Chambre à part

That Funny Feeling is so incredibly dated, it could never be remade today, but if you like sex comedies from the 1960s that have absolutely no relevance in the modern era, you'll probably enjoy watching it. And if you like seeing the adorable sparks between Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee, add this one to your list.

Sandra Dee plays a maid who feels ashamed of her lowly station when the wealthy Bobby Darin asks her out on a date. Even right there, the movie's dated. Thanks to Love Story, poor girls don't think twice about going out with rich boys. Bobby and Sandy go out, get along, but when he wants to see her home safely, she panicks and takes him to one of the apartments she cleans! This is 1965, so he just sees her to the door and leaves, by the way. What she doesn't know is that the apartment she's pretending is hers is actually his! It's actually a really cute story and meet-cute, but it's so dated you're going to have to put on your '60s goggles before you watch it.

Of course, there are tons of sex jokes and will-she-or-won't-she situations that were hilarious at the time but now just evoke a chuckle. Bobby's friend and sidekick is Donald O'Connor, and his advice for his bachelor friend is very funny. In my opinion, there's no reason why Pillow Talk has stood the test of time over That Funny Feeling; they both involve dated plots, deception, misidentities, and an endless quest to get the virtuous lady in the bedroom. Give it a try if you like this type of comedy!

OK, so we in the 21st century don't judge Sandra Dee's movies too kindly, as she usually played some nubile woman existing only to be cute, and we don't consider it particularly PC. The truth is, most of the teen flicks of the past 25 years haven't been much different, and I for one find "That Funny Feeling" more interesting than many of the teen flicks from my lifetime. True, much of the movie is pretty predictable, with Dee as a working class maid pretending to live in a young businessman's (Bobby Darin) apartment, while he goes along with it; I actually didn't spend much of the movie laughing. But the movie definitely has its moments, namely the telephone booth and the party (some people might even include the shot of Sandra Dee in the bathtub...meow meow).

Obviously, given that during the '60s, we started seeing movies like "Dr. Strangelove" and "The Graduate", this one might seem worthless at best. But, I will say that it does have a certain charm to it. It's not a masterpiece by any stretch, but doesn't pretend to be. Just nice, silly fun. And Sandra Dee is actually kinda hot. Also starring Donald O'Connor, Nina Talbot, Larry Storch, Leo G. Carroll, Robert Strauss, Kathleen Freeman and Arte Johnson.

I bet that somewhere beyond that great sea in the sky, Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin can take comfort knowing that we still remember them, even if it is for something as silly as this.

"That Funny Feeling" doesn't by any means test the acting capabilities of Darin, or the glamour of Dee, but it is nonetheless a delightful, funny, and even colorful, film. As a bemused and confused victim of "Joan"'s bizarre method of dealing with an unacceptable home address. There are some great visuals, Darin climbing out of the upstairs window to avoid a confrontation in his own apartment with "Joan", the phone booth scene, the moment when he gets in the cab and in answer to the question, "where to?" simply says, "I don't know." Darin and co-star Sandra Dee look great together - no wonder that happened! And it is always fun to see Donald O'Connor too. I'd have loved to hear more songs from Darin, but the plot just didn't call for them. The title song is a very catchy, though. It is a movie that takes me back to what was best in the '60's - innocent fun and romance with humor and charm.

"More locations than the A&P"... does anyone else remember the A&P chain of supermarkets?? They actually say that line in the film.... A & P is all gone now, but they have an interesting story at wikipedia. Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin were married in "real life", and were known for their wholesome, family friendly films.... they did make three of them in the 1960s. Darin died quite young, at 37, after heart surgery...he was already divorced twice by that time. Dee and Darin made these films about mistaken identity and misunderstandings, like Doris Day and Rock Hudson. Astute viewers will recognize Nita Talbot, who was Marya on Hogans Heroes! The silly mix-up in "Feeling" is that Joan is actually Tom's maid, but since they have never met, Joan (Dee) pretends to own his apartment, which wouldn't be a big deal, except that she tells this to Tom when she meets him, and he KNOWS it's not hers. Supporting roles by Larry Storch ( F Troop) and Leo Carroll (North by Northwest). Like every episode of Three's Company, when the deception is discovered, rather than talk it out and have a good laugh, they continue on and dig the hole deeper and deeper. Donald O'Connor is in here for comedy. Some double entendres about an unmarried mother when Joan takes some things to the pawn broker... It's all mostly plain, simple fun. As long as you buy in, its all harmless and done. Pretty okay.

Amazingly, 2 days ago, to be exact, the name Joan Howell popped up on the phone. I wasn't even typing anybody's name. She popped up as a suggested contact. So I looked the name up, and then this movie showed up in search results.

Come to find out, Joan Howell is someone my brother-in-law works with. But naturally, given what I just discovered in search, I have to watch this movie again! I didn't even remember that her name was Joan!

Another Joan synchronicity to add to my Joan journal. So fitting, considering how the film opens, with a word on all the planets in our galaxy, and how everything moves together in some kind of order. It's got me to thinking - out of all the people in all the world, isn't it amazing that Joan Howell popped up as a suggested contact?!

There are no coincidences, only Godwinks!

Good movie, by the way! It's exactly the kind of 1960s rom-com I adore, with the perfect look and everything. As I said in another review for another Sandra Day film, there is something very special about the look of a 60s rom-com. And I don't just mean in terms of fashion, but in terms of the look of the film stock itself. There's something very distinct about it.

Relatedly, anyone who wants to see kind of a remake of this film, I would recommend the Jennifer Lopez movie Maid in Manhattan (2002). It's not an official remake, but there are definite parallels enough to where it feels like this movie totally influenced that one.