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Synopsis:
When singing duo Sonny (Sonny Bono) and Cher (Cher) are handed a creaky script by an arrogant producer (George Sanders), Sonny brainstorms ways to make it more creative by spoofing various genres — including westerns, Tarzan adventures, and private eye flicks.
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Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:
- Cher Films
- Comedy
- George Sanders Films
- Fantasy
- Hollywood
- Musicals
- Satires and Spoofs
- William Friedkin Films
Review:
Director William Friedkin cut his feature-length-narrative teeth on this amiable musical vehicle for Sonny and Cher, which did poorly at the box office but remains innocuously enjoyable escapist fare. The sets are colorful, Sonny and Cher seem to be having a good time together, and the three movie farces are fairly clever. Sanders is perfectly cast (and doesn’t seem bored out of his skull) playing “Mordicus”, a diabolically controlling producer with exactly one “rags to riches” storyline in mind:
he also cleverly shows up as the villains (Knife McBlade, “white hunter”, and Zarubian) in each of the satires.
Friedkin directs with a sure hand, and it’s well-edited to boot. While it’s certainly not must-see viewing, it’s not totally awful, either.
Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
- Colorful sets, costumes, and cinematography
- Amusingly scripted satirical vignettes
- A few enjoyable tunes
Must See?
No; this one remains a curiosity but not must-see.
Links:
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One thought on “Good Times (1967)”
Not must-see – and I’d have to say it’s pretty awful.
Cher comes off generally as cute; there’s one reasonably ok song early on; Sonny at least shows he’s receptive to Friedkin’s direction when given something funny to do.
But the script only occasionally has a funny line and nothing else really works all that much. Friedkin no doubt knew he had a turkey on his hands (the ‘King of the Jungle’ section, in particular, seems interminable) but he rose to the occasion to do what could be done with it. (As did Sanders.) … Steam really runs out in the last 10 minutes or so.