Watch The Love God? For Free

Beautiful, moving film.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Titled with a question mark for a reason, this Don Knotts vehicle casts him as a meek, mild-mannered magazine publisher who is mistaken for a suave playboy after his ornithological magazine is rebranded by a smut merchant while he is out of the country. Upon returning to America, Knotts finds himself as a pawn of sorts for several parties with specific agendas, including a team of lawyers who believe that he is a perfect advocate for free speech. His looks of utter disdain in court as he is branded "dirty" are absolutely pitch perfect as Knotts slides comfortably into the role of a man in over his head. The best performance in the film though comes from B.S. Pully as a gangster in the mix who is insistent on improving his grammar, dropping 'big' words like "fastidious" and "prerogative" at all the wrong points. Frequently funny as the film may be, its satirical ambitions are unfortunately not always at the forefront with the vast majority of gags derived from how unlikely a candidate Knotts is for a playboy, which in turn makes the film feel a lot like a one-joke comedy at times. An abrupt ending furthermore causes the proceedings to end on a low note. And yet, while the potential for more is striking, this is an undeniably engaging motion picture while it lasts. The imaginative costumes need to be seen to be believed, the set decoration in the master bedroom is quite creative and Knotts has a ball playing a character torn between wanting to be seen as a conservative, upstanding citizen and gradually coming to like the idea of being seen as a charming rogue.

After leaving Mayberry, Don Knotts did several films: The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964), The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), The Reluctant Astronaut (1967), The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968), The Love God? (1969) and How to Frame a Figg (1971).Of all these films, "The Love God?" was the absolute worst. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Don Knotts, but for the era, the storyline was far too risqué for his original fans. Sorry, but Mr. hometown America just doesn't mix with a porn magazine. Especially in 1968.My personal opinion is this film alienated his original "Mayberry" fan base. And ultimately, years later, led to a new fan base with his role as Ralph Furley on Three's Company, which was a sitcom built on a barrage of sexual innuendos.He basically "switch channels" when he made this film, in turn losing his old fan base of the moral middle class but gaining the degenerate middle class that finds off-color jokes funny.Sad, but I guess it paid the bills.

Don Knotts is one of the last great physical comedians, making movies in a time when physical comedy was on the wane. His face was a chaotic assembly line of expressions. In ten seconds he could express thirty different emotions, from abject terror to rage to calm certainty. Most of the humor in his movies is in how he reacts physically to a situation.This movie is no different. The man publishes a bird watching magazine. The magazine is going under, but is republished by an adult magazine publisher who wants to use it to display "birds" of his own. Knotts is then vilified as a sex maniac...horrifying some...fascinating others. It is a light satire.The Love God has the components of the other Knotts movies: Sudden change in situation, devoted girlfriend, misunderstandings, ostracizing former friends and reconciliation. Not as good as How to Frame a Figg...but fun nonetheless...

Unfortunately this is not one of Don Knott's better comedies. A lot of the jokes fall flat, especially the bird call jokes. I seriously doubt those were funny even in 1969. I love Don Knotts, don't get me wrong. I think the man is a great comedic actor and he does shine here, but the problem is he's the only thing that does really. The 'Icepick Charlie' character is the only other one with any charisma whatsoever. And what's with all the women-hitting in this movie? I'm no ultra-sensitive kneejerk reactionary but I found the three or four cases of men punching or slapping women to be unfunny and sadly out of place. It seemed they thought they'd get a cheap laugh. They didn't, at least not from me. See this only if you're a huge Don Knotts fan.