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Houseboat
An Italian socialite on the run signs on as housekeeper for a widower with three children.
Release : | 1958 |
Rating : | 6.6 |
Studio : | Paramount, |
Crew : | Art Direction, Art Direction, |
Cast : | Cary Grant Sophia Loren Martha Hyer Harry Guardino Eduardo Ciannelli |
Genre : | Comedy Romance |
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Reviews
Wow! Such a good movie.
That was an excellent one.
Memorable, crazy movie
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Yeah, it's one from the good old days, where everything is damn polished, all the jokes are so polite, and the end is always happy. But why I felt it's idiot ! The story was a well ground for a sex comedy, and with the capacities of Miss Loren it could have been super sex comedy, but nobody thought of making something like it, or else.. since as a pure comedy it has few nice moments, very few. Although Sophia's beauty is all over it however wasted. I was provoked to the extreme while the dance scene; how not to show the many talents of Sophia's marvelously voluptuous body?!! Furthermore I don't know why the heck the cinematography made her face look like a black girl ?! There isn't a problem in being black; the problem is that Sophia IS brunette. She seemed really strange and for strange reasons ! Nothing did thrill me. It was like a slow-paced play. We didn't even get the chance to see the train that hit the house ! So, accordingly, don't wait for comedy, sexy moments, or thrilling ones !The things to be watched in here : The scene of Cary Grant talking philosophically, yet beautifully, to his kid about life and death; only in the 1950s I think. At certain scenes Sophia's performance dazzled me; no wonder that she's the only seduction queen, from her era, who won an Oscar. The looks of Grant to Sophia; Oh my god, the man was in deep desperate love with her indeed. And the moment in which Sophia's butt got slapped by some drunken; now this is a dream comes true, Marilyn Monroe herself didn't give us that honor ever. I don't know how the audience received that outrageous moment back then, I may know how the male audience did though !Here's a movie that totally mistreats its idea, along with this heavy sexual charisma of a star named Sophia Loren. Enjoyable is what you can describe (Houseboat) with if only you're talking about it as a time capsule. Regardless I watched uncreative, naive and unfunny movie. Compared to it Grant and Loren's earlier movie, (The Pride and the Passion – 1957), is way more interesting; at least she danced a real *dance* there !
I agree with "WRONG WIFE" post. A train hits their new home-in-tow and instead of a collision the viewer just sees some (fake) lumber thrown onto their car. The other stupid stunt is that Cary Grant is dressed in a dapper white tuxedo and walks along the gangway to the houseboat for the first time. It breaks under his weight. He sinks, but the shot is above the water so we just see his silly "woops I am sinking" expression. We don't see him sink into the water. In the very next scene he is completely clean and dry-wearing the same white tux. The houseboat itself is equally artificial. It looks a mess at first. But with a little paint, and some Hollywood magic dust, all of a sudden it appears to be a typical, cozy, middle class home. Equally puzzling is the scene where the houseboat drifts off at high tide and anchors onto the edge of an island. The guy they bought the houseboat from cruises up to it in his speedboat. Cary Grant is stranded, late for work. The guy shrugs and tells Grant that he will need to wait till high tide to get the houseboat towed back, before he can get to his job. Why didn't the guy just give him a ride to shore on his speedboat? I also agree the kids were annoying and shallow and not worthy of Sophia's attention.
For those who still have the hopeless romantic side to them still kindling, and for those who are not totally cynical about predictable outcomes, Houseboat is decent fun. Cary Grant repeating his romantic comedy work for the umpteenth time, works well with the ravishing and radiant Sophia Loren. Given they were thirty years apart, Grant and Loren were in a pretty heavy romance off screen at this time. Their chemistry is evident and it shows well here. Harry Gaurdino has a good and humorous supporting role. It cracks me up when movies of the 50's portrayed Italian women as fiery and impulsive. It's done that way a bit here as well with Loren, except the script offers her character a bit more warmth and depth. Hollywood stereotypes of Italians have improved until "The Sopranos" came along forty years later. Houseboat is just a cute movie that is worth watching to fill in time. And if you are a fan of either star, it will be that much better.
Ordinarily, I kind of enjoy these tame old Sixties comedies, but watching Cary Grant in a role written for a B- or C-lister is always painful. As a romantic male lead, there's never been anybody better, but comic dad parts are best left to the Paul Dooleys of the world.The kids are remarkably charm-free, the novelty of the houseboat is tiresome, and the plot is entirely predictable.However, if Sophia Loren is your cup of tea, then by all means feast your eyes. She's at her luscious prime here. A better idea for all concerned might have been to dispense with the family angle, and have it be a romantic drama with Grant and Harry Guardino -- who does a lot with a little here -- vying for her charms.