The World's Greatest Lover (1977)

That was an excellent one.

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

This movie studies a handful of themes, among them: romantic problems, issues of the individual versus conformity, and beauty versus mediocrity. It is set during the Hollywood silent movie days, when Rudolph Valentino was the rage. Wilder plays the lead role, the husband of a Valentino fan, who has to muster up the sexy man in himself in order to save the day. The sets are lush, Carol Kane is gorgeous, Wilder gives one of his most heartbreaking performances, and Harry Nilsson devotes his song "Ain't it kind of wonderful" to the soundtrack. Very ambitious, especially considering that Wilder wrote, directed and produced it.Yes, it's true some of the gags are dated or overdone, but there are other things to enjoy. It's in the same league as Woody Allen's early slapstick comedies, like "Sleeper" and "Play it again, Sam", as well as the Mel Brooks' oeuvre.

I just saw this recently on DVD. I hadn't seen it since it was first released and couldn't remember it that well. Well, I've reacquainted myself with it and, although I'm genuinely not the one to exploit yiddishisms, my first thought was "Oy!" Somebody tell Gene Wilder to stop screaming! He did some funny shrieks in his previous films, including the Mel Brooks romps, but he kept it at the proper minimum. Here he screams in every scene like he's having his leg amputated with a steak knife and anesthetic was unavailable. Other times he mugs like a bad burlesque comic. The film itself is just as subtle, filled with loud music, heavy handed gags, and cartoon sound effects. The "Modern Times" parody is a major embarrassment. This film isn't even good bad. It's just sad bad. Even Wilder, in his DVD commentary said "They don't make movies like this today, and maybe that's a good thing." And then there's Carol Kane, who is absolutely adorable. In time, she too would become self conscious about her comic abilities (especially after "Taxi"), but here she gives a tender, endearing performance with occasional touches of genuine comedic spark which would be even better if only the material would give her more. The Sex-By-The-Numbers segment is the one truly funny bit in the movie.Those two look like they were made for each other. I'm really surprised they didn't become an item after the movie. Maybe she just couldn't handle the screaming.

I personally thought the film was too long, and had too many belabored or slowly timed gags. They needed to be more crisply and unselfconsciously performed to work.The Abalone character was great, and his give and take with people was one of the better points. Still, to have the A-Baloney bit pounded into the ground didn't improve the humor. Too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing.Same is true for the 'sex by numbers' bit. Clever, but needed tightening up.This said, I'm usually a big fan of Wilder's work. This one just fell a bit flat for me.

I have seen this movie a number of times & still makes me laugh. It has a great cast. I still think this is one of Gene Wilders best comedies, it's a shame that they do not air this on TV or HBO. The characters in this movie are hilarious together.