Pile one improbability on top of another, and then another, and yet another, and what have you got? The plot for "It Started with a Kiss." And improbabilities are okay for comedy, because it is comedy. Well, at least to the point that there is comedy. This film has some, but I think the plot had much greater potential. As it is, it's a so-so comedy romance.
Clearly the weakness is in the screenplay. While it has a few good quips and funny lines, it could have had so much more. Because, with all of these improbabilities, the plot screams for some hilarity. A futuristic car won by an NCO in a raffle, getting delivered to him at his duty station in Spain, and then the allure that gets him and his wife invited into the highest of society - all of that should have produced some riotously funny situations and dialog.
Then, Maggie's insistence that she and Joe go one month without making love, to see if they really get along, is another wild improbability. That in itself can be the gist of an entire movie plot - as it was in "This Thing Called Love" of 1940 with Melvyn Douglas and Rosalind Russell. With all of the running around Sgt. Joe and Maggie do, in the high society circles of famous and wealthy Spanish dignitaries and generals and visiting congressmen, this movie begged for much more humor.
The film runs 104 minutes and seems to drag in places. It should have jettisoned the marital abstinence segment entirely. It just seems to disappear as an issue, but it takes up precious time that might better have been filled with much more humor as Sgt. Joe and Maggie mingled among the brass and high society. Debbie Reynolds' Maggie Putnam is a character that the writers couldn't seem to get straight, one way or another. First she comes across as a ditzy redhead. Her big surprise in the mail to Joe is taken by everyone else but her - including the wives of Joe's service buddies, to be a baby. Then, she's later well informed and very knowledgeable about Spanish society and VIPs. Then she reverts to an ignoramus about wine and guzzles glass after glass during a tasting tour.
Well, most of cast did okay with what they had, even though one can sense some of the leads, at least, were hoping for something more. They might welcome anything that would pump life into the scenarios and make them much funnier than they were. The last scenario saves the film as a comedy with a classic mix-up of rooms in the villa and Maggie popping into bed with the general. This is an okay film for fans of the actors, but most will probably find the material wanting for their favorite actors and actresses.
Here are most of the funny lines of dialog from this film.
Sgt. Joe Fitzpatrick, "Now, now, go to bed.... I, I, I won't bother you. I may cry a little bit during the night. But I won't bother you."
Lt. McCann, "Where's Fitzpatrick?" Charles Meriden, "He's taking a cold shower, lieutenant." Lt. McCann, "Again? That's the third time today." Meriden, "Well, some guys like to be clean." McCann, walking away, "Psychos!"
Maggie Putnam, "Ohhh! Will you kindly leave my bedroom?" Sgt. Joe Fitzpatrick, "This isn't your bedroom. It's our bathroom."
Maggie, "Joe, I've got a surprise." Sgt. Joe, "Well, hold it, Maggie. I'm still awful shook up from the last one."
Sgt. Joe, "Well, why would she invite us. We're not society" Maggie, "Why? Well, what's the difference, why? She did."
Maggie, "Well, he's the best bullfighter in the world. And he's fighting tomorrow. And before the fight, we're invited to his apartment to watch him get dressed." Sgt. Joe, "Who wants to watch a man get dressed?" Maggie, "I do." Sgt. Joe, "Well, you never watched me get dressed. What does this Soriano character got that I haven't got?"
Antonio Soriano, "Women are attracted to bullfighters... I believe it has something to do with the bull." Sgt. Joe, "Oh, well that's logical."
Sgt. Fitzpatrick, "I'm sorry we're going to miss the bullfight, particularly now that I've got somebody to root for - I know it isn't him" (pointing to Soriano). Maggie, "That's not funny." Sgt. Joe, "I kinda liked it myself."
Sgt. Joe, "For a man who's supposed to be facing death, he seems awfully certain about tomorrow. Maybe those bulls are fixed."
Clearly the weakness is in the screenplay. While it has a few good quips and funny lines, it could have had so much more. Because, with all of these improbabilities, the plot screams for some hilarity. A futuristic car won by an NCO in a raffle, getting delivered to him at his duty station in Spain, and then the allure that gets him and his wife invited into the highest of society - all of that should have produced some riotously funny situations and dialog.
Then, Maggie's insistence that she and Joe go one month without making love, to see if they really get along, is another wild improbability. That in itself can be the gist of an entire movie plot - as it was in "This Thing Called Love" of 1940 with Melvyn Douglas and Rosalind Russell. With all of the running around Sgt. Joe and Maggie do, in the high society circles of famous and wealthy Spanish dignitaries and generals and visiting congressmen, this movie begged for much more humor.
The film runs 104 minutes and seems to drag in places. It should have jettisoned the marital abstinence segment entirely. It just seems to disappear as an issue, but it takes up precious time that might better have been filled with much more humor as Sgt. Joe and Maggie mingled among the brass and high society. Debbie Reynolds' Maggie Putnam is a character that the writers couldn't seem to get straight, one way or another. First she comes across as a ditzy redhead. Her big surprise in the mail to Joe is taken by everyone else but her - including the wives of Joe's service buddies, to be a baby. Then, she's later well informed and very knowledgeable about Spanish society and VIPs. Then she reverts to an ignoramus about wine and guzzles glass after glass during a tasting tour.
Well, most of cast did okay with what they had, even though one can sense some of the leads, at least, were hoping for something more. They might welcome anything that would pump life into the scenarios and make them much funnier than they were. The last scenario saves the film as a comedy with a classic mix-up of rooms in the villa and Maggie popping into bed with the general. This is an okay film for fans of the actors, but most will probably find the material wanting for their favorite actors and actresses.
Here are most of the funny lines of dialog from this film.
Sgt. Joe Fitzpatrick, "Now, now, go to bed.... I, I, I won't bother you. I may cry a little bit during the night. But I won't bother you."
Lt. McCann, "Where's Fitzpatrick?" Charles Meriden, "He's taking a cold shower, lieutenant." Lt. McCann, "Again? That's the third time today." Meriden, "Well, some guys like to be clean." McCann, walking away, "Psychos!"
Maggie Putnam, "Ohhh! Will you kindly leave my bedroom?" Sgt. Joe Fitzpatrick, "This isn't your bedroom. It's our bathroom."
Maggie, "Joe, I've got a surprise." Sgt. Joe, "Well, hold it, Maggie. I'm still awful shook up from the last one."
Sgt. Joe, "Well, why would she invite us. We're not society" Maggie, "Why? Well, what's the difference, why? She did."
Maggie, "Well, he's the best bullfighter in the world. And he's fighting tomorrow. And before the fight, we're invited to his apartment to watch him get dressed." Sgt. Joe, "Who wants to watch a man get dressed?" Maggie, "I do." Sgt. Joe, "Well, you never watched me get dressed. What does this Soriano character got that I haven't got?"
Antonio Soriano, "Women are attracted to bullfighters... I believe it has something to do with the bull." Sgt. Joe, "Oh, well that's logical."
Sgt. Fitzpatrick, "I'm sorry we're going to miss the bullfight, particularly now that I've got somebody to root for - I know it isn't him" (pointing to Soriano). Maggie, "That's not funny." Sgt. Joe, "I kinda liked it myself."
Sgt. Joe, "For a man who's supposed to be facing death, he seems awfully certain about tomorrow. Maybe those bulls are fixed."