The Owl and the Pussycat (1970) User Reviews

Enjoyable film runs out of steam in the second half.

[gridoon · 6/10 · 31 October 1999]

"The Owl and the Pussycat" is an uneven but generally enjoyable mix of comedy and romance, with a few dramatic undertones. There are some genuine laughs and some touching moments, but the movie's loudness occasionally goes over-the-line. Streisand is alternately appealing and annoying, sometimes both in the same scene. Segal is very enjoyable in his "everyman" role, and he makes the picture worth watching, although it does run out of steam in the second half.

Way better than I remembered it

[krisroboneil · 7/10 · 27 April 2006]

This is a fantastic movie.

I used to think it was too loud, abrasive and most certainly claustrophobic....and at that time it really turned me off. Well, it is all those things...but, it is brilliantly acted by both Segal and Streisand. I don't think I have seen Streisand more natural or convincing than in this role....and in my opinion she's extremely sexy.

Originally I faulted George Segal for being so annoying (as Felix)...now, I applaud him for acting the part.

There are some hysterically funny lines and situations in this movie.

Enjoy

Barbra goes mod! An old-fashioned comedy 'modernized'...

[moonspinner55 · 7/10 · 24 September 2005]

Adaptation of the Broadway play casts George Segal as an uptight New York City book-clerk who hopes to be a writer but can't get anything published; after calling the landlord one night on prostitute-neighbor Barbra Streisand, he finds her on his doorstep. She tells him she's a model and an actress--her third time on TV is in front of the elevator security camera! The two lovable losers banter back and forth before falling into uncertain love, and you could say the film is either nicely devoid of major plot devices or is an exceptionally thin romantic comedy. Streisand, her Brooklynese so thick she sometimes lapses into Cockney, wears tacky, hilarious hooker-outfits, but her shrillness isn't modulated (at least not in the first act) and she can sometimes be grating. The sex-talk is dated now, and the picture tends to look like a relic from a bygone era, yet it's an often funny film about opposites. Although too soft in its final scenes, director Herbert Ross changes speeds enough to keep things bubbling, even though his rhythm may put some viewers off. *** from ****

A hoot of a comedy!

[rdvinct · 27 March 2003]

The Owl And The Pussycat is a fine example of great comic pairing. Barbra and George Segal work very well together. Very well indeed. It is a loud comedy though, not a slapstick one. So if you're looking for slapstick, watch What's Up,Doc? or For Pete's Sake. If you are looking for a comedy that is a more heartfelt, with more depth to the charatcers and emotion, then The Owl And The Pussycat is for you. I say it is a loud comedy mostly because of Barbra's character Doris. Doris can be pretty loud. But what's funny about it is that half the time she doesn't even mean to be; it's just her nature. This "nature", took George Segal's character Felix quite by surprise,

and it is very amusing to see him try to adjust to it. What's so interesting to watch is that although Doris shows herself in the beginning to be loud, self-assertive and bold, she later shows herself to be vulnerable and sweet. Where as George Segal's character Felix, showing himself to have a nose up in the air, "I'm too intellectual for you" attitude in the beginning, later shows that although he wants success in his life, not at the expense of pretense. With himself, or what he genuinely wants. I say pretense because Felix's thinking was that he would marry an "intellectual" such as he thought himself to be, and live this "proper" life. Doris, although loud, and believes she is a legend in her own mind, is genuine and real. Felix is very much attracted to her for this reason. It's a quality that she has that he sees that he wants to be more like himself. But what is so amusing is that Doris feels that after meeting and getting to know Felix, that she needs to become more like him! More "intellectual". What's truly so charming about this movie is how it shows the facades that we can portray and the masks that we can wear are truly just that; facades and masks. How no matter how confident we can "look" on the outside, how smart we may "appear", that it can be a totally different story once you start actually getting to know someone. What's most charming of all,(actually wonderful),is that by the film's end they both decide to drop these facades, take off the masks, and "start fresh". But...all along from the beginning of this movie til it's end, until they get to this level, it can be quite hysterical. A great comedy with heart. Enjoy it.

THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT (Herbert Ross, 1970) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 28 December 2007]

This is another film I had missed out on a number of times on Cable TV in the past. It's considered something of a censorship milestone with the treatment of taboo subjects such as prostitution, homosexuality and pornography – not to mention the proliferation of bad language throughout (unfortunately, the DVD is said to contain the slightly edited PG-rated version, which cuts some brief nudity involving female lead Barbra Streisand and her use of the f-word in one scene)!

With this in mind, one has to consider the development which the comedy genre underwent during this time: from the mildly risqué sophisticated antics of the Doris Day/Rock Hudson films of the early 1960s to the cynical anxiety-ridden variety that started emanating towards the tail-end of the decade – with which the likes of Jack Lemmon, George Segal (the male lead of this film) and, in particular, Woody Allen (since he was his own writer and mostly directed himself as well) are forever associated.

THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT is also notable for giving the current female singing sensation – Barbra Streisand – her first non-musical role; in fact, it led to other wacky comedy vehicles: foremost among them WHAT'S UP, DOC? (1972; Peter Bogdanovich's updating of the Howard Hawks classic BRINGING UP BABY [1938]) and FOR PETE'S SAKE (1974; whose trailer, included on the Columbia R2 DVD of the film under review, makes it seem like a good deal of fun). Thanks largely to his role in the film, Segal went on to do his fair share of sex comedies up till the early 1980s – with the most successful among them being A TOUCH OF CLASS (1973), which I should be acquiring shortly.

Anyway, to get to the main item: the film can be seen as a modern variation on the perennial "Pygmalion" theme – with Segal as intellectual but, at the same time, neurotic and Streisand the uncouth yet liberated woman. There's no plot to speak of – instead, we follow the two stars on a logical pattern of location-hopping around New York throughout which their relationship blossoms: from his apartment when she's evicted because of his snitching (which leads to both of them being given the gate by the landlord), to them shacking up at the flat of Segal's pal (who drives them out because of their constant bickering), then going their separate ways till they meet again (after he has learned about her movie experience – a hilarious scene – and a 'colleague' of hers has gone to see him at his workplace) and go out together (where they're harassed by a band of thrill-seekers), after which they find themselves at the house of Segal's fiancée (a scene with an unexpectedly ironic punchline), to finally deciding to be completely honest with one another (beginning with their real names).

In this respect, the film emerges to be overly talky (betraying its stage origins) but there is a reasonable amount of invention and wit in the undeniable comedy highlights: Segal dressing up as Death to scare the hiccupping Streisand; Segal using an aquarium as a TV set – with him delivering an impromptu news flash – to humor the insomniac Streisand (her addiction to TV is illustrated by a surprising reference to the Lionel Atwill/Lon Chaney Jr. horror pic MAN MADE MONSTER [1941]); the couple's argument over "the sun spat morning" line in the opening paragraph of a book by aspiring novelist Segal; Streisand's account of the sordid activities her clients invariably came up with (prompting Segal to describe her as "a sexual Disneyland"), etc. The film's soundtrack is highlighted by several songs from jazz/rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears.

Sparring Stars

[SwollenThumb · 6/10 · 20 April 2018]

Character comedy. I wanted more plot but for almost the whole movie we have only the sparring of the two stars. Unfortunately we learn very little about their lives that makes them more interesting as opposites. For fans of the two stars only but it's not their best work.

Part Grating, Part Charming

[ericritter-01765 · 6/10 · 17 June 2020]

The Owl and the Pussycat seems stuck between two worlds - the stage and the screen. While the screenplay has done wonders to make the story feel less cramped and claustrophobic, the performances haven't always been modulated to better fit the screen with Streisand coming across as a bit too shrill, loud, and grating for most of the film's first half.

When the film finally settles into its groove, it can be quite charming and funny, but you just have to get past that initial hump. There are a few pacing issues even with its relatively short 96 minute runtime, but the charm of Streisand and Segal make up for any major shortcomings.

Loud, abrasive, crude and edited but still funny

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 19 November 2005]

Comedy/drama taking place in NYC about meek, mild Felix (George Segal) ending up stuck with loud, obnoxious prostitute Doris (Barbra Streisand). Naturally they hate each other and naturally fall in love.

This movie is VERY loud (basically because Streisand yells nonstop), the humor is pretty caustic (Streisand thinks Segal is gay and throws quite a few homophobic jokes at him) and is pretty risqué--it was edited from an R rating but there's still plenty of swearing and sexual sequences. Still it is fun. Segal and Streisand work well together--the script is full of one liners that they throw at each other full tilt. And it might seem strange that Streisand could convincingly play a prostitute--but she actually looks very attractive here and pulls it off (she played another one in "Nuts" in 1987).

This isn't perfect however. It seems a little bit too long and some of their arguing gets repetitive. Also there is annoying edit when Streisand says the word "f***". I'm guessing it was cut to get a PG rating but it renders one scene incomprehensible and I DID hear it in the video version released in the 1980s. What's the story? Also there's a very ugly scene at the end where Segal humiliates Streisand in Central Park. Segal also shot some nude scenes which never made it into the final print.

Still this is worth catching. I wouldn't let the kids see it though. This is pretty strong for a PG film.

great movie--Shame on Columbia for editing DVD

[TLW404 · 10/10 · 25 July 2004]

Many classic scenes, Bombs Away, TV in the aquarium, Barbra's hands and heart placed just .....hovever, when the DVD company from hell released it on DVD, they censored a word that renders an entire scene meaningless.

It was an historic word also, the first time a star had ever

said it in a major film. F***!! The only time anyone has

ever censored Barbra to this day! Still a great comedy!

Sexy, funny and way ahead of its time! One of Bab's best! George's too!

A noisy and bawdy comedy that will irritate and please in equal measure

[vampire_hounddog · 6/10 · 13 October 2020]

After a meek New York bookstore assistant (George Segal) calls and rats on a noisy neighbour who is also a prostitute (Barbra Streisand). She knocks on the door and persuades him that she can camp out in his apartment as she has been evicted because he complaied about her. Naturally, they are both at odds with each other and fall in love.

Closely adapted from Bill Manhoff's Broadway play, this is a loud, bawdy and sometimes vulgar farcical comedy and although the pairing of Segal and Streisand are good, surprisingly good, it doesn't quite hit the notes of say a Neil Simon comedy. The film irritate and please in equal measure.

Mostly Annoying

[reader4 · 5/10 · 9 October 2009]

Why is it that "comedy" filmmakers seem to think that the way to make a man fall in love is to torment him so unmercifully that he's ready to commit murder? Does this kind of thing actually happen in real life?

This is a remake of "The Divorce of Lady X" (which I also found more annoying than funny) with some 70s pop culture add-ins, like miniskirts, marijuana smoking, self-analysis and, most surprisingly, Barbra Streisand's potty mouth, and without the beauty of Merle Oberon to provide at least some reason for watching.

Barbra is ultra-abrasive throughout, with a maturity level slightly below that of the average three-year-old, so self-absorbed that it genuinely never occurs to her that other people in the world might have needs, or even feelings. Certainly my idea of the perfect mate!

I did watch it all the way to its non-comedic "let it all hang out - tell it like it is" ending, although I don't really know why. The thing I liked best about it was that it was finally over.

There are reviews here by people who are clueless

[silveryjessica · 10/10 · 22 February 2014]

First of all, this film was not hated by critics. It was adored by critics, and it was a huge hit.

Second, it is not a rip-off of anything else. It isn't derivative of anything else. It was a book. Then it was a play, starring Diana Sands and Alan Alda. Then it became this movie, with some significant changes, the main one being the elimination of the interracial pairing that had existed in the play.

Third, George Segal has been working in comedies for his entire career.

Fourth, this is a seriocomedy, with easily as much pathos as comedy. The comedy is broad and rapid-fire, and the pathos is very intense. There are moments of intense pain along with some really hearty laughs.

Fifth, this is a time capsule. New York was a violent, dirty, impoverished, scary place in 1970, and never did people on the fringes struggle more. This is a time where you could be thrown out of your apartment in the middle of the night for making too much noise, before ATMs and when people had recordings of vicious dogs next to their front doors to deter all-too-common burglars. This is a time of a seedy 42nd Street, where you could go to one of 40 porn houses and watch full- length dirty movies all night, surrounded by drunks and bums and perverts. This is a movie of a place and time that doesn't exist any more, and these were the people who tried not to lose themselves while trying to make their dreary lives a little more than the reality they were trapped in.

When people take themselves and this site too seriously, and run off at the mouth about movies they don't understand in language that is imprecise and improperly used, it makes me annoyed.

Watch this film. It is unlike others. You will find things to love in it.

First half: great. Second half: not so much

[lucasversantvoort · 6/10 · 6 May 2015]

The Owl and the Pussycat is a relatively unknown chapter in the careers of both Barbra Streisand and George Segal. Nevertheless, the talent was definitely there: director Herbert Ross would eventually direct successes like The Goodbye Girl and writer Buck Henry had contributed to The Graduate. The first half of The Owl and the Pussycat has these talents on full display and yet, somehow, the second half is a boring and disjointed mess.

Felix is a wannabe writer who comes home on a rainy night to discover that his book will not be published. He shows his frustration by calling his super and telling him the woman across from him takes money for sex. This gets her thrown out, but not before she finds out it was Felix who told on her. She, Doris, knocks on his door at 3 in the morning, demanding answers. He tries to scare her away by playing his recording of a barking German Shepherd, but she enters and hilarity ensues. Their antics get them thrown out of his apartment too…and out of a friend's, so they're forced to wander while pondering their relationship and life in general.

If that last sentence sounds lame and vague, that's because it is. There's a precise moment when the film's second half starts. It's the morning after they spend the night at Felix's friend's place. It's literally a night and day difference between the film's halves. Somehow you just sense the fun's over. After the great first half, I was astounded by the lack of laughs. It defies belief. It's almost like another director/writer team took over. Yes, it's obvious something's being explored: life, their relationship, his engagement to an emotionally stuck up woman (who's of course nothing like Doris), what have you, but it just feels so aimless and downright boring. It's the first thing I think of when remembering The Owl and the Pussycat: first half great, second half boring.

But what a great first half. There really is no story being told at that point, just the owlish Felix and wildcat Doris playing off one another. Hilarious moments abound. From Felix attempting to help Doris with her hiccups, to him reading her a bedtime story about the sun spitting morning into the main character's face which results in Doris ranting about how that metaphor doesn't make sense. It just goes on and on and it's great. It also helps that Segal and Streisand play wonderfully off one another. I've read stories about how Streisand and Walter Matthau didn't get along in Hello Dolly! Thankfully, no such troubles here. In the end, if you just want some great comedy (let's face it, who doesn't?), then watch the first half and greatly temper your expectations for the second half.

What's a diva to do after three big screen musicals?

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 29 July 2014]

Louis B. Mayer once said after seeing Greta Garbo leading a conga line that it was as shocking as seeing your grandmother drunk. He may have had a fatal heart attack had he been around to watch Barbra Streisand go from leading lady in three big screen movie musicals to playing an obvious hooker in a foul mouthed romantic comedy he would have burnt before offering to Joan Crawford. Of course, Streisand, affectionately known as Babs, had seen the writing on the box office receipts of other recent musicals, preferring to save her singing voice for the recording studio rather than the movies. Instead of breaking into song on some moving vehicle in every film, she won box office approval by playing wacky independent women with more intelligence than the leading male character believed her to have.

The grand dame of modern gay icons. Babs is a bit shocking as she makes the assumption that her nebbish neighbor (George Segal) is gay, something she throws in his face with great relish and venom. Of course, it's only a matter of time before she learns the truth, parading around in lacy and racy pajamas, certainly not meant to sleep in. It seems out of character for her very flamboyant character to be so verbally hateful towards gay men, especially one she has no proof to back her claim. For most of the movie, Streisand is a bit of a harpy, but manages to instill a level of humor that makes her at least somewhat tolerable. She's particularly funny in a scene where you only hear her voice acting out a porno.

The lack of major supporting players makes it a bit tough on Streisand and Segal to hold all the attention. Their chemistry is iffy at best, although the final confrontation between the two on Central Park locations brings out a lot more vulnerability in each of the characters. Still, the obvious stage origins of the set up detract from the wide screen and makes it truly feel dated.

BEST OF 1970 #10- a romantic comedy done right

[KatMiss · 6 July 2002]

TEN BEST OF 1970

#10- The Owl and the Pussycat

Herbert Ross' "The Owl and the Pussycat" is a prime of example of how to do a "Battle of the Sexes" romantic comedy right. Most modern romantic comedies are either drowning in their syrupy sentimentality ("Serendipity")or in crude hatred of one and/or both sexes ("Tomcats", "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood").

The film stars Barbra Streisand as Doris, a part-time hooker/actress who doesn't go anywhere without her TV. George Segal plays Felix Sherman, a would-be writer whose life consists of writer's block and rejection slips. One fateful evening, Felix complains to the landlord about the constant noise coming from Doris' apartment. He goes to bed and is awakened by a loud knock. It's Doris, who was evicted from her apartment and has several bones to pick with Felix. It's the beginning of a battle that lasts for most of the film's 97 minute running time.

What makes The Owl and the Pussycat such a standout film is the care that went into the production. Buck Henry has successfully transplanted Bill Manhoff's play from L.A. to New York and the film is better for it. New York is a much livelier town than L.A. and the city itself becomes a character that the others bounce off from. Herbert Ross proves he can handle comedy as well as he can handle musicals and choreography. His direction doesn't overwhelm the script and acting but compliments it in a way most people write off.

On paper, I suppose the Barbra Streisand-George Segal pairing doesn't look promising. But when you see the film, you will not think of more perfect casting. Streisand and Segal have good chemistry together and it makes some of the later events of the film more believable. Streisand has a gift for delivering brisk, snappy dialogue. Segal has a gift for being able to make his characters instantly likable.

The score is by Blood, Sweat and Tears. Made in between their second and third albums, the score doesn't feel like a time-filler throwaway. Dick Halligan's music fits the film like a well worn glove. I cannot imagine the movie without the music. It does like all good scores do, enhance the movie without giving it away. There is a mix-up in regards to the lyrics (credited to BS&T, but David Clayton-Thomas has said they were given to BS&T before the music was composed), but still, as sung by DC-T, the songs have a wonderful quality to them.

All people who even want to attempt a romantic comedy should watch "The Owl and the Pussycat". It shows how to make a movie like this without resorting to misogyny, chauvinism or drippy sentiment.

**** out of 4 stars

Cute but dated

[HotToastyRag · 6/10 · 14 June 2018]

The Owl and the Pussycat is simultaneously really cute and really dated. If you want to see Barbra Streisand prance around in a darling lingerie set, you're going to have to endure lots of dialogue that wouldn't be said today. The impetus for the two main characters to meet is as follows: Barbra and George Segal are neighbors. She's a prostitute, and when he tells the landlord, she barges into his apartment to chew him out. She calls him a "fruit" and he calls her "promiscuous", and while they banter back and forth about each other's lifestyles, modern audiences will probably drop their jaws. It just isn't pc to insult a woman for having multiple bedroom partners, use gay slang, or to assume that calling someone gay is an insult in itself. The one theme of the film that's still alive and well: making fun of intellectuals. Intellectuals are always fair game to criticize and pull apart, to put back together only when they've learned how to let their hair down and "live". So, if you like that message, you can go back in time to 1970 and rent The Owl and the Pussycat.

Babs is really cute in this movie, and not just because of her adorable costume. She rattles off quips like breathing, and gives just as good as she gets. And if you like dated period pieces, like Barefoot in the Park or Fun with Dick and Jane, you'll probably think this is a sweet and funny trip back in time. My favorite jokes are the ones that make fun of the stereotypical "author". For example, George Segal writes a poetic phrase, "the sun spit morning," and Barbra doesn't understand what it means. Sometimes authors are too in love with their own words and need to take a trip back down to Earth.

Babs!

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 3 February 2022]

Written by Buck Henry, based on a stage play by Bill Manhoff and directed by Herbert Ross, The Owl and the Pussycat was a huge romantic comedy hit. It stars Barbara Streisand (who did a nude scene for the film that was cut at her request and then published by High Society; Babs sued) as a prostitute who also has acted in two TV commercials named Doris who finds herself living with Felix, her writer neighbor (George Segal) when she's evicted. Then, they both get evicted when he tries to cure her hiccups.

They end up moving in with Barney (Robert Klein), a friend of Felix, but their arguing - followed by lovemaking - leads to Barney and his girlfriend (Marilyn Chambers, credited as Evelyn Lang, two years before she went Behind the Green Door) leaving. Hijinks, as they say, ensue, like the fact that the two can't stop falling in love - and driving each other crazy - and that well, Felix may already have a fiancee. Will these two ever just get along?

Hey! Roz Kelly is in this and so is an uncredited Tom Atkins!

Interestingly enough, Sidney Poitier was supposed to play opposite Streisand, yet it was decided that audiences weren't ready for an interracial romance. Which is even weirder, because this started on Broadway with Alan Alda and Diana Sands as the principals.

stumbling around NYC

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 17 March 2021]

Streisand and George Segal are prostitute and author, unlikely u and unexpected roommates by accident. bickering, arguing. abusive, racist, foul-mouthed cussing Doris (Streisand) is wide awake, probably from tweaking, and can't stop talking. poor Felix just wants to go to sleep, but Doris won't shut up. and she's so fired up, she gets them evicted from Felix's apartment, so they end up at his friend's place (Robert Klein). more talking. in her shrill, annoying loud voice. and yakkity yak about nothing in particular. they stumble all over town, embarrass themselves, and have silly adventures that could only happen in NYC ! kind of a fun, weekend ramble. directed by Herb Ross. he had directed some biggies... Goodbye Girl, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Footloose, Pennies From Heaven, Steel Magnolias. written by Bill Manhoff, who did mostly television.

Just let it slide

[davidhofer · 6/10 · 3 September 2007]

I think the didactic point of the movie was that one should not pretend to anything better. We have two 20 somethings who gave their best shot and lost. One is a hack writer who cannot write lyrical prose with sound metaphors. The other is an aspiring actress, who has sled into prostitution after failing to secure a career in the media. I suppose Fred will always be a bookstore clerk, and Doris will be the happy homemaker. I enjoyed the comedic lines, and the awkward situations. When I was younger, I could not understand why I felt sad at the end of this movie. Now that I have reached middle age, I understand the meta message. You are just a menial and that is all you are ever going to be. I know that one can lose the zest for life if he is pushed to fulfill ambition. But isn't it better to give it your best shot? Perhaps this is a familiar story of people in the arts. There are so many also-rans. Then again, this movie came to the screen in 1970 as perhaps a portent of diminished expectations for the middle class. Perhaps the skeleton suit of Felix/Fred is the personification of death for a way of life. Hollywood seems to delight in such metaphors. Even the scissor scene of the belt of Felix's bathrobe represents the loss of power for a country that does not need the creative power of its men. Perhaps that may be why Barbara Streisand at some level excites some animosity in more traditional conservative parts of the country as her role in this movie seems to bring a denouement to the Promethean dreams of another era. All that aside I find her delightful and wonderful in this film, and I am sure she does not like her role as a Saturnalian crone. We can only do what we are paid to do. Doris understands that all too well.

Dropping their pretensions

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 6 May 2016]

Between George Segal's midnight typing and Barbra Streisand's at all hours gentleman callers the two of them succeed in both getting thrown out of their apartments the same night. With nowhere to go they crash in on Segal's friend Robert Klein who is also entertaining. Segal and Streisand spend the next 24 hours together and these mismatched people lower their pretensions and find maybe they have more in common than they realize.

There's no real plot to The Owl And The Pussycat. In fact the additional characters are a creation strictly for the film version. It was a two character play when it ran on Broadway and starred Alan Alda and Diana Sands in the Segal and Streisand parts.

Segal is busy trying to write the great American novel. Streisand says she's just hooking to pay the rent when she's short, she's really a model and an actress. Until that faithful night all they knew about each other was his typewriter clacking all night and the various sounds of lust being fulfilled.

The two leads seem to work well together, their comic timing and reactions to each other are perfect. I'm not sure how the future will work for these two, but it would be interesting to speculate.

A must for fans of both these players.

Frantic Pace

[DKosty123 · 6/10 · 4 January 2008]

This remains as one of the few films that united George Segal and Barabara Streisand. It is a fun effort. The late sequences of this film have a frantic pace.

This is the kind of film you sit back and enjoy. There is not a lot of analysis, just plain fun. You can enjoy it any old afternoon when you have some time. Streisand doesn't even get political in this film which is extremely rare.

This film is played for laughs & accomplishes them. There is a chemistry between Babs & Segal that makes it a shame they didn't do more films paired up. They work better than Redford did with Babs.

Dated (obviously) and not particularly amusing.

[hemisphere65-1 · 4/10 · 24 October 2021]

Streisand and Segal are both easy to watch, but Buck let me down here. He wrote some great stuff, but this isn't in that group. I understand that it was 1970, but the stereotypes were hackneyed then. The grumpy, foreign building super, the hooker with a heart of gold, the wacky girl vs. The dweeb, et al.

Not as good as What's Up, Doc from about 5 years later, even with the terrible Ryan O' Neal.

Don't want to forget the miserable music from Blood, Sweat, & Tears; just terrible!

One Loud Hooker Plus One Insecure Writer Equals a Match Made Only in the Movies

[EUyeshima · 8/10 · 14 September 2006]

After three big-budget Broadway-based period musicals in a row, Barbra Streisand obviously made a conscious career decision to convey a more contemporary image on screen. She succeeds in spades in this often hilarious 1970 comedy adapted by Buck Henry from a hit Bill Manhoff play and directed by Herbert Ross. Streisand plays Doris, a loud-mouthed fetish hooker who claims to be a model and an actress. She gets thrown out of her apartment when her neighbor, a nebbish bookstore clerk and aspiring writer named Felix Sherman, reports her clandestine activities to the landlord. This causes a confrontation in which she is convinced he's gay and seduces him. Another fight ensues causing them to get kicked out of his apartment. The rest of the film is mostly their bickering as they travel from one apartment to the next and carry out their improbable, Pygmalion-like opposites-attract romance.

In the same year he made two greatly underrated films, the mature "Loving" and the manic "Where's Poppa?", George Segal makes Felix a lovably insecure schlub and provides great chemistry with Streisand in her first non-singing role. They have a great scene in the bathtub where both are completely stoned as his fiancée and her parents walk in, and he has a funny scene where he pretends to be the TV to help Doris get to sleep. For Streisand's part, she wears a hysterically tacky negligee, dances in a go-go cage, appears in a soft-porn flick called "Cycle Sluts" (we only hear the riotous audio - "Where are you putting THAT?") and says the "F" word (unfortunately cut out of the DVD version though it's obvious when she says it). It's not her best screen performance, but it's one of her funniest. Henry's sharp dialogue and Ross' quick pacing help considerably in making this an enjoyably vulgar romantic comedy. The 2001 DVD had no extras other than three trailers, none for this movie.

"I want to see 'Cycle sluts'!"

[punishmentpark · 7/10 · 11 May 2016]

Reason numero uno for me try this one is Barbra Streisand, and even more so since she was supposed to go topless (in my version I did not catch her topless - and I think I was paying attention well enough). And there were no other reasons, really. This sort of romantic comedy does not appeal to me particularly, but 'The owl and the pussycat' really wasn't bad, at all. It was suggested that 'Pretty woman', a film that used to like but now would not soon choose to watch again, could have been based on this, but that seems a stretch to me.

The story here is a stretch, too, but I suppose it's fun enough and has some decent and more serious issues in there, as well. Barbra does a very good job, as does George Sagal, but them ending up together seems a bit unrealistic.

7 out of 10.

Funny...not memorable, but funny

[JasparLamarCrabb · 4/10 · 28 April 2012]

Undeniably high energy if not always side-splitting. Barbra Streisand is a dim-witted hooker who insinuates herself into the life of uptight would-be writer George Segal. It starts out on a high, if somewhat screeching, note, evens out and ends. A filmed play only partially opened up by director Herbert Ross & expertly acted by Striesand and Segal. They have great chemistry. Unfortunately for the audience, they're also wildly unlikeable. It's hard to even care if they end up together. Still, the script, by Buck Henry (based on Bill Manhoff 's racy play), is full of snappy one-liners, the supporting cast is good (Robert Klein plays Segal's wise-cracking, but infinitely patient friend)and the cinematography by Harry Stradling is terrific.