between Garner and Miss Day. Highly recommended!

If you've seen TTOIA before, even once, even long ago on its first release in 1963, you may not remember ALL the treats you're in for under the tree, but you know it's one of Santa's most memorable Romantic Comedy deliveries in motion picture history.

If you've NEVER seen it, you still can't help grinning, from the opening frames until the brilliant payoff.

"Santa" being, in this case, one of Hollywood's finest collaborative teams at the top of their game. It's a huge team! Carl Reiner (Dick Van Dyke show), Larry Gelbart (M*A*S*H) conceived it. Reiner wrote the screenplay.

Ross Hunter produced it, along with Day's then-husband, Marty Melcher, who got titular co-producer credit and a nice paycheck, but whose actual contributions are questionable at best. It's a Ross Hunter Production all the way. "Hire the best and keep them happy."

Reiner's script is tight as a drum. The continual builds and arcs he and Gelbart constructed are emotionally riveting, revealing of character, increasingly funny and broad (just pushing the edge of believability without ever violating it), with a foolproof "ticking clock" and jaw-dropping tender-yet-hysterical climax sequence unlike any before or since.

Amazing! The production visuals are as brilliantly developed as the script. This is a lavishly complex and technically challenging piece of film-making.

Ross Hunter nailed down the script, brought in Norman Jewison to direct. He cast Doris Day and James Garner as the irresistibly appealing leads. He also cast second leads to perfection: Arlene Francis and Edward Andrews. The supporting players, from Zasu Pitts to the two children – Jewison got stunning work from them too! Jewison's coordination of camera and technical work, color, set design, physical comedy touches, tweaks of his actors' close-ups – flawless.

He hired Jean-Louis to design the most beautiful costumes (LOTS of them!) Miss Day ever graced. The man was a genius and Day never looked lovelier.

But it's the grins that start from the first frames, with Miss Francis' deliriously happy laughter – soon explained – that grow and balloon into remarkable comedy set-pieces (punctuated with razor-sharp satirical on-screen bits featuring Carl Reiner himself) – and gradually explode into eye-popping visual comedy sequences that hark back to silent-film pioneers like Chaplin and Keaton – ending in the must-be-seen-to-be-believed, brilliantly staged and directed and played and edited, final sequence in stalled traffic – that lands TTOIA in the top ten Romantic Comedies of the last 100 years.

As good as all Doris Day's romantic comedies were – and they WERE – TTOIA is as good as this incredibly difficult, deceptively "easy," genre gets.

Watching it is a privilege.

One of my favorite Doris Day movies with James Garner, her OB doctor husband; but the funniest scenes of all was when Arlene Francis, who plays an older woman having her first child in a taxi cab because of a traffic jam, and her hubby is running all over the place. It is still an undated romantic comedy with some great one-liners. Doris gets bored with home life and becomes a superstar TV commercial for soap products; still this is one of her best because the writers were the best; Larry Gelbart and Rob Reiner 7/10

"The Thrill Of It All" was one of my best childhood memories. In the days prior to wall-to-wall cable stations, there were certain films that enjoyed a regular place on the weekend matinée lineup on local TV stations. This was one of them. And the funny thing is when I originally saw it, I never thought of it as dated or sexist (this is a memory from about 28 years ago). Even though I grew up in a household where both my parents worked (and my dad never gave it a second thought since there were six of us), I merely accepted the script as a reflection of the 1963 sensibility and not my own. You really can't watch a movie that's older than you are (I'm guessing lots of you are under 40) and expect it to reflect modern-day sensibilities. That said, the film is expertly written taking several stabs and jabs at the TV advertising (as well as the network) industry. Doris Day was the quintessential modern wife/mother on-screen at the time, and James Garner was a perfect spousal foil for her. And what a touch of class by Arlene "What's My Line" Francis as an elegant expectant (albeit older) mother and nervous expectant father Edward Andrews.

This is the first time I write a comment about a film. Considering that my favorite films, since I discovered the movies, are by Scorsese, Gonzalez Inarritu, Polanski, etc. What am I doing selecting a Doris Day comedy for my first review. Okay, let me tell you. I was overwhelmed by the sheer brilliance of the lady. I've always heard about Doris Day but I had never seen her (The Man Who Knew Too Much is my next one). She is extraordinary because in the midst of all the zaniness there is an unquestionable truth. I believed completely in her character I never thought for a moment she was trying to sell me something. I recognized her, I knew who her character was and then, of course, I laughed, loud and hard. So the reason that I've selected "The Thrill Of It All" as my first review is because that's what cinema is all about. Surprises and discoveries. Thank you Doris Day, you've given me something new to look forward to.