GetPapa Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

Helloturia I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

djderka I thought Airplane 1 & 2 were very funny. I liked all the Scary Movies (the comedies). I really liked It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, World with all of the greatest comedians of the time. And Bridesmaids was really funny too.But compared to One Two Three they all are in slow motion.One Two Three is the fastest most witty comedy I have ever seen. I just saw it on cable. And it is one of Billy Wilder's finest films. You cannot afford to laugh as you will miss the next zinger.The comedic innuendos come a flying at ya' and you better have a cup of Dark Roast coffee to stay alert.Fun is made of East/West, North/South, Communism/Capitalism and a ton of everything including society itself. A real tour d'force of life in the 60s and the cold war.Cagney has the fastest and longest lines you have every seen and he is backed up by a great supporting cast. The story is simple: Executive has to confront his capitalistic boss with the fact that his egocentric daughter falls in love with a commie. The quick witted dialogue between the Russian embassy guy and Cagney are great!I have to buy the video and show it too my friends, ASAP. And had to get my 2 cents in for a legacy post.And no CGI special effects, explosions, gun fire, car chases, impending disasters, foot chases, and the big mean bad guy.All dialogue and funny sight gags. Why can't we make this kind of comedy today.

RickSmith1492 sure its old, and sure most people have even forgotten that there were two Germanies, but its a forgotten classic. And since Wilder used lots of German actors, even the dialogue he didn't bother to translate is hilarious: two particularly funny scenes were the Vopos interviewing Otto about his "wedding present" and the Stasi torture scene--who wouldn't crack after days of "itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka-dot bikini." Too bad most viewers won't recognize the old posters slipping out of the picture frame in the table-top dance scene, or the million other topical references. Its like a post-graduate seminar on cold war Berlin. And if that ain't enough, remember "Good-Bye Lenin?" Their Coca-Cola scene is an outright homage, right down to the Building the "new' movie chose as Coke's Berlin headquarters. Look familiar?

writers_reign I've just read the first half dozen or so reviews of this gem on IMDb of which every one is a rave and I can only endorse these sentiments. Not that it is surprising to find a movie co-written and directed by Billy Wilder to be anything less than outstanding. This was the second time he had satirized Germany in a movie set in Berlin, the first, of course, the equally unforgettable 'A Foreign Affair', also shot on location and there's a fetching symmetry between the two; in 1947 Berlin was largely rubble in the wake of World War Two and in 1961 the rubble was still in evidence every time the characters cross from West to East Berlin. In a script spilling over with brilliant moments Wilder throws in several referential moments, an uncredited Red Buttons does a Cagney impression right to Cagney's character, Cagney emulates his classic 'grapefruit in the kisser' scene not to Mae Clark (who got the full benefit in 'Public Enemy') but to Horst Bucholtz (who, by all accounts, deserved much more), Cagney's character parodies a fellow Warner Bros actor, Eddie Robinson, in the line 'Mother of God, is this the end of Rico' (from 'Little Caesar'), when Cagney and Lilo Pulver enter the hotel in East Berlin the band leader is Frederich Hollander (who wrote 'Falling In Love Again' and 'See What The Boys In The Back Room Will Have', both associated with Marlene Dietrich, one of the stars of 'A Foreign Affair') and they are playing 'Yes, We Have No Bananas', which Wilder had featured in his 'Sabrina' in 1954, and so on. Like a lot of Wilder movies the source was an obscure (in the West) play by Hungarian Ferenc Molnar - author of 'Liliom' which Rodgers and Hammerstein turned into 'Carousel' - though the chances are Wilder and Izzy Diamond reworked it considerably. The plot has been detailed in other reviews so suffice it to say that Cagney is superb, Arlene Francis a nose in front of the rest of a brilliant cast. One, two, three, four, FIVE stars.

henryhertzhobbit If you don't like farce comedies like It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Murder by Death, and The Pink Panther Strikes Again avoid this one because that is what it is. After reading most of these reviews I think people misunderstood this movie. If you compare it to a painting the cold war is just the canvas it is painted on. In reality it is about a person who just can't get things right in his career and hopefully this time around he can contain things and make it all work. Everybody else is trying to do the same thing. On the way they merge in so many references to other movies and one liners it could be considered a history of cinema. If you don't understand them the fast pace may make it difficult for you to keep up with it. But for the younger people today that get most of these references they will like its fast pace. Most movies from that time period move too slowly for them. Oh yes, I guess the McNamara curse does finally get done away with in the end. Or does it? You will have to see the end to decide that for yourself.