Hitchcoc I do like Dudley Moore. He was a master musician, teacher, and comic. The problem was that his characters seem to bank on lowest common denominator efforts. Because most of us don't have the male credentials to entice someone like Bo Derek, we are left to only imagine. So what we have is a sad man who unhappy with what he has, making a fool of himself. It sets up another comedy by an odd looking little man, Gene Wilder, in The Woman in Red. The parts of the movie that are fun are the sight gags and pratfalls. This goes back to the roots of comedy, to the pathos of a Charlie Chaplain. But putting this into contemporary thought, we know it ain't gonna happen. Bo Derek is certainly quite the beauty, but other than the object of desire, doesn't have much to offer--or perhaps the plot doesn't. This is a pretty forgettable comedy, even with good intentions.

Con-Deuce After directing three "Pink Panther" comedies, director Blake Edwards made his most seminal film with "10" and it is his most sustained, mature work. Nothing before or (sadly) after would match this film. With "10", Edwards masterfully combined his unique gift for inventive sight gags with pathos and inflection that worked beautifully for the most part. The film is extremely well directed and acted especially by Dudley Moore. "10" would not have been as good as it is without him. For once, Edwards controlled his tendency toward self indulgence which sank some of his films.Moore plays a middle aged music composer facing a self inflicted spiritual crisis regarding his age. Though he's successful and lives in a gorgeous home in Bel Air, he's miserable. We've seen this character construct dozens or more times but Edwards manages to make the material fresh by staging some terrific set pieces that, unlike many other films he directed, feel integrated into the story rather than tagged on for just for laughs (compare "10" with his later "Skin Deep" to get an idea of what I mean). There's a great bit with Moore falling down a steep hill and another involving cars speeding across the Hollywood Hills. What Edwards excelled at was a kind of minimalist sight gag, a gag that appears out of the corner of the eye like the old lady and the priests home or how he captures the speeding cars by putting his camera above an intersection. He directs his best comedy bits with assuredness and subtlety. Moore's spiritual crisis causes him to chase a newlywed bride to her honeymoon in Mexico. One would think this setup would lose steam but it doesn't (just check out the scene as Moore crosses a rope bridge). Only at the very end does the film's narrative falter a bit when Moore realizes his dream woman is actually vapid and he returns to his senses. The films wrap up at the very end, though, is satisfying.Julie Andrews is fine in her role here though some of her line readings are a bit cringe inducing (i.e. "do you want to fight or make love"). Edwards throws in some of her singing and in one rehearsal scene, it's jarring. For just a moment the movie falls apart. While Andrews is adequate, a better, more believable actress would have made the film even better but it's a quibble. "10" works brilliantly in spite of some problems.

SnoopyStyle Popular songwriter George Webber (Dudley Moore) turns 42. He tells his singer girlfriend Samantha Taylor (Julie Andrews) that his life started at 40. He's having a midlife crisis. He is constantly fixated on young women. He follows one in particular who is a bride on her way to her wedding. Jenny Miles (Bo Derek) is the daughter of a prominent Beverly Hills dentist. He is struggling with the constant orgy next door, problems with Sam and drilling Jenny's father for information which leads to six cavities. He becomes fixated on Jenny and even follows the newlyweds on their honeymoon in Mexico.George is utterly sad, pathetic and not always funny. He just isn't adorable like his character in 'Arthur'. They're both sleazy sex fiends but there's a meanness in George. Whereas Arthur is self-destructive, George is simply selfish. It's not quite as appealing. Also Arthur has a soul mate which Julie Andrews isn't playing in this movie. I'm probably less attracted to her character here more than anything. There are moments of fun but they are fleeting.

ConDeuce Blake Edwards' best film by far. This is the only time that he managed to almost perfectly balance his strengths and keep some of his poorer directorial habits at bay. Edwards can stage a comedy "bit" like few others can. Just check out his masterful bit of editing with the cars flying by on the LA roads after Sam Taylor has spied George at the swingers house (he's racing back to his house; she's racing away from it. The camera is poised on a hill simply panning left to right and right to left). Or the simple scene where George tumbles down the hill climbing desperately to get to the phone. There are a number of others in "10" that get a good laugh while staying realistic and true to the film's narrative. None of the comedy bits feel out of place the way they often do in some of Edwards' films (see "Skin Deep" for some examples of what I mean).Edwards is one of the most over looked directors. Some of the fault lies with his own inconsistencies. When he's in top form like in "10", he's fantastic. But a lot of times he allows himself to become self indulgent. Some of this self indulgence comes out of his apparent (and laudable) willingness to allow his stars to shine. In "10", for example, he gives his wife, Jule Andrews, a bit of singing to do while at a rehearsal. Thankfully the scene is brief (not faulting Andrews or her singing but it's out of place in "10") but in other films, he lets things get out of hand. But not in "10". Edwards keeps the film focused on the story and the characters. With some fine supporting actors (Brian Dennehy, Dee Wallace) the film is mature and has some relevant, realistic dialogue.