The fact that this is a throwback to silent screen comedies featuring actors like Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton goes unmentioned in all the reviews I've read here.
THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE is a witty spoof of all those silent era comedies that based a lot of their material on New York in the '20s--the whole flapper scene, Chinatown opium dens, etc. With James Fox climbing a building, falling out of a window and landing on a flagpole--well, where's the mention of HAROLD LLOYD here? His films have been restored, revived on cable TV and seen by millions--yet he goes unmentioned--at least by anyone under 30. Perhaps that's why a lot of the comments reflect an "I don't get it" attitude as to the film's quirky sense of humor.
The frequent use of title cards to register what JULIE ANDREWS is thinking about others is strictly a device from the silents, well suited to the kind of zany screwball capers that are played to the hilt by a talented cast.
I do agree with many others that the film could have been cut by at least a half-hour--and frankly, I could have done without the Jewish wedding scene or CAROL CHANNING's acrobatic second musical number in a theater. Both could easily have reduced the film's lengthy running time.
But JULIE ANDREWS, JOHN GAVIN, MARY TYLER MOORE and JAMES FOX are fine in the leading roles--with Gavin spoofing his own screen image and Fox proving himself surprisingly nimble in the song and dance department. His "Tapioca" number with Julie Andrews is one of the musical highlights of the film. Equally amusing are all the elevator scenes where the only device to get the machine running is to tap dance vigorously.
CAROL CHANNING may have won a Best Supporting Actress nomination, but her strident, overly theatrical performance was more annoying than amusing and really needed to be toned down, even for musical comedy. On the other hand, BEATRICE LILLIE is excellent as the scene-stealing Miss Meer, intent on drugging innocent young girls and having them carted off to a den of iniquity in Chinatown where they're sold into white slavery.
None of the music is really remarkable except for the catchy title tune, but Andrews does what she can to make the numbers sound professional. It's the cleverness of the script's comic overtones that director GEORGE ROY HILL takes full advantage of and puts his cast through some very funny paces.
It's sprightly and fun, uneven in places and much too long for the tale it has to tell--but apparently audiences loved seeing Julie Andrews in this kind of material and it was a huge hit at the box-office.
THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE is a witty spoof of all those silent era comedies that based a lot of their material on New York in the '20s--the whole flapper scene, Chinatown opium dens, etc. With James Fox climbing a building, falling out of a window and landing on a flagpole--well, where's the mention of HAROLD LLOYD here? His films have been restored, revived on cable TV and seen by millions--yet he goes unmentioned--at least by anyone under 30. Perhaps that's why a lot of the comments reflect an "I don't get it" attitude as to the film's quirky sense of humor.
The frequent use of title cards to register what JULIE ANDREWS is thinking about others is strictly a device from the silents, well suited to the kind of zany screwball capers that are played to the hilt by a talented cast.
I do agree with many others that the film could have been cut by at least a half-hour--and frankly, I could have done without the Jewish wedding scene or CAROL CHANNING's acrobatic second musical number in a theater. Both could easily have reduced the film's lengthy running time.
But JULIE ANDREWS, JOHN GAVIN, MARY TYLER MOORE and JAMES FOX are fine in the leading roles--with Gavin spoofing his own screen image and Fox proving himself surprisingly nimble in the song and dance department. His "Tapioca" number with Julie Andrews is one of the musical highlights of the film. Equally amusing are all the elevator scenes where the only device to get the machine running is to tap dance vigorously.
CAROL CHANNING may have won a Best Supporting Actress nomination, but her strident, overly theatrical performance was more annoying than amusing and really needed to be toned down, even for musical comedy. On the other hand, BEATRICE LILLIE is excellent as the scene-stealing Miss Meer, intent on drugging innocent young girls and having them carted off to a den of iniquity in Chinatown where they're sold into white slavery.
None of the music is really remarkable except for the catchy title tune, but Andrews does what she can to make the numbers sound professional. It's the cleverness of the script's comic overtones that director GEORGE ROY HILL takes full advantage of and puts his cast through some very funny paces.
It's sprightly and fun, uneven in places and much too long for the tale it has to tell--but apparently audiences loved seeing Julie Andrews in this kind of material and it was a huge hit at the box-office.