Favorite movies that have had an impact on me - #56 - S.O.B. (1981) - Blake Edwards had a string of flops in the 1970s, starting with Darling Lili (which starred his wife Julie Andrews), which almost brought down Paramount Studios. His recovered after filming three very successful Pink Panther sequels, and then went on to film S.O.B., a film many thought to be his poison pen letter, his revenge on Hollywood.
But S.O.B. is not just a nasty flaming arrow pointed at an insider's view of Tinsel Town. It is also freaking hilarious. The story features a character similar to Edwards, Felix Farmer (Richard Mulligan), who has a mental breakdown after his latest film, Night Wind, starring his movie star wife Sally Miles (Julie Andrews), is a colossal flop at the box office. In Hollywood money is king, and Felix's flop affects everyone in his orbit. Edwards pulls no punches depicting that orbit: the wife, children, hangers on, agents, domestic help, sycophants, and anyone else in the immediate vicinity who wants be part of the scene. The only people faithful and supportive of the suicidal Felix are his three best friends: Tim Culley (William Holden), the director of Night Wind; Dr. Irving Finegarten (Robert Preston), Felix and Sally's doctor; and Ben Coogan (Robert Webber), Sally's press agent.
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| The Three Muscatels |
Felix has a brainstorm — what he needs to do to save Night Wind is to reshoot it with lots of added sex scenes, which will require some new, suggestive footage of his wife Sally.
Felix Farmer (Richard Mulligan) : Can she work?
Dr. Irving Finegarten (Robert Preston) : Is Batman a transvestite? Who knows? I was specifically requested to alleviate her anxiety. Work was never mentioned.
Felix Farmer : Irving, she's got a very big scene to do!
Sally Miles (Julie Andrews) : [laughing] I'm going to show my boobies. What do you think, Irving, you've seen my boobies. Hmm, are they worth showing?
Dr. Irving Finegarten : Well, since I can only render an evaluation based on a completely impersonal, purely professional examination of the subject ... uh, subjects, I would have to say that in my humble opinion you've got a terrific pair of knockers.
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| Polly wolly doodle all the day ... |
Edwards pulls no punches and the film never stops loading one crazy situation on top of another, with hysterical results. The cast is top notch, too — it's fun to try and spot all of the familiar faces.
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| What a cast. Top row, L-R: Loretta Swit, Craig Stevens, Larry Hagman, Richard Mulligan, Robert Vaughan, Benson Fong, Marisa Berenson. Bottom row, L-R: Robert Loggia, William Holden, Julie Andrews, Robert Preston, Larry Storch, Shelley Winters, Stuart Margolin, Robert Webber. |
As wonderful as everyone is, Robert Preston is simply amazing, and pretty much walks away with the film (as he did in 1982's Victor, Victoria) with his Dr. Feelgood-ish portrayal of Dr. Irving Finegarten.
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| Well, it depends on what you mean by "all right." I once cured an amateur skydiver of acute acrophobia. Now, you could say he was all right, because he was able to jump. But you could also say he was *not* all right, because he was so stoned he neglected to open his parachute. |
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| Check out that family portrait |
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| William Holden, Jennifer Edwards daughter of Blake), and Rosanna Arquette |
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