The Owl and the Pussycat (1970)

Good credentials abound in this 1970 adaptation of Bill Manoff's hit Broadway comedy. Buck Henry wrote the screenplay, and Herbert Ross (The Turning Point) directs the surprisingly funny pairing of Barbra Streisand and George Segal as, respectively, a semi-literate prostitute and an egghead. Streisand and Segal turn out to have excellent complementary styles (both are good at playing incredulity), and while the film is not always as witty as it could be, scenes are crisp and highly entertaining. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com

What happened to the "F" word?

My girlfriend and I saw this movie when it first came out in 1970. There was a scene involving the main characters where Barbra tells these guys to "F" off. I remember it vividly because my friend and I turned to one another in shock... "Did she actually use that word in a movie?" It was the first time we'd ever heard it used on the big screen and were indeed shcoked. I was more shocked when it didn't appear in the DVD version and had apparently been cut... however, the movie was just as good and as funny as when I first saw it and Barbra Streisand and George Segal have a great on-sceen chemistry and the story line is funny. There is nothing politically correct about the movie so be prepared to be entertained and shocked at what the movie characters have to say. Thoroughly enjoyable even though 37 years have passed. September 6, 2007

One Loud Hooker Plus One Insecure Writer Equals a Match Made Only in the Movies

After three big-budget Broadway-based period musicals in a row, Barbra Streisand obviously made a conscious career decision to convey a more contemporary image onscreen. She succeeds in spades in this often hilarious 1970 comedy adapted by Buck Henry from a hit Bill Manhoff play and directed by Herbert Ross. Streisand plays Doris, a loud-mouthed fetish hooker who claims to be a model and an actress. She gets thrown out of her apartment when her neighbor, a nebbish bookstore clerk and aspiring writer named Felix Sherman, reports her clandestine activities to the landlord. This causes a confrontation in which she is convinced he's gay and seduces him in a surprisingly graphic scene (at least surprising for Streisand). Another fight ensues causing them to get kicked out of his apartment. The rest of the film is mostly their bickering as they travel from one apartment to the next and carry out their improbable, Pygmalion-like opposites-attract romance.

In the same year he made two greatly underrated films, the mature "Loving" and the manic "Where's Poppa?", George Segal makes Felix a lovably insecure schlub and provides great chemistry with Streisand in her first non-singing role. They have a great scene in the bathtub where both are completely stoned as his fiancée and her parents walk in, and he has a funny scene where he pretends to be the TV to help Doris get to sleep. For Streisand's part, she wears a hysterically tacky negligee, dances in a go-go cage, appears in a soft-porn flick called "Cycle Sluts" (we only hear the riotous audio - "Where are you putting THAT?") and says the "F" word (unfortunately cut out of the DVD version though it's obvious when she says it). It's not her best screen performance, but it's one of her funniest. Henry's sharp dialogue and Ross' quick pacing help considerably in making this an enjoyably vulgar romantic comedy. The 2001 DVD had no extras other than three trailers, none for this movie. September 14, 2006

A Fine Owl and One Cute Pussycat!!!

After seeing this movie I became amazed that it had taken me such an effort to find a copy of it to rent anywhere. It is a very funny, warm and intelligent piece about friendship that I would recommend to anyone. With great performances by both George Segal and Barbra Striesand. Believe me when I say that all I wanted to do after I saw this film was take a Bubble Bath with Barbra.
K.P. March 9, 2006

What's happening to DVD's of the 70's????

I was really shocked and disappointed to find this DVD had been cut... this was one of the best films I saw in the 70's. I also discovered that another great movie, "Goodbye Columbus," has been edited down to a PG since its release on DVD with the original nude scenes deleted. I'm encouraging people NOT to buy or rent these DVD's and to write the studios and complain... it's bad enough that Columbia and Paramount have ruined their own product, but they didn't even have the courtesy to notify buyers that they weren't purchasing the original films. I agree with another reviewer here... we're being robbed. February 9, 2005

Bad Barb

This movie is absolutely adorable! Barbra Streisand is a way better actress than singer! In this movie, she's a prostitute who teaches a tight-cheeked man about freedom and love. This movie is better than Pretty Woman! November 24, 2004

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