What's New Pussycat (1965)

An appealing, free-floating lunacy fuels What's New Pussycat?, and there's enough of it bubbling around to carry the movie past its many defects. The cast is like a collection of terribly attractive people stumbling over each other at a disorganized cocktail party--they aren't always witty, and some of them are drunk, but there's enough going on to keep you distracted. Peter O'Toole plays a swinging London womanizer seeking help for his addiction, who makes the mistake of consulting one Dr. Fritz Fassbender (Peter Sellers), a demented psychoanalyst. Woody Allen made his movie debut here and wrote the script (much altered, to Allen's chagrin, in the filmmaking process). This movie and Casino Royale--which also features Sellers, Allen, Ursula Andress, and a Burt Bacharach song--are overstuffed '60s artifacts, brimming with mod chaos. Alas, neither film is as funny as it should be. --Robert Horton Amazon.com essential video

This definitely was not a 'funny' movie

And by funny I mean funny 'ha ha'. It had a funny beginning, but that was it. Very disappointed in buying this one, I thought that since Peter Sellers and Woody Allen was in it, it would be funny, but it wasn't. No funny lines, or any creative situations. Pretty bland movie. I'll have to stick to movies by Blake Edwards instead. November 8, 2008

silly, ridiculous, but fun

This was a good drive-in movie flick back in the mid 60's. Not to be taken seriously, just enjoy the slapstick. Paula Prentiss makes the movie worth watching. September 13, 2008

Very happy

The movie is an old favorite, so I knew what to expect. The copy I received was in new condition, and arrived promptly, and was at a very fair price. I am very happy. August 5, 2008

What's New Pussycat, What's new?

I love Woody Allen. While I am currently in my mid-20s, I often say I grew up on Woody Allen films, often renting old ones on VHS and always seeing new ones in the theaters. However, the bottom line is that I was not particularly happy with this one.

This is Woody's film debut and he is not the director, however he is the writer and there is no doubt of that as this movie feels like a something only the mind of Woody Allen can conjure up. In this sense, Woody Allen fans should enjoy it, I did in this respect. I also enjoyed the fact that Sellers and O'Toole were in this film, however I did not think much of Sellers' performance. I was also surprised to see how young and handsome O'Toole was. I hate to say it (and this has nothing to do with the film itself) but as I saw O'Toole in his recent film, "Venus", I thought he must of been in his 80's. It seems he is actually 75, only three years older than Allen, who by the way looks great.

This film feels more like a play at times, which is actually quite endearing. I do admit I wholeheartedly enjoyed Sellers and O'Toole's as drunkards, Woody Allen fighting off a giant, the psychoanalysis get-togethers, Burt Bacharach's score...boy, it seems the more I discuss the film the more I realize how much I actually liked it.

Well, perhaps one more sour note to even things out. "What's New Pussycat?" is choppy in its cuts creating an all together skittish film experience...so I do not know who to thank for that: the director? editor?

April 13, 2008

Ridiculous. Ridiculous and Enchanting.

This film is RI-DICULOUS and yes, doesn't contain much substance and goes off the deep end at the end and is impossibly silly. BUT... I really love it. I'm a devoted fan of Romy Schneider and quite like Peter O'Toole. And I had heard of some of the other actors but while watching this movie, was introduced to a slew of '60s actors, all handsome and all talented.

When I first saw this movie, I was very disappointed. I thought it was interminable and only marginally funny. But since some cinematic works require more than one viewing to properly ascertain how you feel about them, I watched it again. I caught some bits of dialogue I'd missed before (and so caught more of the humour). The spiral into absurdity at the end became charming rather than annoying. Some time later, I watched it a third time... and loved it! With the proper mentality and some patience, this film became quite enthralling. All the silliness turned into delightful fun and now I'd watch it anytime.

So, patience is what I recommend to those who've watched this film once and hated it. If it doesn't grow on you after 2 or 3 views, then it's not for you. But since the '60s mentality is so different from our present concerns and way of life, you have to welcome this movie and let it grow on you, rather than demand it to meet your expectations. You're more than likely to be rewarded! February 2, 2008

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