What was the last film you watched?

[supermanfan]

The original top gun!

 

[Angela Channing]

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

It hard to describe what this film is and the poster above probably explains it better that I can with words. It's a mix of so many different elements creating a totally unique cinematic experience that I can imagine people will either love or hate it or maybe do both at different times during the film. It a bit like a superhero film without a superhero, an action film in which a lot of the action is about paying a tax bill, a science fiction film about running a laundromat and a comedy that doesn't have a particularly funny setting. It's a melange of genres like nothing I've seen before.

The story is about Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) who runs a laundromat and is generally discontent with her life. She is audited by the tax authorities when she is visited by a version of her husband from a different multiverse which is created by the choices we make in life and in her other choices she is all the things she wanted to be like a great singer or a great chef. She is also told she can jump between the different multiverses and she is key to saving all humankind. The film is confusing and half the time I didn't have a clue what was going on but that didn't really matter. It is fast, intense, visually stunning and funny. I really liked it without fully understanding why.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

It a bit like a superhero film without a superhero, an action film in which a lot of the action is about paying a tax bill, a science fiction film about running a laundromat and a comedy that doesn't have a particularly funny setting.

I really liked it without fully understanding why.

Another one I hadn't heard of, but it sounds great.

 

[Angela Channing]

Another one I hadn't heard of, but it sounds great.

I think it's the kind of film you have to watch twice to fully understand what's going on. So much was being thrown at the viewer and at a relentless pace that it was difficult to grasp everything that was going on but the frantic pace was part of why it was so visually appealing.

 

[Willie Oleson]

So much was being thrown at the viewer and at a relentless pace

Then at least it lives up to its title.
I find it all very intriguing, to say the least.


You don't need to know to first film because this is a different version. Instead of the cloning process, the "Revenge" wives are being fixed by means of an injection, a brainwashing hair dryer (!) and medication.
It is very much a TV movie but from an era when TV movies were fun, it doesn't pretend to be more than that.
Conclusion: men were evil long before MeToo.

The other one:

From a modern point of view I'd say it takes forever to get the story going, and when it does it feels kinda rushed.
But maybe that's not exactly what's going here. I think the narrative of many old movies just had a completely different vibe, as if they were meant to be eventful rather than being good or well-paced.
The countess is fun, she's such a nasty old hag, but I didn't get the plot twist that happened in the last 3 minutes.
The sets are awesome and I was a little spooked by a mirror scene because it seemed to enlarge the girl's reflection and, well, that's not what I expected to see.

The mirror is not relevant to the story btw.

 

[Seaviewer]

I really liked it without fully understanding why.

It does sound like something that I would enjoy. Michelle Yeoh was good in Star Trek: Discovery, too. I hear she's getting her own spin-off now.

 

[Angela Channing]

It does sound like something that I would enjoy. Michelle Yeoh was good in Star Trek: Discovery, too. I hear she's getting her own spin-off now.

She is great in this. In some scenes there were echoes of her role in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and another scene reminded me of something from Crazy Rich Asians. She is a really versatile actress who has been great in everything I've seen her in.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Part of me is disappointed you didn't watch The Love Bug as the sequel Herbie Rides Again is the first film I can remember watching and I have an enduring affection for it.

I rectified this last night with...

The Love Bug (1969)

^ They've misspelt their own lead actress's name. The sacrilege!​

It's many years since I've watched any of the Herbie films (I think I've seen them all at some point, but I could be mistaken). I know I've seen The Love Bug a couple of times, though it's probably well over three decades since my last viewing. I was curious how it would hold up.

I won't lie - it took a while for me to warm to the film. The opening credits with stock car pile up after stock car pile up seemed to go on forever and felt altogether too sporty to appeal to me (I've never been a fan of watching motor racing). There was also an interruption an hour into the film - we had one of our semi-regular power cuts and while power was resumed quickly, the broadband in the area was out for an hour or so before being restored. That interrupted the flow a bit.

It struck me that this had more than a touch of the Wacky Races to it. With Tomlinson's Peter Thorndyke as Dick Dastardly, naturally. Upon looking, the cartoon had begun just the previous year and was itself based on an earlier film The Great Race. I don't know if there is any connection, since I seem to remember that films featuring various vehicle races were very much in vogue at this time.

I had wondered how the Beetle was chosen as the main car. Minis and Fiat 500s are cuter, after all. But then the Mini itself was immortalised on film this very same year with The Italian Job. And I suppose both the Mini and the Fiat 500 were just too darned small to easily fit three adults and film them. All the same, it's ironic that that Disney, with its wholesome, all-American image should adopt the brainchild of one Adolf Hitler as the adorable star of its film. Apparently, VW didn't want the marketing anyway and refused the use of their logo (barring a couple of glimpses on pedals and a key). While Herbie is never referred to as a "Volkswagen" or a "Beetle" within the film, VW hadn't trademarked the informal nickname "Bug" at the time, hence the name.

The film did win me over, just as Herbie did Jim. There's a charm to the obvious fakery, such as the very dated rear projection used to show characters driving round San Francisco (Alcatraz even makes a cameo at one point).

My favourite aspect of the whole film was the way the gorgeous matte backdrops were combined with real life. The set for Jim's house-cum-workshop was very atmospheric indeed and I couldn't get enough of it. It looked great by day and night. At one point (leading up to Herbie's suicide attempt) there's a gorgeous matte of the Golden Gate Bridge, complete with flashing lights atop. And there were smoky effects to bring the matting to life, with characters disappearing into the haze like ghosts. It all felt quite magical.

Casting was fine. I'm sure I've seen Dean Jones in other things (he has a couple of Murder, She Wrotes to his credit among other things) but he's not an actor I'd look at and know his name. He was solid enough here. Weirdly, I kept seeing a younger Don Murray, but I don't know if that was influenced by Michele Lee. Michele is as charming as ever here, and probably very in-demand at this time with this film being post-How To Succeed and pre-Seesaw.

On paper, I really shouldn't like Buddy Hackett doing his loveable sidekick thing with all the gurning, but actually I found him quite endearing and found I couldn't take my eyes off him if he was in a shot with other actors. David Tomlinson was great, playing his usual Disney role of the wily, underhanded, entitled, snobby businessman. Again, it's been seen before, but he does it so well his was the performance I enjoyed most as the man I loved to hate.

George Bruns's music is as lovely as ever. He did one of my favourite Disney scores: Sleeping Beauty (albeit with some help from one Pyotr Tchaikovsky). He gives Herbie a really nice, appropriately cheeky-sounding theme, with rasping sounds that evoke the famous tippetty-tap sound of the Beetle's engine. And the South American flavour accidentally foreshadowed the main assembly point for the Beetle for the last twenty five years or so of its life.

 

[Angela Channing]

I rectified this last night with...

The Love Bug (1969)

^ They've misspelt their own lead actress's name. The sacrilege!​

It's many years since I've watched any of the Herbie films (I think I've seen them all at some point, but I could be mistaken). I know I've seen The Love Bug a couple of times, though it's probably well over three decades since my last viewing. I was curious how it would hold up.

I won't lie - it took a while for me to warm to the film. The opening credits with stock car pile up after stock car pile up seemed to go on forever and felt altogether too sporty to appeal to me (I've never been a fan of watching motor racing). There was also an interruption an hour into the film - we had one of our semi-regular power cuts and while power was resumed quickly, the broadband in the area was out for an hour or so before being restored. That interrupted the flow a bit.

It struck me that this had more than a touch of the Wacky Races to it. With Tomlinson's Peter Thorndyke as Dick Dastardly, naturally. Upon looking, the cartoon had begun just the previous year and was itself based on an earlier film The Great Race. I don't know if there is any connection, since I seem to remember that films featuring various vehicle races were very much in vogue at this time.

I had wondered how the Beetle was chosen as the main car. Minis and Fiat 500s are cuter, after all. But then the Mini itself was immortalised on film this very same year with The Italian Job. And I suppose both the Mini and the Fiat 500 were just too darned small to easily fit three adults and film them. All the same, it's ironic that that Disney, with its wholesome, all-American image should adopt the brainchild of one Adolf Hitler as the adorable star of its film. Apparently, VW didn't want the marketing anyway and refused the use of their logo (barring a couple of glimpses on pedals and a key). While Herbie is never referred to as a "Volkswagen" or a "Beetle" within the film, VW hadn't trademarked the informal nickname "Bug" at the time, hence the name.

The film did win me over, just as Herbie did Jim. There's a charm to the obvious fakery, such as the very dated rear projection used to show characters driving round San Francisco (Alcatraz even makes a cameo at one point).

My favourite aspect of the whole film was the way the gorgeous matte backdrops were combined with real life. The set for Jim's house-cum-workshop was very atmospheric indeed and I couldn't get enough of it. It looked great by day and night. At one point (leading up to Herbie's suicide attempt) there's a gorgeous matte of the Golden Gate Bridge, complete with flashing lights atop. And there were smoky effects to bring the matting to life, with characters disappearing into the haze like ghosts. It all felt quite magical.

Casting was fine. I'm sure I've seen Dean Jones in other things (he has a couple of Murder, She Wrotes to his credit among other things) but he's not an actor I'd look at and know his name. He was solid enough here. Weirdly, I kept seeing a younger Don Murray, but I don't know if that was influenced by Michele Lee. Michele is as charming as ever here, and probably very in-demand at this time with this film being post-How To Succeed and pre-Seesaw.

On paper, I really shouldn't like Buddy Hackett doing his loveable sidekick thing with all the gurning, but actually I found him quite endearing and found I couldn't take my eyes off him if he was in a shot with other actors. David Tomlinson was great, playing his usual Disney role of the wily, underhanded, entitled, snobby businessman. Again, it's been seen before, but he does it so well his was the performance I enjoyed most as the man I loved to hate.

George Bruns's music is as lovely as ever. He did one of my favourite Disney scores: Sleeping Beauty (albeit with some help from one Pyotr Tchaikovsky). He gives Herbie a really nice, appropriately cheeky-sounding theme, with rasping sounds that evoke the famous tippetty-tap sound of the Beetle's engine. And the South American flavour accidentally foreshadowed the main assembly point for the Beetle for the last twenty five years or so of its life.

The film isn't Shakespeare but it has a certain charm which I still find endearing after all these years. The sequel Herbie Rides Again is my favourite of the Herbie films and the first one I saw. When I eventually got around to seeing The Love Bug I realised that there was no continuity between the 2 films other than Herbie appearing in them both.

About 10 years ago I went to a film festival in London and they had various famous cars from films on display including Herbie but also the Batmobile the 1960s Batman The Movie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, James Bond's Aston Martin and the DeLorean from Back To The Future. Although I'm a fan of all those films (especially Batman) I was most keen to be photographed beside Herbie.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The sequel Herbie Rides Again is my favourite of the Herbie films and the first one I saw.

I caught up with this one last night...

Herbie Rides Again (1974)

Well, as @Angela Channing said, there's very little to connect this story to the previous one. It's dropped into dialogue that Herbie being a former famous racing car whose owner went to Europe to race big cars, and Herbie even has some "flashbacks" featuring second unit footage of Herbie racing with no identifiable occupants. The main concession to link this with The Love Bug is that Helen Hayes's character is said to be the aunt of Tennessee Steinmetz from the first film. They even share a surname.

With all-new characters, I was thinking this might be another "origin" type film where characters take a while to become aware of Herbie's autonomy, but that wasn't really the case. Mrs Steinmetz has had the full handover, of course. Nicole is in the know as well and just as open-minded as Mrs Steinmetz. Willoughby doesn't know at first but actually comes round to Mrs Steinmetz's way of thinking pretty thinking. There's a plot to get on with, don't you know?

And it's a good plot. What I liked about this - and what makes it more easy to digest than the first film - is that it's fun, more relatable and less specific than the first. The idea of a big evil developer wanting to remove the final householder from their home on land they are waiting to transform into an ugly skyscraper is kind of a classic. Yes, it's been done many times (indeed, Disney/Pixar would successfully recycle this premise as the basis for Up! three and a half decades later), but this is because it works so well.

Best of all (for me at least) is that this plot moves Herbie away from the Wacky Races thing (which was fun, but it's been done and doesn't need a retread) and into more prosaic situations. Well, almost. If the film has a failing it's that sometimes it feels as though it's trying a little too hard. In The Love Bug, Herbie was the only magical element. This time round, Mrs Steinmetz also has an autonomous orchestrion and an autonomous cable car, which makes Herbie himself feel a bit less special.

With this in mind, I really should have disliked the final act which saw Herbie surrounded by numerous autonomous Beetles he'd rallied (it certainly flies in the face of the first film's philosophy that "A million come off the production line perfectly ordinary, but one is special" philosophy), but the fact is that I so enjoyed the sight of so many vintage Beetles of various colours all together that I loved it. Incidentally, I wonder if all the Beetles were supplied by VW themselves this time round, since they were clearly more on board with the Herbie Rides Again than the original*. The sequel saw Herbie sporting his VW badges, and the brand was even mentioned in the classic line "Why would a shark be following a Volkswagen?"

The scene in question saw Herbie - apparently waterproof - turning briefly into a submarine like Bond's DB5 and saw one of the sillier moments with the surfer having a conversation with the occupants before falling off his board. But the film that actually jumped the shark for me saw Herbie riding up the cables that suspend the Golden Gate Bridge.

For most of the silliness I could remind myself that this is a fantasy film for kids, but the combination of outrageous situation and hokey effects were too much for me. And the situation was made worse when Herbie then reversed back down the cables at the men pursuing them up the struts as if they were out for an afternoon ramble.

However, this is one small grumble in a film that was, as I said, very easy to digest.

Casting was good. Stefanie Powers was very charismatic and on a shallow note she looked stunning in that red air hostess uniform. She made a great - and hilarious -first impression by punching out her leading man as she says hello (he works for the enemy). She then goes on to hit him in the face with a boiled lobster, knocking him into the ocean, on learning he's the enemy's nephew. She's very engaging. Even more so - dare I say - than Michele Lee was in The Love Bug.

As an antagonist, I really wasn't sure about Keenan Wynn at first, but once he got warmed up with his bellowing (and he did a lot of bellowing) he was great. He doesn't feel as "cinematic" to me as David Tomlinson (if that makes any sense), but he's great fun and certainly very sporting when it comes to his character's comeuppance.

Ken Berry isn't a familiar name to me, though his filmography suggests I've seen him in small roles in TV series. He, too, was great here. He makes a really nice romantic lead, having an everyman quality that makes him feel accessible and relatable as well as extremely likeable.

Helen Hayes brings a touch of class to things. She's wonderful, and her theatrical background comes across strongly with the way she commands the screen, often by doing very little. The little choices she makes and the looks she gives make her absolutely magnetic. There's a terrific moment where she's ticking off a warehouse guard for trying to nab her (as she breaks in). The dialogue is fairly ordinary, but there's a kind of darkness about her in that moment that really makes me get a sense of her character's genuine anger and outrage that reminded me as a viewer that underneath the comic scenario was the injustice that her personal possessions have been stolen.

One unsung returnee was George Bruns who did another terrific score. As mentioned in The Love Bug, my favourite of his is Sleeping Beauty, so you can imagine how my ears pricked up when he used a sting very reminiscent of Maleficent's Anger from that film. It's first heard when the model of Hawk Plaza is lifted up to reveal a tiny model of Mrs Steinmetz's firehouse underneath, and it can be heard again once or twice later in the film. It's great to have him back and was another thing that helped tie this to the original.

All in all - and despite its cartoony flaws - I think I enjoyed this at least as much as The Love Bug. Perhaps a little more!







*After writing this, I took a peek around and found this:

After the success of The Love Bug, the film was heavily endorsed by Volkswagen, which was in financial trouble at the time, when Beetle sales in North America were considerably lower than in previous decades. As such, the company insisted that the VW logos appear on Herbie. Both the hub cap VW logo and hood-mounted VW logo were reinstated at the company's request.

Volkswagen also promoted the film by having a Type 1 Beetle, complete with Herbie livery, in every showroom.

About 10 years ago I went to a film festival in London and they had various famous cars from films on display including Herbie but also the Batmobile the 1960s Batman The Movie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, James Bond's Aston Martin and the DeLorean from Back To The Future. Although I'm a fan of all those films (especially Batman) I was most keen to be photographed beside Herbie.

That sounds like my idea of heaven. I quite like cars in general, and combining that with films would be a treat. Visiting various car museums over the years I've seen a number of famous ones included in various exhibitions (various Bond vehicles, Mr Bean's Mini, the Ford Anglia from Harry Potter, etc) but Herbie is still on my bucket list.

 

[Angela Channing]

Herbie Rides Again (1974)

Even though I have such an enduring affection for this film, I've only watched it twice: the first time when I was around 5 and then again about 30 years later. When I watched it as an adult, I was surprised how much I still enjoyed it. Yes, it's a bit silly and it's a bit far fetched but if you just accept it for what it is, it's difficult not to be taken in by the warmth and comedy of it all.

Well, as @Angela Channing said, there's very little to connect this story to the previous one. It's dropped into dialogue that Herbie being a former famous racing car whose owner went to Europe to race big cars, and Herbie even has some "flashbacks" featuring second unit footage of Herbie racing with no identifiable occupants. The main concession to link this with The Love Bug is that Helen Hayes's character is said to be the aunt of Tennessee Steinmetz from the first film. They even share a surname.

I've often wondered whether this film was originally conceived as a direct sequel to The Love Bug because Stephanie Powers and Ken Berry are both physically very similar to Michelle Lee and Dean Jones so I can imagine the parts being written for the original actors but maybe they weren't available so the roles were recast and they changed the scripts to explain the new characters.

And it's a good plot. What I liked about this - and what makes it more easy to digest than the first film - is that it's fun, more relatable and less specific than the first. The idea of a big evil developer wanting to remove the final householder from their home on land they are waiting to transform into an ugly skyscraper is kind of a classic. Yes, it's been done many times (indeed, Disney/Pixar would successfully recycle this premise as the basis for Up! three and a half decades later), but this is because it works so well.

Totally! Yes, it's a family film so you can't expect too much nuance or intricate subplots but it's a really accessible story told in a straightforward and really entertaining way.

With this in mind, I really should have disliked the final act which saw Herbie surrounded by numerous autonomous Beetles he'd rallied (it certainly flies in the face of the first film's philosophy that "A million come off the production line perfectly ordinary, but one is special" philosophy), but the fact is that I so enjoyed the sight of so many vintage Beetles of various colours all together that I loved it.

That's really interesting because I didn't see it that way. I saw Herbie as being unique and having the power to bring the other beetles "to life". As a child that, scene when all the other beetles unite to help Herbie was so enthralling that it made the film for me. I even didn't mind the Golden Gate Bridge nonsense (even as an adult) because by this stage I decided to just go with what everything they threw at the audience and not do my usual questioning the credibility of what I was watching.

Casting was good. Stefanie Powers was very charismatic and on a shallow note she looked stunning in that red air hostess uniform. She made a great - and hilarious -first impression by punching out her leading man as she says hello (he works for the enemy). She then goes on to hit him in the face with a boiled lobster, knocking him into the ocean, on learning he's the enemy's nephew. She's very engaging. Even more so - dare I say - than Michele Lee was in The Love Bug.

As an antagonist, I really wasn't sure about Keenan Wynn at first, but once he got warmed up with his bellowing (and he did a lot of bellowing) he was great. He doesn't feel as "cinematic" to me as David Tomlinson (if that makes any sense), but he's great fun and certainly very sporting when it comes to his character's comeuppance.

Ken Berry isn't a familiar name to me, though his filmography suggests I've seen him in small roles in TV series. He, too, was great here. He makes a really nice romantic lead, having an everyman quality that makes him feel accessible and relatable as well as extremely likeable.

Helen Hayes brings a touch of class to things. She's wonderful, and her theatrical background comes across strongly with the way she commands the screen, often by doing very little. The little choices she makes and the looks she gives make her absolutely magnetic. There's a terrific moment where she's ticking off a warehouse guard for trying to nab her (as she breaks in). The dialogue is fairly ordinary, but there's a kind of darkness about her in that moment that really makes me get a sense of her character's genuine anger and outrage that reminded me as a viewer that underneath the comic scenario was the injustice that her personal possessions have been stolen.

The casting was spot on. Stephanie Powers and Ken Berry made for a great double act, charming and engaging and played off each other well. Helen Hayes in the 1970s seemed to corner the market for playing loveable old granny roles and she did it so well. I completely agree with you about how she can covey so much by doing very little, just a glance, a facial expression or a change in the tone of her voice was often all she needed. Keenan Wynn was great as the villain, I think this is the only comedy role I can remember seeing him in and he really should have worked in that genre more because he wrung every drop of comedy out of the lines and situations he was given while still remaining believable as his character.

One unsung returnee was George Bruns who did another terrific score. As mentioned in The Love Bug, my favourite of his is Sleeping Beauty, so you can imagine how my ears pricked up when he used a sting very reminiscent of Maleficent's Anger from that film. It's first heard when the model of Hawk Plaza is lifted up to reveal a tiny model of Mrs Steinmetz's firehouse underneath, and it can be heard again once or twice later in the film. It's great to have him back and was another thing that helped tie this to the original.

I agree. What I particularly like about the score was how the Herbie theme was not just reserved for the titles but dropped into it at select stages during the film while being careful not to overuse this idea. It's a technique that John Williams uses regularly, for example in Superman and Star Wars (it's not often those films are compared with Herbie!)

All in all - and despite its cartoony flaws - I think I enjoyed this at least as much as The Love Bug. Perhaps a little more!

Reading your thoughts on the film makes me want to watch it again, I'm long overdue a third viewing so I'll put that right soon.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Even though I have such an enduring affection for this film, I've only watched it twice: the first time when I was around 5 and then again about 30 years later.

Sometimes those films are the best. The ones that you've only seen once or twice but have made a lasting impression enough to feel like a special part of your film-watching history. I think it's possible to take some of the magic away by watching something too often or knowing it too well (though it can go either way. There are some films I enjoy more with each rewatch).

Yes, it's a bit silly and it's a bit far fetched but if you just accept it for what it is, it's difficult not to be taken in by the warmth and comedy of it all.

Absolutely. I think suspension of disbelief is key and it's a fun family film.

I've often wondered whether this film was originally conceived as a direct sequel to The Love Bug because Stephanie Powers and Ken Berry are both physically very similar to Michelle Lee and Dean Jones so I can imagine the parts being written for the original actors but maybe they weren't available so the roles were recast and they changed the scripts to explain the new characters.

I can see exactly what you mean about them being physically similar, and I'm sure it's very possible you're onto something. In a way it makes the most sense. It seems almost unthinkable that a sequel would go through the writing and planning stages without them at some point considering bringing back the key human characters from the original.

I saw Herbie as being unique and having the power to bring the other beetles "to life".

Oh, that puts a different spin on it. Now I can retroactively enjoy that scene without my brain's logic board short circuiting.

Helen Hayes in the 1970s seemed to corner the market for playing loveable old granny roles and she did it so well.

That's reminded me that Candleshoe is also on Disney+. I have very fond memories of watching that one over Christmas when I was a child but I haven't seen it since. Here's hoping I get time to watch before my contract ends in a few weeks.

Keenan Wynn was great as the villain, I think this is the only comedy role I can remember seeing him in and he really should have worked in that genre more because he wrung every drop of comedy out of the lines and situations he was given while still remaining believable as his character.

Agreed. He was great fun.

hat I particularly like about the score was how the Herbie theme was not just reserved for the titles but dropped into it at select stages during the film while being careful not to overuse this idea.

Yes - that works really well to help set the tone and to keep Herbie's "voice" alive throughout the film.

Superman and Star Wars (it's not often those films are compared with Herbie!)

Ha ha. Perhaps they ought to be.

Reading your thoughts on the film makes me want to watch it again, I'm long overdue a third viewing so I'll put that right soon.

Oh great. Enjoy it.

 

[Seaviewer]

I saw The Love Bug when it first came out and it has remained one of my favourites, although the sequels have diminishing returns as far as I'm concerned.

The main concession to link this with The Love Bug is that Helen Hayes's character is said to be the aunt of Tennessee Steinmetz from the first film. They even share a surname.

They also live in the same firehouse where Jim and Tennessee lived in the first film.

I've often wondered whether this film was originally conceived as a direct sequel to The Love Bug because Stephanie Powers and Ken Berry are both physically very similar to Michelle Lee and Dean Jones so I can imagine the parts being written for the original actors but maybe they weren't available so the roles were recast and they changed the scripts to explain the new characters.

I believe they were. I can recall reading reports about the forthcoming sequel and I'm sure the original intention was to bring back Jones and Lee. At some point the new cast was announced but because of the obvious resemblances I assumed that they were playing the same characters and was disappointed when I found that that wasn't the case.

I saw Herbie as being unique and having the power to bring the other beetles "to life".

I like that interpretation. The other bugs do have a sort of 'zombie' look about them, now that I think about it.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

They also live in the same firehouse where Jim and Tennessee lived in the first film.

Oh. This is embarrassing, but I didn't notice this. I just thought it was a similar-looking quirky old building.

I can recall reading reports about the forthcoming sequel and I'm sure the original intention was to bring back Jones and Lee.

Interesting, thanks.

I'm not sure about Dean Jones, but it looks likely that the filming would have clashed with Michele's run on Seesaw. She played in that until December '73 and the Herbie sequel premiered only four months later.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo (1977)

Well, he gets there... eventually. But most of the film up until the last thirty minutes takes place in Paris and I'm surprised this wasn't stressed more by utilising it in the title somewhere.

Still, whichever way you look at it, there's some gorgeous scenery in this film. It has a different tone compared with the first two films not just because of the European scenery, but because there's a sense that the crew are making the most of said scenery, in the same way a tourist takes lots of photographs of places their visiting, but is less interested in filming their own locale. Because of this, this film mostly shuns their indoor sets and fills the screen with gorgeous panoramic shots of France at its most resplendent.

Of course, the sets - particularly the firehouse - gave the first two films a certain charm that's not present here, but this third film certainly is a feast for the eyes, which more than makes up for any absence.

Speaking of absentees, Dean Jones returns as Jim Douglas having been missing in the first sequel. We're told it's been twelve years since he last raced Herbie. I'm guessing that last race was some time after The Love Bug since both sequels suggest that Herbie and Jim enjoyed an illustrious career together. This would set this perhaps a decade and a half after The Love Bug, despite coming only eight years later in real time.

One confusing aspect is Jim's marriage to Carole at the end of The Love Bug. She's not mentioned here - not even obliquely. Almost immediately, Jim falls for Diane and a romance begins, but this is confusing for the viewer because it's not clear how - or even if - he's available. I suppose the two options are that he's either a widower or divorced and perhaps Disney (or the censors) felt neither were suitable to mention in a family film. However, if that's the case, why would Jim's new sidekick Wheely comment about his multiple ex-wives? Whatever the reasoning, the lack of clarity opens up the very real (and even less tasteful) possibility that Jim is cheating on his wife while on his overseas business trip. By film's end, we still don't know and are left to write our own scripts.

Diane herself is a far less likeable female lead than Carole or Nicole. She spends most of the film whining that Jim has it in for her because she's a woman racing driver and yet her complaints are baseless. Obviously, we understand Jim's motives (and Herbie's quirks), whereas Diane doesn't, but even looking at it from her point of view, while it's clear why she would view him as an idiot, there's nothing about his words or actions to suggest his behaviour is motivated by her gender. We don't even see her discriminated towards by any of the other male drivers and so at best she comes across as having a gigantic and unnecessary chip on her shoulder based in a persecution complex. At worst, she comes across as the kind of woman who brings gender into a disagreement for leverage, or to rationalise her own shortcomings, like those videos that occasionally emerge of a woman screaming bloody murder on the phone to the police when it's clear they've just been politely asked by a man to leash their dog or remove their car from being illegally parked (in 21st Century parlance, Diane might be viewed by some as a "Karen"). There's a kind of pseudo-feminism undercurrent that doesn't hit the mark. Carole and Nicole were actually more progressive characters in being assertive, confident and capable women without feeling the need to prove anything. It takes until the last reel for the breakthrough to come and Diane to smile and show some warmth. I'd like to have seen more of this earlier in the film, rather than the screeching and vase throwing.

The best aspect of this film for me is the wealth of wonderful character actors.

There's Don Knotts, of course. And the wonderful Roy Kinnear. Throughout the film, I had a feeling that Knotts had played the George Roper role in the American versions of Man About The House and George & Mildred so imagine my delight at seeing him and Kinnear - who had played the original Mr. Roper's occasional partner-in-crime facing off in a comedy fight. Turns out I wasn't quite right. Knotts actually played a different character who replaced the American "George" in later seasons of Three's Company. But the connection is still there.

Bernard Fox was a welcome presence, him having one of those "I know him but can't quite place how" faces that the best character actors have. I think I'd most recently have watched him in a couple of Columbo episodes. Jacques Marin was another familiar face and my God - he has such an impressive filmography. Even at the point this was made he'd been in the business for thirty years, evidently with no shortage of work. He was great.

And they weren't the only ones. Everywhere you look there are all these wonderful French character actors in even the smallest of roles. In fact, I'm going to say that my favourites were two characters who didn't utter a word: they're the two fishermen in the rowing boat who gawp as Herbie emerges from the water. They had such great comedy faces and the looks they gave were priceless. They gave me the biggest laugh and made the film for me.

 

[Angela Channing]

Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo (1977)

I didn't think this film worked as well as the previous 2 Herbie films although it was still great fun.

Diane herself is a far less likeable female lead than Carole or Nicole.

You're being very polite, I though she was very annoying which was a shame because the female co-leads in the previous films were far more likeable. Maybe they were looking for a different dynamic to differentiate this film from the previous two.

Whatever the reasoning, the lack of clarity opens up the very real (and even less tasteful) possibility that Jim is cheating on his wife while on his overseas business trip. By film's end, we still don't know and are left to write our own scripts.

Gosh, I had forgotten about this and I like the idea of Jim secretly cheating on his wife while on an overseas trip. However, I think they were probably divorced and his ex-wife met some guy called Sid Fairgate.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I didn't think this film worked as well as the previous 2 Herbie films although it was still great fun.

Agreed on both counts.

Maybe they were looking for a different dynamic to differentiate this film from the previous two.

Could be. In many ways the character arcs were similar, with the women disliking the man to begin with and romance developing as the film went on. I just didn't think it worked at all well in the third film.

I think they were probably divorced and his ex-wife met some guy called Sid Fairgate.

Ha ha. Good point.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Herbie Goes Bananas (1980)

My main memory of this title isn't actually of the film at all. Back when it first came out, I bought the novelisation through my primary school's book club.

Weirdly, I can't actually remember reading the book. I read a lot and had a good memory for their contents, but clearly this one is in a minority that didn't make much of an impression on me beyond the cover.

Mind you, having watched the film I can understand why. This is definitely the bottom of the barrel of the four original films.

It didn't have to be that way. The plot is actually decent enough on paper, and even the characters had potential. But the execution is poor. The script is far from sparkling and the casting feels very much like a Seventies TV show rather than a feature film. The leading actor - or at least the man playing Herbie's new owner - feels as though he was cast more for his pretty looks rather than his acting ability, and he delivers his dialogue without pauses giving it a school play-like quality which could be viewed as endearing or annoying depending on how full your glass is. He'd be fine in a supporting role, but here the poor boy is strapped with carrying an entire film on his shoulders. And not a good film at that.

There's also no chemistry between the lead actor and the actor playing his accident-prone sidekick (let's not even get into that one).

And they're both so young. I would feel I'm getting old, but I only watched the previous film the night before and I haven't felt this with any of the others.

The romance this time involves the archetypal Ugly Duckling plot as seen so many times throughout the Seventies and Eighties (think June from Carry On Up The Jungle; Plain Jane from Neighbours; Janice from Sons and Daughters and even Diana Prince in early Wonder Woman). Girl wears big glasses and is engrossed in her studies which makes her undesirable to the bland-but-handsome boy who is coerced into spending time with her. She takes the glasses off and he manages to get past the fact that she's bright and knowledgeable and falls for her. Or something like that.

Even before the plot got underway, I found myself thinking that they must have really cut down on the budget for salaries this time round. There are very few familiar faces, and even experienced supporting character actors seem to struggle. Poor Vito Scotti - so good in several Columbo episodes, and enjoyable in his brief cameo in the previous film - is wasted here and I couldn't even get enthused about his scenes.

Cloris Leachman was present and was fine with the little material she had.

The main antagonists weren't particularly interesting. Perhaps it's telling that some twelve hours on I cannot remember what they were called, what they looked like or what they said and did.

Perhaps the best served was another aggressor: the ship's permanently furious Captain Blythe, played with gusto by Harvey Korman. Though stealing even his thunder was Fritz Felt as Blythe's Chief Steward, looking startled every time Blythe went into a rant and quietly gesturing towards the guests at the Captain's table in a bid to save the reputation of both Captain and ship. His nonplussed looks were hilarious, reminding me of Charles Hawtrey (speaking of which, many of the ship scenes actually felt very Carry On in tone).

As mentioned, there's a lot I don't remember about the film, so I suppose it made about as much impression on me as the book. Well, less, really. At least I enjoyed looking at the book's cover from time to time.

 

[Angela Channing]

Herbie Goes Bananas (1980)

I gave up on Herbie after the Monte Carlo film so I've never seen this one and your review confirms that I shouldn't have any regrets about by not watching it.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I gave up on Herbie after the Monte Carlo film so I've never seen this one and your review confirms that I shouldn't have any regrets about by not watching it.

You're quite right. Some may regret watching it, but as far as not watching it goes... you can be assured you've already seen the best of Herbie.

It's definitely one for the diehard fans. And even they're likely to be disappointed.