When Broadway and Hollywood's "Funny Girl" takes on a character who seems to have more lives than Disney's "Thomasina", you know she's going to not only sing out a storm but wear some delightfully lavish costumes, both period and modern. Ms. Streisand didn't just get another big vehicle to show off her enormous talents, but a legendary director who knew a thing or two about movie detail: Vincent Minnelli. Having just completed work with Minnelli's old MGM pal Gene Kelly on "Hello, Dolly!", Barbra added, for her third movie, another movie version of a Broadway musical to her film credit, and if "On a Clear Day" wasn't the smash of the first two on stage, it was certainly a vehicle worthy of her talents.
"Climb up, geraniums!", she sings gregariously as she dances her way through a flower garden. Is this a music video, movie musical or nature show?, you may wonder as the film begins, but after hearing her voice initially, you wait for the big star entrance, and boy, is she given one. She's on her way to Columbia University to see psychiatrist Yves Montand in an effort to stop smoking, and with their meeting, more is revealed than meets the Marlbrough. Take us back to Charles Dickens era England where we discover one of Streisand's previous lives: She's a female Oliver Twist, brought up in an work house (even seen eating gruel) yet ends up the wife of a wealthy aristocrat clad in a gorgeous beaded and hooded gown which looks like something out of "Metropolis". "Love With All the Trimmings!", she sings over the action as her manicured goddess makes her lust towards a handsome visitor obvious to everybody but the cuckolded husband.
Back in 1970 Manhattan, Streisand and psychiatrist Montand have instant rapport, even though Montand is more interested in Streisand's past lives than helping her quit smoking. This leads to the amusing revelation of his true intentions, and Montand is faced with possibly losing his greatest psychiatric discovery once Streisand learns the truth. "Come Back to Me!", he sings from his office window, and this, combined with the fact that she has gained E.S.P. from her meetings with him, makes her unable to sleep. One of the people she encounters during this song is the adorable Judith Lowry ("Phyllis's" Mother Dexter) who must mouth Montand's words to her while Streisand desperately tries to get Montand's voice out of her head.
There's plenty of comedy here, but the romantic chemistry between Streisand and Montand is nill. For the most part, he's a handsome but dull partner, giving the impression that perhaps somebody like Louis Jourdan would have been better in this role, ironic considering that Jourdan originated that part before the original show went to Broadway. Other cast members are wasted, and they include a young Jack Nicholson and a pre-TV Bob Newhart. Amusing with her few scenes is "Bewitched's" Mabel Albertson as Montand's secretary, quite ironic considering her larger part in Streisand's comic masterpiece "What's Up, Doc?".
While not perfect, and certainly nowhere near faithful to the original Broadway play (it is certainly a lot better than a recent Broadway revisal), this is at its best when Streisand is either singing, clowning, or clad in outrageous outfits. Minnelli shows he still has a flair for great detail, and even with this not being the smash he had hoped it would be (or the unfortunate misfire of his badly edited "A Matter of Time"), he shows that the magic of his triumphant MGM years had not wained.
"Climb up, geraniums!", she sings gregariously as she dances her way through a flower garden. Is this a music video, movie musical or nature show?, you may wonder as the film begins, but after hearing her voice initially, you wait for the big star entrance, and boy, is she given one. She's on her way to Columbia University to see psychiatrist Yves Montand in an effort to stop smoking, and with their meeting, more is revealed than meets the Marlbrough. Take us back to Charles Dickens era England where we discover one of Streisand's previous lives: She's a female Oliver Twist, brought up in an work house (even seen eating gruel) yet ends up the wife of a wealthy aristocrat clad in a gorgeous beaded and hooded gown which looks like something out of "Metropolis". "Love With All the Trimmings!", she sings over the action as her manicured goddess makes her lust towards a handsome visitor obvious to everybody but the cuckolded husband.
Back in 1970 Manhattan, Streisand and psychiatrist Montand have instant rapport, even though Montand is more interested in Streisand's past lives than helping her quit smoking. This leads to the amusing revelation of his true intentions, and Montand is faced with possibly losing his greatest psychiatric discovery once Streisand learns the truth. "Come Back to Me!", he sings from his office window, and this, combined with the fact that she has gained E.S.P. from her meetings with him, makes her unable to sleep. One of the people she encounters during this song is the adorable Judith Lowry ("Phyllis's" Mother Dexter) who must mouth Montand's words to her while Streisand desperately tries to get Montand's voice out of her head.
There's plenty of comedy here, but the romantic chemistry between Streisand and Montand is nill. For the most part, he's a handsome but dull partner, giving the impression that perhaps somebody like Louis Jourdan would have been better in this role, ironic considering that Jourdan originated that part before the original show went to Broadway. Other cast members are wasted, and they include a young Jack Nicholson and a pre-TV Bob Newhart. Amusing with her few scenes is "Bewitched's" Mabel Albertson as Montand's secretary, quite ironic considering her larger part in Streisand's comic masterpiece "What's Up, Doc?".
While not perfect, and certainly nowhere near faithful to the original Broadway play (it is certainly a lot better than a recent Broadway revisal), this is at its best when Streisand is either singing, clowning, or clad in outrageous outfits. Minnelli shows he still has a flair for great detail, and even with this not being the smash he had hoped it would be (or the unfortunate misfire of his badly edited "A Matter of Time"), he shows that the magic of his triumphant MGM years had not wained.