IMDb user comments for
S.O.B. (1981) More at IMDbPro »

Filter:

Best Chronological Prolific Authors Loved It Hated It Hide Spoilers:

Page 1 of 5:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Index

45 comments in total

---

27 out of 30 people found the following comment useful :-
What's wrong with this movie when it's so true?, 3 January 2003

Author: Eric Nicholas Andrews from West Lafayette, Indiana

People may hate this movie for the exact reason it was made: it blew the facade off Hollywood, exposing it for the cutthroat atmosphere that it is. Both Julie Andrews & Blake Edwards had every reason to hate Hollywood for what they did to them (chastising Blake for his indulgence, boxing Julie into a corner with sticky-sweet roles), so this wicked satire was their way of firing back & people either got the joke & were offended or didn't get it & just hated the movie for what it was. No doubt the film industry had the former reaction, proved by the little publicity the film received. Moviegoers probably thought more the latter, causing it to flop at the box-office & not exactly giving Julie & Blake the better opportunities they were looking for (both have found it difficult to find films outside of the stereotypical ones they made their name with). Some thought the famous breast-baring shots of Julie were gratuitous & shameful, yet they were the point of the film: wanting to evolve in the name of art & being talked out of it in the name of commerce. A movie like S.O.B. might actually play better today because such diatribes against the movie industry by its employees can find an audience who are now much wiser to the evil workings of the business (notice how THE PLAYER & SUNSET BOULEVARD are classics today, recognized as such by the industry they set out to skewer).

---

27 out of 34 people found the following comment useful :-
So True, It's Scary, 15 April 2001
Author: snelling from Western NY

This is a Hollywood movie about Hollywood that was ahead of its time twenty years ago. For people who read their movie reviews from this site, it gives a nice behind-the-scenes twist to what it takes to get what you want in the motion picture business. There are many who felt it was too over-the-top when first released, but as the years go by, it becomes more and more a reflection of how real life is in the dream factory. Back in 1981, there was much less interest among the non-glitterati for what happened to get films made. With the advent of more and more movie magazines trying to dig up dirt on the cogs that turn to keep Tinseltown running, a housewife in Oklahoma can now know the grosses of the latest blockbuster and who stands to gain from them. All this can be gleaned while waiting to check-out at the grocery just by reading the headlines.

The studio owners and their investors are represented well in SOB. From the lowliest security guard to the producers, actors, agents, directors, writers, score composers, costumers and anyone else who is looking to improve their status in the movie biz. Everyone here has an angle, just trying to get through the film they are currently working on, making deals, selling out and generally living day to day and jumping from bedroom to bedroom in an attempt to hold on to what they think is happiness and success. The empty shell of reality is a theme we see throughout this Blake Edwards masterpiece.

The running story behind the main plot concerns an actor, past his marketable prime, who collapses while jogging on a Malibu beach. The callousness of the residents of this community is played for laughs but it is tinged with a knowing wink that this is what becomes of those former stars who have nothing more to give their public. A forgotten actor lay dead in the sand for days while hundreds of people walk by, enjoying the sun, oblivious to this shell of an old man who was once a well-known talent, but is now no longer one of the beautiful people. Yet on this very beach in a later scene, Felix Farmer, the director who is the center of the story tries to kill himself and ends up driving his Cadillac into the Pacific Ocean. Because of the grand spectacle of this possible death, the masses come to the rescue and save him. A quiet humble passing is contrasted with rousing flamboyant suicide attempt and who gets noticed?

The whole movie concerns a very serious frame of reference but the characters surrounding the situation are not playing it straight; they are silly and exasperated. This same plot could have easily been a humorless drama with almost an identical script. A movie costing $30 million, already a pittance by today's standards, flops at the box office and the major players try to turn it to their advantage as best they can. Everyone involved has an axe to grind and the motion picture in question almost becomes a character itself. It prompts greed, jealousy, lust, back-stabbing and even death. It is an evil thing which can engulf those who possess it, as it keeps getting bigger, more expensive and further out of control.

There are some really nasty people here and they do terrible things without conscience. Some do them to make money and fame; others do them for art's sake. But I can't think of a single character who is completely upstanding and righteous, despite their redeemable qualities. The ones we think are heroic and good are just less terrible in comparison with the others. Really thinking about what is being said in this story can make your skin crawl. If it wasn't played for humor the result may have been too horrifying to create, let alone watch.

I don't want to give the impression that I disliked this film. It is right on target. But I have seen it many times and with each viewing, another layer of its veneer slips off and I see the meaning behind the actions and words as presented. If you're really into the goings-on in today's Hollywood, take a look at its past in S.O.B. and maybe you'll think a little bit about what's happening on those sound stages and in those executive meetings behind closed doors. Today, it could have only gotten exponentially worse.

---

18 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
A biting comedy for adults., 28 July 2000

Author: jrs-8 from Chicago

How rare it is to see a terrific comedy meant for adults. "S.O.B." is Blake Edwards dark look at life in Hollywood. And believe me he pulls no punches. Everyone and everything is a target and he hits it almost every time.

"S.O.B." tells the story of a big director whose latest film is the biggest flop in movie history. Despondent he spends the first half of the film trying to kill himself and the second half trying to save the film by re-shooting it as an arty porno film complete with a nude scene by the virginal female lead (played by the virginal Julie Andrews).

As I said no stone goes unturned. We get hints of drugs, death, murder, suicide, sex, homosexuality (both men and women), transvestism, back stabbing, grave robbing, and much more. But it is done in a tone that is dark but extremely funny. Watching William Holden, Robert Preston, and Robert Webber in their scenes in the third act is worth the time alone. And, yes, we do get to see Julie Andrews in a brief topless shot. It's nice if you like her but nothing special.

The only complaint is that the film runs a bit too long. Edwards would have benefited the film with a trimming of about 15 minutes. But if you like your comedy dark, this is a must see.

---

11 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Funny, moving, wicked and Julie Andrews flashin' and cussin', 30 July 1999

Author: SquirePM from Birmingham, Alabama

ONLY ONE MOVIE gives us the best all time performances from Richard Mulligan, Robert Webber and Loretta Swit, coupled with over-the-top turns by Julie Andrews, Robert Vaughn, William Holden and the amazing Robert Preston as Dr. Finegarten. ("Madam, a shyster is an unethical lawyer! *I* am a *QUACK*!")

Blake Edwards has been a huge success despite, not because of, the Hollywood system. In S.O.B. he throws it right in their faces, making an "A" movie filled with "A" stars that attacks, slices, dices, grinds up and flushes the moviemaking establishment.

Oh, this is a wicked, wicked film. Sam Goldwyn and the other old moguls would have sent a hit man after Edwards.

The performances and the story are too intense to describe piecemeal. This is the undefeated world champion dissection of Hollywood.

And FUNNY! What a HOWL! And Julie Andrews, what a TROUPER!

---

8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
A MASTERFUL AND WICKED SATIRE OF HOLLYWOOD, 12 April 2001

Author: Bill Treadway (treads22@hotmail.com) from Queens, New York

"S.O.B.", which is Blake Edwards' masterpiece, is a masterful and wicked satire of Hollywood. This is Edwards' revenge for Hollywood's shallow treatment of him during his 1968-1975 "down" period in which he made a series of quite good flops which died at the boxoffice.

In fact, Edwards uses one of those flops, 1970's "Darling Lili", which I gave three stars, as the backstory of "S.O.B." Let me describe to you what happened with that film, as to give you the flavor of what this film is about: In 1968-1970, Blake Edwards made Darling Lili, his first film with his wife Julie Andrews. It cost over 40 million dollars and took 3 at the box office. It was also savagely panned by the critics. Anyway,an undeterred Edwards withdrew the film, edited it down from 145 mins to 113 mins, took out the comic relief and rereleased it;here it did well enough to break even.(Today, the 113 minute cut is the one most often shown on TV)Critics liked the new version.

In "S.O.B.", Edwards takes everything one step further to create a savagely hilarious comedy. Everything works here. Everything. The opening credits sequence, in which he see the "Darling Lili" surrogate Night Wind play out (it's supposed to be BAD, so relax), to the great slapstick sequences (Mulligan's suicide attempts are particularly funny) to the ontarget performances which include Andrews, cast against type as a rich bitch actress, William Holden as the director, Richard Mulligan as the Blake Edwards surrogate and especially the great Robert Preston as the local Dr. Feelgood (called Finegarten in this; preston should have received a nomination for his good work)There are also many other Edwards veterans in the cast such as Robert Webber, Craig Stevens and Stuart Margolin, just to name a few.

Seeing this film once is just not enough. It demands multiple viewings because each time you find something new to enjoy and laugh at. Most of all, it makes you think about what occurred. And in the age of asinine so called comedies such as "Tomcats", "Joe Dirt" and "Deuce Bigelow", finding a rare and distinctive comedy like "S.O.B" is a real treasure. It's a real shame that Edwards has retired from theatrical films, just think of what he could say today. Fortunately, "S.O.B." has remained fresh and original.

---

8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Raucous, Uneven Fun, 25 February 1999
Author: lisado

Next to Victor/Victoria, S.O.B. is probably my favorite Blake Edwards film. I'm not a great fan of his movies, but when his films are funny, they're usually hilarious. This movie has its fair share of laugh out loud moments that more than make up for some of the slow and less-well-scripted parts. It features a number of wonderful, if sometimes over-the-top, performances by many well-known performers. Most of the scenery chewing is very well in tune with the theme of this Hollywood harpooning. Given the ever-increasingly cynical nature of movie producing, some of S.O.B.'s elements even seem quaint.

The Viking send-off is one of my all-time most memorable movie scenes, and the fact that this is also William Holden's last role gives this section an added air of sadness.

---

6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Funny, Biting, And Sad, 11 May 2005

Author: domino1003 from East Texas, USA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Blake Edwards, "S.O.B.," is one of the funniest satires of the vicious machine known as Hollywood ever made. Felix Farmer (Richard Mulligan)is one of Hollywood's most popular directors. All his films were box-office hits and everyone loved him...until his latest family oriented film is a HUGE flop. Farmer's life then goes down the toilet. His wife Sally Miles, America's Sweetheart(Julie Andrews),leaves him. Felix has a nervous breakdown, which gives in to suicidal tendencies. His 3 friends (William Holden, Robert Preston, and Robert Webber)try to keep his body and soul together. It's during a party at Felix's house (That turns into a orgy)that Felix comes up with an idea to save his flop: buy back his film and turn it into a sexcapade, which includes a nude scene with his estranged wife.

Throughout the film, you see the backstabbing that goes on when Felix is re-working his film: studio heads that try to steal his film when it looks like it will be a sure-fire hit, assistants that try to get their foot in the door, youth pushing out the old, and sensationalism is the norm. It's also incredibly sad because it also shows that the Hollywood machine has no mercy: stars and directors are put onto pedestals, only for those pedestals to be cruelly yanked from underneath them (The once-famous star that drops dead on a beach, and remains on the beach for a few days, unknown and unloved). Felix soon becomes a victim of the Hollywood machine when they underhandedly steal his film, and goes through desperate measures to get it back. The result turns into one of the most poignant endings I have ever seen.

The lines in the film are sharp enough to draw blood. Robert Preston practically steals the film away from the fact that you see Julie Andrews pretty much kill her "Mary Poppins" image by showing her boobs, swearing and being a total witch! This would make a great double feature with "The Player." Check it out!

---

7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
A Near-perfect Satire, 11 May 2005

Author: ww1buff65 from United States

I "discovered" this movie on cable in the mid-late 80's and immediately fell in love with it. It's witty, scathingly funny and some of it is so rapid-fire that it requires viewing multiple times to catch all that is being said. I heard some Hollywood type espousing once that "stereotypes are only stereotypes because they're true." We've all seen the stereotypical, ego-centric Hollywood agents and other sycophants portrayed in various movies/shows/etc. but rarely have they all been assembled in one hysterical place and portrayed by such a star-studded rogues gallery! Robert Preston is my favorite as the perpetually drunk/stoned quack doctor, and William Holden's last performance as the aged, burned-out director is particularly poignant when he gives a brief speech of "encouragement" to Felix (Richard Mulligan) about consciously trying to kill himself with drugs, booze and sexual excesses for the past 40 years. So some of the "moments of truth" are not just realizations about the business itself, but about the actors playing the roles. An all-around great movie.

---

7 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
A gem -- with ALOT of "insider" jokes, so take note from one who's been there!, 31 December 2002

Author: lambiepie-2 from Los Angeles, CA

I discovered this film on Cable-TV on a wonderfully programmed channel called "Z" in Los Angeles in the late 80's when they had a week long Blake Edwards Director's focus. Until that time, the only thing I thought Blake Edwards did was "The Pink Panther" which was not my kind of film(s) but was okay.

S.O.B. is a funny yet sobering look at Hollywood. This is a film from a director that literally bites the hand that fed him. And as PC as we are today, a film such as this one could never be made on this scale. Many of the characters portrayed reminded you of folks who were more prominent in the 50's, 60's and 70's although it also reminded me of several people in the 80's, 90's and 2000's as well. But Edwards hits hard at it all, including the career his own wife, Julie Andrews. (And yes she does have great ta-tas under that Peter Pan suit!)

This film will be a bit uneven for those who aren't very familiar with the above the line and below the line workings of Hollywood. Edwards leaves no stone unturned from the lowley Assistants to the snazzy Producers and studios, from being on top and living high in Hollywood to what happens when you die, even your damn funeral is an Academy Award event!!!

This is about everyone that makes Hollywood tick and everyone who thinks because they work in the system -- is the system. It's over 20 years later and I think this will be one of those films that will grow better with age...and knowledge. I recommend this film as a top film to see for anyone wanting "in" in Hollywood, and for those who want to be on the outside looking in. A really talented, daring film.

---

3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Robert Preston stole every scene he was in., 21 May 2000

Author: rebaines

While the film did jump around between various members of its large cast, I loved William Holden, Richard Mulligan, Robert Preston and Robert Webber in almost every scene they were in.

The best scenes included Preston's character Dr. Irving Finegarten, but it was the combined interaction of Holden, Preston and Webber near the end of the film, culminating in the Viking funeral, that made it truly enjoyable for me.

Also pay attention to the dialogue and not just the actions. There are several good digs in there if you pay attention.

---

---

Page 1 of 5:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Add another comment

---

Related Links

Plot summary	Amazon.com summary	Ratings
Awards	Newsgroup reviews	External reviews
Parents Guide	Plot keywords	Main details
Your user comments	Your vote history