What's Up Doc? [M]

It begins with a plaid suitcase. There are four of them that all make their way to the same hotel. One holds top secret documents that the government wants to keep hidden from the public. The second holds very expensive jewels that the hotel plans to steal. The third holds Howard Bannister’s collection of rocks, which he needs for his demonstration in order to receive the famous Larrabee Grant. And the fourth contains the everyday items of Judy Maxwell. Through a bizarre chain of events, the cases all manage to get mixed up and it takes a near hotel demolition, a hilarious car chase, and a most confusing court trial to get to the bottom of the story. 

Peter Bogdanovich’s 1970s rom-com recaptures the bubbly, witty, and spontaneous hilarity of the 1940s screwball comedy with crazy and confusing stories overlapping one another, colourful characters, unforeseen events of drama and action, and all moulded by an eloquent and bitingly witty script. 

It begins with a plaid suitcase. There are four of them that all make their way to the same hotel. One holds top secret documents that the government wants to keep hidden from the public. The second holds very expensive jewels that the hotel plans to steal. The third holds Howard Bannister’s collection of rocks, which he needs for his demonstration in order to receive the famous Larrabee Grant. And the fourth contains the everyday items of Judy Maxwell. Through a bizarre chain of events, the cases all manage to get mixed up and it takes a near hotel demolition, a hilarious car chase, and a most confusing court trial to get to the bottom of the story. 

The central story that we all focus on is the random romantic one between Howard Bannister and Judy Maxwell. As the film recaptures a dwindling genre, their story can really be summed up and best described as a remake of Bringing Up Baby. We’ve got the adorably bumbling Howard whose fiancé is the stern and organised one of the relationship. Enter the vibrant and free-spirited Judy and it’s just like looking back at Grant and Hepburn. The two make a great romantic duo and there is still a lot of mystery surrounding the character of Judy even as the credits roll. Without the aid of leopards, the romantic story is powered into the delightful realm of plot misdirection and misunderstanding by the existence of the multiple plaid cases, which is what pushes this movie a little bit over the line. The whole thing does become really crazy and because there are so many stories happening and little done to try and explain many of them, you do find that it’s easy to get lost. However, the hilarity of the events that occur ensures that you stay in your seat and don’t give up on the plot entirely so take that away as a positive. 

Barbra Streisand stars as Judy Maxwell and she delivers yet another glorious performance. In every film I watch her in, I’m always spellbound by her ability to fit so many words into the space of a minute without slurring or becoming inarticulate in any way. It’s a real gift she’s got like Vince Vaughn or Shia Labeouf. Here Barbra was charming, confident, vibrant, and had this very cool quality about her. If I could go through life being like Judy I’d be happy. 

Ryan O’Neil stars as Howard and he’s very funny as the bumbling, cute, and sort of helpless academic type. By no means a Cary Grant, he still manages to make the role his own and he does with sincerity and a somewhat defeated attitude towards the end, which is surprisingly endearing. 

Starring Madeleine Khan, Kenneth Mars, Austin Pendelton, Michael Murphy, Philip Roth, Sorrell Brooke, Stefan Gierasch, Mabel Albertson, and Liam Dunn, What’s Up Doc? is an intriguing and very funny little screwball film that does capture the hilarity and the brilliance of the 1940s genre. Filled with misunderstandings, misinterpretations, mix-ups, drama, action, and romance, it’s a very funny little film that I quite enjoyed.