Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Bereamic Awesome Movie

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

JLRMovieReviews "Only Two Can Play" has Peter Sellers married with two children in a Welsh community, working as a librarian. We open on a highlight of one of his days when an enticing young lady comes in asking for "Conditioned Reflexes" by Pavlov. I don't read Pavlov, so I don't know if that's a real book or what. But it sure makes for an arousing moment for a somewhat humdrum day. He seems to like his job to a degree; we see he knows his books by way of conversations with the public and throughout the film. But, maybe he knows it too well and inside and out, needing a change. After the opening credits, he wakes up one morning, and we hear him thinking to himself about his day and his life and we sense he's become resigned to a life of monotonous drudgery. That is, until he meets Liz, played by Mai Zetterling, the wife of a town councilman, who comes in the library and needs assistance. An alliance is formed but never incorporated. Their attempts always seem to be to no avail, most of the time through no fault of their own. What I thought was going to be a zany comedy, like "School for Scoundrels," actually is a very good study of a married man trying to find excitement but looking in all the wrong places. Peter Sellers is very good and I would say it's one of his best dramatic films, outside of "Being There," one of my favorite films. What his character forgets is that "two can play." Richard Attenborough, an old acquaintance of his and his wife's, shows up trying to rekindle his affection for his wife. And, there's a new opening in the library dept. that Liz can influence her councilman husband for Peter to get. But then Peter's eyes are opened and the last 20 minutes or so is very touching. Watch "Only Two Can Play" and see the serious side of Peter Sellers at work. Is it his best side?

Tim Kidner Having have lived in the Welsh Valleys for a good while a few years ago, I really feel for this poignant, witty and largely forgotten and unknown little drama about a librarian. And his wife and his little 'adventure' on the side.It's far sweeter than the average English kitchen sink, is superbly adapted from a Kinglsey Amis novel and features an array of familiar faces, from John Le Messieur and Richard Attenborough with Kenneth Griffith as a rather ridiculed and pathetically nerdy fellow librarian. Peter Sellers is natural, the accent pitch perfect and his wife and family (great little daughter, full of big-eyed mischief & wonder) believable. His foray into an affair is rather glaringly obvious for a close-knit valley town to realistically withstand though I think there's a good balance between 'nudge-nudge, wink-wink' innuendo, which is usually wittily rather than crudely expressed and the more hum-drum, everyday scenes. Comedy is in there, but as a supporting act, so to speak and is nicely done.Librarians generally get a rather staid and boring label and it would be far too obvious - and wrong - to have a zany character, or Sellers playing one. But, as in any profession, libraries employ different sorts and get all manner of customers.Overall there's a warmth and freshness that I find endearing, though I might be a little biased. If you get a chance to see it, go for it. Apart from my originally seeing it on UK TV about 6 years ago, I've not seen that it's been shown since and only now have I been reacquainted with it on DVD. You can find it on The Peter Sellers Collection, included with it are I'm Alright Jack and Heaven's Above along with a disc that features a compilation of Seller's best TV work.

MartinHafer While there are some ironic twists here and there, this Peter Sellers film is definitely NOT a comedy. And while it is interesting (particularly at the end), it's a movie that is just OK--not one you should rush out to see.Sellers plays a librarian who is both looking for a promotion and longs for an affair. In many ways, the film is like a Welsh version of THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH, as Sellers is a family man who seems to want to cheat on his nice wife more to prove he's "still got it" than any other reason. Throughout the film, he pursues the rather easy to get Liz, the wife of a local big-wig. I was frankly quite turned off by this because it wasn't all that funny and it was really hard to care at all about Sellers--he was behaving like a real jerk.Fortunately, as the movie continues, it fortunately begins to show a bit more depth--with a deeper message other than "horny Sellers wants to get in Liz's knickers". This leads to a dandy climax (no pun intended) which tends to make watching the rest of the film worth while.Overall, if you are looking for a film like DR. STRANGELOVE, THE MOUSE THAT ROARED, THE PINK PANTHER or BEING THERE, then you'll be very disappointed. Without these high expectations, you'll probably have an easier time connecting to the film.

kjff This is a terrific example of a number of little English gems that Sellers made before his international stardom as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther. The writing and directing are wonderful as is the great black and white cinematography that captures a dismal Welsh mining town. See it if you can find it.