I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (1968)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Excellent but underrated film

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

The 60's. The year of the revolution. It's The Squares vs. The Flower Children. More likely "Hippies". While the common man work and provide the way they do best: Working for a living to provide. While the Hippie culture are considered to be the "Slackers". Sitting around, smoking pot, and roaming around in psychedelic vehicles. Peter Sellers(1925-80), plays Attorney Harold Fine, a very serious man who has happened to propose to his girlfriend, Joyce (Joyce Van Patten) when the family butcher dies, his brother living in Venice Beach happen to be a hippie. His girlfriend, Nancy (Leigh Taylor- Young) started to take a liking to Harold. Not only does he began to resent his life, he decided to delve into the hippie lifestyle after sampling Nancy's pot brownies. When he walked out of his wedding day, he started to get involved with Nancy in more ways than one. The best part of the film is when Harold kisses the butterfly tattoo on her thigh. After time, he finds out that the hippie life is not for him. Finding yourself is always something, indecision can hamper anyone. Are you happy where you are at? This movie is kind of interesting to see. You must know what the lifestyle is best for you. I can't make that for you. Watch the movie and see for yourself 3 out of 5 stars.

This is a film that I strongly think your opinion of it will depend on your age. Younger folks who have no recollection of the 1960s will probably find this film less interesting. Those who vividly remember this strange decade will probably get more from the film. Me, I was only a young kid during this time, so my opinion seems to fall somewhere in the middle.The movie begins with Peter Sellers playing a Jewish attorney living in Los Angeles. His life is very "normal" and he is on track to be quite successful and marry his sweetheart (Joyce Van Patten). However, when his brother's lover (Leigh Taylor-Young) slips Sellers and his fiancé and his parents a dish of hashish-laced brownies, Sellers' straight-laced veneer vanishes and now the 35 year-old "square" wants to drop out and become a hippie. Much of the rest of the film concerns the ins and outs of such a life and by the end of the film, it seems that Sellers isn't content with either life...and still longs for a deeper sense of meaning.I noticed that many people called this film a comedy. While there are some mildly funny moments, I wouldn't describe it as this at all and it's NOT much like Sellers' other films. I am NOT saying it's a bad film--just not exactly a comedy. Instead, it's like a time capsule--an interesting one, but one that many probably won't find all that compelling unless they lived during this time. Generally, the film is well made and acted and it's worth a look--and that's really about all.FYI--The reference to Alice B. Toklas regards her being the first to publish a recipe for marijuana or hashish brownies. You hear her name sung repeatedly throughout the film but otherwise the film has nothing to do with her nor her lover, Gertrude Stein.

Sellar's character's arc from legal beagle to hippie starts slow. Watching the progress requires paying attention to the details in why his quest for Ms. Taylor-Young is so primal (I related), but once the film hits the mid-point (when she sleeps over his place) it makes sharp observations about: wedding planning, the purpose (love vs. guns) behind the social movement of the 60's against "the establishment", and the hilarious effects of accidental recreational drug use.If you live in Los Angeles, you will appreciate the exterior scenes in the Venice Beach neighborhood and other areas which we frequent in the present world and how much they have/have not changed since the film was made. The ending comment on Sellar's character's choice NOT to walk down the aisle is not entirely plausible (for my taste) as I found "Joyce" a pleasant enough woman to marry and who is 110% in love w/ him.

" I LOve You Alice B. Toklas " is a 60s gem. Peter Sellers is out-standing as an uptight, highly successful, Jewish lawyer, engaged to be married, who falls in love with his hippie brother's hippie girl and "drops out". For those too young to remember the 60s this film will probably appear to be meaningless, but it's a classic example of what thousands of Americans went through during this revoltionary decade. The film however is stolen by the incredible beauty of Leigh Taylor-Young who was making her film debut. What a beauty! A real 10. Nothing fake about her. I recall seeing this movie when it first came out in 1968 when I was 10 years old. Everyone in the theater was rolling in the aisles with laughter. And every guy there had a "crush" on Leigh Taylor Young.So, turn on the lava-lamb, put on some love-beads, put some pillows on the floor, take off your shoes, and go back to time and enjoy this 1960s comedy classic.