Word: wildernesses
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Valentine's consequent attempts to win his wife back are both funny and touching. With the help of the real Valentino, Wilder convinces Annie that the real screen idolis a fellow who "only likes boys." But his charade fails to alter her illusions, and only then does the baker realize that the secret to gaining his wife's love lies in being himself. In these scenes Wilder displays a dramatic sensitivity which his more recent Mel Brooks roles have not allowed him to develop. The comedy and conflicts generated by this situation might have been sufficient material for a light...
...Wilder, like many artists who become too wrapped up in their own films, does not realize when he carries a good thing too far. For example, he hardly passes up an opportunity to clown, and as a result, he often comes off as a buffoon. Most of the puns and cheap sight gags are of dubious comic value, and the fragile thread of humor which supports them eventually breaks when it is stretched to a ridiculous length. In one scene, the train Wilder is on jolts, and Wilder's sleeping wife is thrown to the seat opposite...
...other overblown attempts at humor such as an accidentally flooded living room ("It's my new swimming pool!" Wilder explains, floundering among the floating chairs), shrill and tasteless jibes at homosexuality, and scenes in which the mere sight of fat people is intended to be funny. Wilder can make such devices laughable for a while, but they are worth a chuckle at most, and not the guffaws he tries (and fails) to extract from them. Repeated as often as they are, they become downright boring...
That is a shame, since Wilder and Kane handle their scenes together delicately. As the Midwestern couple encountering Hollywood for the first time, they display the proper amount of naivete and wonder. Kane is convincingly sweet and supportive and when he declares his true love for her at the end of the film, Wilder does his best acting...
...side-splitting beginning and a sentimental ending with a lot of dreck in between are not the best ingedients for the definitive Gene Wilder film. There is neither enough originality nor direction to sustain this movie. Those fans who hoped it would symbolize Wilder's break with his past will be disappointed. Had Wilder decided at the outset just how much and what kind of comedy to use, his final result might have been more consistent and much more memorable...