I was in Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on my way home to Kuwait. I had a four hour layover and it was six in the morning, so drinking more seemed a bit… egregious. Instead, I strolled through the shops. There was an electronics store that was selling DVDs(there were several) and I wandered over to the “2 for 14EUR” table. There was junk, there were British shows I didn’t know and there were some interesting items. I picked up another quickly cancelled US series called “Kingdom Hospital” – based on the Lars von Trier’s series “The Kingdom” from Denmark and produced for the States by Steven King (very cool).

Then I saw a box. It was obviously an older movie, listed as a “Studio Classic”. And I’m looking at a movie called “What A Way To Go!”. It stars Shirley MacLaine, Robert Mitchum, Paul Newman, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly and Dick Van Dyke! It even has Bob Cummings and Margaret Dumont in her final movie. The screenplay is by Comden and Green!

Ever heard of this movie?

Me neither.

Turns out “What A Way To Go!” is one of the best pieces of Hollywood fun I have ever seen. From 1964, this totally Technicolor bit of fluff is the story of a poor young woman (MacLaine) who watches her mother (Dumont) brow-beat her father into becoming successful, so all she wants to do is marry someone nice and lead a simple life. She turns down her first suitor (Martin) and proceeds to marry a lowly shop owner (Van Dyke)… who promptly becomes ambitious, rich and then dies. This goes on throughout the rest of the movie, from the bohemian French painter (Newman) to the tycoon (Mitchum) to the vaudevillian (Kelly). As MacLaine says, this is a Hollywood film about love and what will she wear next? And what WILL she wear next? MacLaine is NEVER is the same outfit twice and the clothes are fabulous! The movie received an Oscar nomination for the costumes – all done by Edith Head (of course). It was also nominated for Set Decoration and there are some great set pieces. Heck, this movie even has one of the first appearances by Pamelyn Ferdin! (old Star Trek fans?)

It’s not a masterpiece nor is it brain surgery. But it is the kind of glee Hollywood used to be able to make effortlessly and now has been relegated to a distant memory. And there is nothing wrong with a decent bit of fluff.

Be Sociable, Share!

•