After a decade of song and dance at MGM and front page scandal, Debbie Reynolds was ripe for a change in her career, and while some of her best work was still ahead of her, she took on a variety of projects which showed off her easy going personality to great affect. One of the most underrated is "My Six Loves", a family comedy where she is a Broadway star in great need of a rest who retires to the country and ends up taking in some abandoned children who change her life for good. The situation comedy set-up is obvious, and in the hands of a lesser actress could be silly and predictable. But Debbie makes it fun, and the kids are cute, too.
There are a ton of great character performances here, with the raspy Eileen Heckart as her cynical companion, Alice Ghostley as a lazy housekeeper, Alice Pearce as the grouchy school bus driver, John McGiver as a finger-wagging judge, Jim Backus as the local sheriff, Mary McCarthy and Max Showalter as the Ma and Pa Kettle like couple who abandoned their own kids, Cliff Robertson as the local priest, and David Jansen as Reynolds' love interest. Debbie's initial reluctance to have anything to do with these waifs quickly disappears, leading way to an adorable musical number ("It's a Darn Good Thing") that has its corny moments but is ultimately charming. So while critics might have found the idea of a single Broadway star taking in some dirty kids a bit cloying, less cynical audiences can enjoy it for the lovable fluff that it is.
There are a ton of great character performances here, with the raspy Eileen Heckart as her cynical companion, Alice Ghostley as a lazy housekeeper, Alice Pearce as the grouchy school bus driver, John McGiver as a finger-wagging judge, Jim Backus as the local sheriff, Mary McCarthy and Max Showalter as the Ma and Pa Kettle like couple who abandoned their own kids, Cliff Robertson as the local priest, and David Jansen as Reynolds' love interest. Debbie's initial reluctance to have anything to do with these waifs quickly disappears, leading way to an adorable musical number ("It's a Darn Good Thing") that has its corny moments but is ultimately charming. So while critics might have found the idea of a single Broadway star taking in some dirty kids a bit cloying, less cynical audiences can enjoy it for the lovable fluff that it is.