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S.O.B. / Blake Edwards (1981)

July 26th, 2007 by Scott Marks

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S.O.B.
Written and Directed by Blake Edwards
Cinematography: Harry Stradling
Music by: Henry Mancini
Edited by: Ralph E. Winters
Running Time: 121 mins.

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Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Starring: Julie Andrews (Sally Miles) William Holden (Culley) Marisa Berenson, Larry Hagman, Shelly Winters, Robert Preston (Dr. Irving), Loretta Swit (Polly Reed), Robert Loggia, Craig Stevens, Robert Vaughn (David Blackman), Robert Webber (Ben, Sally’s Press Agent), Jennifer Edwards (Lila), Rosanna Arquette (Babs), Ken Swofford, Hamilton Camp, Paul Stewart, Bert Rosario, Larry Storch, Virginia Gregg.

Blake Edwards’ mixture of autobiographical angst and Hollywood folklore was intended to purge the bad feelings still active a decade after the debacle of Darling Lili. The result is a hit-and-miss blend of bitterness, pitch-black comedy, silent slapstick homage, in-jokes, lots of familiar faces and even more recognizable payoffs.

Darling Lili is one of the director’s most polished and personal works. It was a Julie Andrews / Rock Hudson musical made at a time when the genre and stars had not only played themselves out, but earned their fair share of audience contempt.

Hot on the heels of spectacular studio flops like Star!, Hello Dolly and Sweet Charity, this ill-timed musical spy-spoof lost millions. Digging a deeper hole into generic oblivion, Edwards next attempted The Wild Rovers, a terrific western with William Holden and Ryan O’Neal. He had another minor film, The Carey Treatment, before returning to the Pink Panther series. Another Andrews flop (and masterpiece), The Tamarind Seed, sent the director back to the box office safety of two more Closeau projects.

The first credit after Blake Edwards’ ‘S.O.B. doesn’t go to a cast member or producer, but composer Henry Mancini. The cast won’t be announced until after the movie, and then through picture credits. The Mancini in-joke is best appreciated after the second viewing when you realize it’s a one-song soundtrack. Not since, nor after, John Williams’ minimal score for Altman’s The Long Goodbye (1973), in which even a doorbell plays the film’s theme, had a composer utilized a single melody. In Williams’ case it’s a delight to hear his inventive variations. Mancini and Edwards’ joke wears a bit thin after the umpteenth one-note rendition of Polly Wolly Doodle.

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Filed Under Reviews, Theatrical