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.

The 80s was Rob Lowe's decade; member of the Brat Pack, and the golden boy of cinema. Whilst usually cast just as the pretty boy, a sex-toy, Illegally Yours cast him as the silly, love-sick goof, who bumbles his way through a far-fetched silly murder cover-up from the point of view of a juror who was in love the suspect at junior school. The film is wall-to-wall one-liners, funny slapstick, slips and trips and Lowe falling over a lot. I've watched it a lot of times and it still makes me giggle, and there are lots of comedy set pieces; Lowe dressed as a woman in high heel slippers, the fantastic sunglasses disguise scene, his nervy rushing around, the crazy car chases and daft over-acting. It's not a film to take seriously, it's meant to be loopy and flying all over the place and I love it. It's not a 6/10 film as in superb cinematography but it's just a hoot. Every character is overblown, Colleen Camp and all the ensemble case are a caricature, funny, and I just love this film. It's one of my favourite comedies and they don't make them like this anymore – it's not rude, no bad language and really quite innocent. Turn back time and enjoy.

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.

This is a good movie with plenty of comedy and action. Yes Colleen Camp is fun and funny and so is Rob Lowe. The Canuck is another entertaining gem. There are a few illogical twists toward the end but otherwise it is a wonderful movie. Anyone that loves Colleen Camp will love the movie.

During the 1980s there were a whole series of movies that do not seem to have generated a great amount of publicity but were very entertaining, enjoyable, underrated and are presently of great nostalgic value. `Illegally Yours' definitely falls within this category.

Rob Lowe provides an excellent performance as the somewhat eccentric but nevertheless very amusing Richard Dice. The whole of the cast follows this high standard and quality of acting and their combined performances contribute a dimension of entertainment and enjoyment to this movie. The script is also quite interesting for a considerable period of time and the style and the format of this movie also enhances this quality. I would definitely rate this movie highly and provide it with a 9/10