SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

JinRoz For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

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

nomorefog I had a relative take me to see this film on a Saturday morning when I was eleven years old at a cinema in my hometown of Sydney which doesn't exist any more (I'm referring to the cinema, not my hometown of Sydney). I found a video copy on ex-rental many years later and used to watch it often. 'The April Fools' is clumsy but charming, Maybe its even morally challenged by condoning adultery. But I don't care. it isn't terribly subtle or astute, about anything in particular. It does however, contain that inscrutable spark of life that manages to keep the audience's interest flickering for 100 minutes or so before they begin to drift off again.The leading performers are Jack Lemmon and Catherine Deneuve, the latter at the time an actress better known for her work in European cinema and considered to be above this kind of Hollywood silliness. But she is still in the movie and has a wonderful presence; I can't imagine anyone else playing the part. Deneuve stooped to conquer American movies for a time but she returned to Europe, eventually continuing an already distinguished career as if her attempt to conquer Hollywood had never happened. Ms Deneuve's English in this film isn't very good; she is however, playing a French visitor to American shores, so her hesitant delivery, seems natural as it is meant to be an aspect of her character. Both Lemmon and Deneuve are married, but unfortunately not to each other; both are not happy with their relationships and find solace in each other's company. They end up having an affair, and it is all very predictable, but in such a way that is completely delightful.A title song sung by Dionne Warwick and colourful sixties costumes and sets and lots of disco dancing make the film an entertaining relic; the opening sequence where Lemmon, as an advertising executive, is the reluctant attendee of a strange and wild sixties party is very funny and the best part of the film. 'The April Fools' eventually runs out of steam due to a lack of comic ideas and becomes a timefiller because of a lack of attention to the script that resorts to slapstick at the expense of character. Deneuve leaves her husband and Lemmon decides to accompany her to Paris. They leave behind two disgruntled spouses, one Sally Kellerman and the other Peter Lawford who are perfectly set in their ways, extraordinarily boring people and not likely to miss them at all.'The April Fools' is not the kind of film to get cerebral about. It's about people finding the chance to be happy and grabbing onto it with dear life. I can see now that as a youngster I was taken in by its sense of the time ie a 'youthful carfreeness' that was meant to be part of the charm of the sixties. I was also not weighed down by the critical facilities of an adult, and this is definitely not a critic's film. The April Fools gave me the impression that the sixties were a lot of fun with all of that dancing and music and carrying on with other people's partners, but somehow I doubt if that was the film's original intention, which remains a mystery now as much as it was when I first saw it as a child. Brainwave! Maybe it was just meant to be entertainment.

ken7310 I saw this movie when I was a young teenager & was so smitten with it that I went back to the theaters playing it & paid about ten separate admissions to sit through multiple viewings. I became a big Jack Lemmon fan after this film. He was in top form here. I sort of identified with his character since I was at that age where I felt a bit awkward & out of place. Brubaker at the party and at the disco was certainly that. Deneuve was so beautiful and to think she could be interested in the "frog" Brubaker captivated me. The supporting actors do a nice job & the music is great, creating a haunting, romantic mood. I have the title song on my Ipod. There were very few critics that liked the film when it debuted. I remember the old Cue Magazine calling it an "enchanting surprise package" but most critics dismissed it as a failure. I bought the VHS tape when it came out but I want to get a widescreen version. Does anyone know if there is such a version? I will always love this film.

shepardjessica This comic love fable has nothing really new to say, but Catherine Deneuve is beautiful as always and there are fun moments. Jack Lemmon had already beaten this character into the ground in the past, and it does become wearisome to watch him. Jack Warden and Harvey Korman are hilarious as drunken commuter train buddies of Lemmon and Peter Lawford is believable for the ONLY time as Deneuve's shallow, rich husband.Stuart Rosenberg was not really cut out to direct this kind of story, but does his best. Charles Boyer and Myrna Loy have presence as the older couple (still happy) after all these years. a 6 out of 10. Best performance = Jack Weston.

jckruize Typically good Jack Lemmon performance enhances this uneven Hal Dresner script that strains too hard to be whimsical. Great supporting cast, with Charles Boyer, Myrna Loy and Peter Lawford standouts. Catherine Deneuve is impossibly beautiful in this, one of her few American films, and her melancholy is nicely balanced by Lemmon's trademark veneer of glibness masking a streak of cynicism. Lovely score by Marvin Hamlisch, with the title song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Very 60's in milieu and cinematography, but the two leads especially lend some unexpected poignancy to the plot shenanigans.