S.O.B. (1981)

Synopsis: Blake Edwards directs Julie Andrews in a not-terribly-funny look at narcissistic rich people who are unable to cope with the complexities of their fabulous, Southern California lives. Oh wait – that’s the Synopsis for “10” and That’s Life! 

Blurb From the VHS Jacket: “Blake Edwards, the director of “10” and the Pink Panther comedies, takes us behind the scenes of Hollywood in this wild, vitriolic attack on the culture merchants of our time.” 

What Did I Learn?: 1) Nobody knows if Batman is a transvestite or not. 2) A shyster is a disreputable lawyer. A disreputable doctor is a quack. 3) A sneeze is expiratory, not excremental.

You Might Like This Movie If: You want to see a real son-of-a-bitch in action.

 

Really?: Wow....take a drink every time Felix Farmer (the late, great Richard Mulligan) screams like a lunatic. I had a hard time believing he would get as far as he does in terms of buying back his awful film and then reshooting it. 

Rating: S.O.B. features a very impressive cast (Robert Preston is hilarious as the sleazy-but-likeable Dr. Finegarten) and some genuinely funny moments, but I have to give it something of a mixed review. The movie is chock-full of loud, and highly unlikeable characters (See: “Synopsis” and “Really?”), and the action really starts to drag near the end. Moreover, the humour in Edwards’ scathing Hollywood satire is a little too obvious, crude and mean-spirited for my taste; S.O.B. would have benefited from a somewhat subtler approach, such as the one Robert Altman used for The Player. 6.5/10 stars. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083015/?ref_=nv_sr_6