Fare Thee Well

You probably didn't know it, but you were a fan of Blake Edwards.

Mr Julie Andrews (bet you didn't know that either!) died yesterday at 88 from pneumonia.  While he did make some serious fare, his reputation and career was built around films featuring sharp-tongued dialogue and comedic situations that trod on absurdity.  Aside from film, he created the Peter Gunn television series, and even worked with Orson Wells on War Of The Worlds.

One of his most enduring successes was Breakfast At Tiffany's, which was soon followed by The Pink Panther films, where he worked with Peter Sellers and Henry Mancini repeatedly.  By the 80's, he scored with a series of adult comedies (10, The Man Who Loved Women, Micki And Maude), and the future film-to-Broadway hit Victor / Victoria.

My favorite films of his not his best known (like above), but still significant successes.  The first was The Party, which is an absolute product of the times and my top Sellers / Edwards collaboration.  Blind Date, his trial-by-fire courtship for Bruce Willis and Kim Bassinger is a great romantic comedy that avoids all the trappings of the genre's tired format. And there's the proto-version of Californication - but with a Jack Tripper twist, Skin Deep.

But if there is one film in all Edward's career to rank at the top, it would be S.O.B., a brilliant satire of the film industry. It's hard to find, but worth the search.  The flick follows the downward suicidal spiral of a director who has an epiphany how to resurrect his savaged career - by retooling his flop into soft-core porn.  The picture and post title also pay homage to that twisted, hilarious film.