10
(director/writer: Blake Edwards; cinematographer: Frank Stanley; editor: Ralph E. Winters; music: Henry Mancini; cast: Dudley Moore (George Webber), Julie Andrews (Samantha Taylor), Bo Derek (Jenny Hanley), Brian Dennehy (Donald), Sam Jones (David Hanley), Dee Wallace (Mary Lewis), Lorry Goldman (Bernie Kaufman), James Noble (Dr. Miles), Deborah Rush (Dental Assistant), John Hancock (Dr. Croce), Don Calfa (neighbor); Runtime: 122; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Tony Adams, Blake Edwards; Orion/Warner Bros.; 1979)
“Inane, slow moving and tedious farce.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Blake Edwards (“Revenge of the Pink Panther”/”Victor/Victoria”) directs this inane, slow moving and tedious farce.
George Webber (Dudley Moore) is a 42-year-old successful Brit songwriter of popular music (called “elevator music” by the Pepsi generation). He’s a wealthy man residing in a luxury hill-top LA home. When riding in his Rolls Royce in Malibu he spots the beautiful twentysomething Jenny (Bo Derek) riding in a limo in her wedding gown and follows her to the wedding reception. He pines for her, rating her an 11 when a perfect score for him is 10.
George tells his therapist (John Hancock) about the young beauty he met. After learning her father is a Beverly Hills dentist (James Noble), he gets treated by him for his cavities so he can learn where she’ going for her honeymoon. He then secretly follows her to a fancy Mexican resort, while he abruptly leaves behind his respectable singer girlfriend Samantha (Julie Andrews, wife of Blake Edwards).
Rather than being a sophisticated take on George’s mid-life crisis, its a puerile take on a grown man acting irrational. The humor has no edge. George is viewed as someone who feels insecure despite his career success, and his obsession with 10 is merely a superficial take on the mid-life crisis.
George meets his dream girl in private after saving her husband’s life when he fell asleep on his surf board and George picked him up on his rental boat.
In Jenny’s hotel room, that evening, they smoke grass while Ravel’s Bolero plays and her husband heals in the hospital. She’s sexy but shallow. They end up in bed but George doesn’t score because he misses his more substantial gf Samantha and returns home to stay in his own lane.
It’s beyond me why this weak rom/com became such a hit.
REVIEWED ON 8/7/2024 GRADE: C