Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
People who cherish the post-Terms of Endearment, post-reincarnation phase of Shirley MacLaine's career might be surprised to discover just how sexy and kooky she was in a past life--that is, the first few years of her movie career. After the triumphs of Some Came Running and The Apartment, MacLaine had a run of starring roles, including this elaborate comedy vehicle. What a Way to Go! cast MacLaine as an unlucky bride whose husbands meet early deaths, leaving her wealthy but unhappy. Gimmick casting of the hubbies adds a bit of dash: Dick Van Dyke as a simple country storekeeper, Gene Kelly as a two-bit entertainer, bearded Paul Newman as a Brandoesque, bohemian painter in Paris. In the movie's best turn, Robert Mitchum gets to play a Howard Hughes character, and Dean Martin and Robert Cummings are around for the ride.
A flabbergasting parade of Edith Head outfits keeps MacLaine hopping, and each segment has a Hollywood fantasy based on MacLaine's vision of her passing marriages (silent comedy, sexed-up foreign flick, splashy musical). Typical of a certain kind of super-production of the era, the film is impressive rather than entertaining, busy rather than funny. Perhaps hiring J. Lee Thompson, who directed The Guns of Navarone, was not the best idea for this Comden-Green script. It snuck in as one of the top ten box-office grossers of 1964, and it has one great surrealist sequence where Gene Kelly orders his house and grounds to be painted entirely pink. --Robert Horton
Average customer rating: 
|
What a Way to Go!
Starring: Shirley MacLaine , Paul Newman , Robert Mitchum , Dean Martin , and Gene Kelly Director: J. Lee Thompson Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD  General
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Nothing Goes Right
| By Theme
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Classic Comedies
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Black Comedy
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Cummings, Robert
| ( C )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Dumbrille, Douglass
| ( D )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Dumont, Margaret
| ( D )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Dyke, Dick Van
| ( D )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Gardiner, Reginald
| ( G )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Garr, Teri
| ( G )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Kelly, Gene
| ( K )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
MacLaine, Shirley
| ( M )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Martin, Dean
| ( M )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Mitchum, Robert
| ( M )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Newman, Paul
| ( N )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Thompson, J Lee
| ( T )
| Directors
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
All Fox Titles
| 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
| Studio Specials
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Comedy
| 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
| Studio Specials
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Family Features
| Kids & Family
| 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
| Studio Specials
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
DVDs Under $15
| Fox DVD Budget Store
| 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
| Studio Specials
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
4-for-3 All DVDs
| 4-for-3 DVD
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
DVDs Under $7.49
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
( W )
| Titles
| Features
| DVD
| Video
Similar Items:
ASIN: B00066FB8Y Release Date: 2005-01-11 |
Amazon.com
People who cherish the post-Terms of Endearment, post-reincarnation phase of Shirley MacLaine's career might be surprised to discover just how sexy and kooky she was in a past life--that is, the first few years of her movie career. After the triumphs of Some Came Running and The Apartment, MacLaine had a run of starring roles, including this elaborate comedy vehicle. What a Way to Go! cast MacLaine as an unlucky bride whose husbands meet early deaths, leaving her wealthy but unhappy. Gimmick casting of the hubbies adds a bit of dash: Dick Van Dyke as a simple country storekeeper, Gene Kelly as a two-bit entertainer, bearded Paul Newman as a Brandoesque, bohemian painter in Paris. In the movie's best turn, Robert Mitchum gets to play a Howard Hughes character, and Dean Martin and Robert Cummings are around for the ride.A flabbergasting parade of Edith Head outfits keeps MacLaine hopping, and each segment has a Hollywood fantasy based on MacLaine's vision of her passing marriages (silent comedy, sexed-up foreign flick, splashy musical). Typical of a certain kind of super-production of the era, the film is impressive rather than entertaining, busy rather than funny. Perhaps hiring J. Lee Thompson, who directed The Guns of Navarone, was not the best idea for this Comden-Green script. It snuck in as one of the top ten box-office grossers of 1964, and it has one great surrealist sequence where Gene Kelly orders his house and grounds to be painted entirely pink. --Robert Horton
Customer Reviews:
What a Way to Go!.......2007-04-02
Shirley MacLaine.......2007-02-27
Fun, Funny Movie.......2007-01-18
Wild, mainly agreeable, black comedy which starts on too high a note and fails to sustain..........2007-01-17
A must see CLASSIC.......2007-01-03
DVD:
DVD