Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

ThedevilChoose 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.

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Bob Taylor Kiss Me Stupid is so lame, so lacking in wit, sophistication and just plain laughs that it's hard to believe this was made by the same man who made Sunset Boulevard, Ace In The Hole, Sabrina... Wilder shows he doesn't have any feeling for American life in the 1960's, and he's not quite 60 when he made the picture. I didn't laugh once, and can't imagine how anybody could laugh at this mess.I don't see Peter Sellers improving it, even with his superb comic timing, for there are no jokes, nothing to work with. Felicia Farr is very graceful and lovely to look at, and Ray Walston moves and speaks with practiced ease: the 3 stars are all for them.

vincentlynch-moonoi In an interview, Wilder once said, "I am a sucker for Dean Martin. I thought he was the funniest man in Hollywood." Well, I agree. I'm a tremendous fan of his. But I'm pretty neutral about this movie. Admittedly, over time it's grown on me a bit, but I still find it to be just a little over the edge in terms of sexual innuendos. And this gets down to the problem I have had with a number of Billy Wilder's films. Wilder did some great films, both in terms of those he wrote and those he directed. The time period during which this film was made was the most cynical of Wilder's career...and I'm just not that cynical. So this was a difficult film for me to enjoy -- a rabid Dean Martin fan with Dean in a film that I really don't like. In fact, released just after his tremendous hit of "Everybody Loves Somebody" I really wanted to see this film back in 1964, but it was held in such disdain that my small town theater would not show the film.However, as I said, this film has grown on me...a bit...over the years. The idea is clever...Dino (pretty much playing himself, although a bit over the top) ends up stranded in a desert town called Climax. He unwittingly stays overnight at a male piano teacher's (Ray Walston) house who just happens to be half of a song-writing team (with Cliff Osmond) that has little talent. Can they sell a song to Dino (even under duress)? Or will the piano teacher's wife (Felicia Farr) be too distracting. Solution -- substitute a local barmaid (Kim Novak) for the wife, let Dino get seduced, and see what happens.Dean turns in a really good performance because he entertainingly makes fun of his own image. Dean could do more with a look or a throwaway line...Although I liked other Kim Novak roles much better (for example "Vertigo"), she does bring a certain sensitivity to the role of the local prostitute that many actresses probably couldn't have accomplished.Ray Walston was not a strong enough actor to take such an important role in a film. As a minor supporting actor, fine. But he has a lot of screen time in this film, and he wasn't up to it. It borders on slapstick exaggeration. And to think that Billy Wilder wanted Jack Lemmon for the role! Felica Farr is quite good as the wife. Ironically, she was Jack Lemmon's wife! Cliff Osmond is good in his role as the co-songwriter.There are also some interesting small supporting roles here. Mel Blanc as a dentist. Howard McNear (the barber on Andy Griffith's show) as Farr's father. Doro Merande as Farr's mother. And Henry Gibson as a bar patron.There is one song (supposedly by the untalented songwriters, but actually based on unpublished work by the Gershwins) called "Sophia" that Dean actually recorded in 1964, and while it is decidedly corny, it also has a nice melody. But, as Dino said in the film, "I need another Italian song like a giraffe needs a strep throat!" Looking back now, one wonders what all the fuss was about back in 1964. It almost seems tame. So it's good for watching...at least once.

bobbysoxer97 From the time to film opens to the end credits; it oozes with the Wilder touch. The plot of this '60's picture was very edgy for it's time...and it turned out to be rather edgy for me too. It has a deeply cynical aspect to it; making it a little hard for me to take in. Dean Martin's performance was very Rat Pack-y and plays up the swinger image to quite an extreme; "...there couldn't be enough of you...baby." Novak, who was planning on a retirement, took a part in this picture for the sole purpose of being able to work with Wilder; I'm glad she did. Her character made me want to crawl up in a ball and cry my eyes out, all the while remaining delightfully funny. In a nutshell? It's really a rather vulgar film. It has moments of brilliance...yet, doesn't even start to compare with Wilder's own "The Apartment." Yes, it deals with basically the same subject matter, but the writing was more brilliant and much more subtle. I recommend only if you are a Wilder fanatic (like myself) or a Novak connoisseur. I enjoyed the film overall; I just felt that the writing was lacking.

williwaw Kiss Me Stupid was condemned, that is right, condemned when it was released ( now it gets a PG rating) and thus this fine film was released via a small subsidiary of United Artists called Lopert Pictures and forgotten on its initial release. Seen today Kiss Me Stupid is a daring and brilliant film.One should read both 'Kim Novak On Camera' and also 'Conversations With Wilder' concerning this movie. Kim Novak at the time was a huge international box office star and had a rough time with Henry Hathaway on "Of Human Bondage". MGM had to decide who to side with and MGM went with Novak and Mr. Hathaway was either fired or quit from 'Of Human Bondage'. Wilder offered the female lead in 'Kiss Me Stupid' to Novak but read Kim Novak the riot act saying if anyone left this film due to temperament it would be Kim Novak not Billy Wilder. What resulted was a mutual love fest and Wilder declaring in Crowe's book that Novak along with Audrey Hepburn were his two favorite actresses. (Ginger Roger, Jean Arthur, Shirley MacLaine, Paula Prentiss etc take note!) In the coffee table book 'Kim Novak on Camera' Wilder noted Novak's ability saying Kim was "Gorgeous to the Camera and read her lines like music." One wishes Kim Novak and Mr. Wilder would have worked together again for example Wilder was unhappy with Marthe Keller on 'Fedora', a part perfect for Ms. Novak.Kim Novak on Larry King Live said the picture would have worked better with Peter Sellars who left due to health, and the film had to re-shoot the Sellars footage. Wilder had to get a replacement quickly so after Danny Kaye, Bob Hope, turned the film down Wilder went with Ray Walston. Jack Lemmon a Wilder favorite was working elsewhere. Walston simply did not have the star charisma to work with real movie stars Dean Martin and Kim Novak.This film is a good film that should have been a great film. Wilder did a good job and Novak gives a great performance.