For this month’s next review for Genre Grandeur – Movies set in or connected to Mexico here’s a review of Marriage on the Rocks (1965) by Emily of The Flapper Dame.
Thanks again to Darren of Movie Reviews 101 for choosing this month’s genre.
Next month’s genre has been chosen by ME and we will be reviewing our favorite Mistaken or Stolen Identity Films.
Please get me your submissions by the 25th of Oct by sending them to Identity@movierob.net
Try to think out of the box!
Let’s see what Emily thought of this movie:
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I’m oddly, not actually the biggest fan of Frank Sinatra. Everything I know about him initially came from general knowledge. Eventually, I learned more about him when I started becoming a fan of Ava Gardner, and of course me being a major fan of Grace Kelly, I had seen him in High Society (1956). While there is still plenty I don’t know about him, I have come to agree he was as much an actor as he was an singer. I also can say I am learning to appreciate him more, even though he never will be my all time favorite.
When TCM was airing Marriage on the Rocks (1965) a few months ago, I certainly had to make sure I watched it because it just looked intriguingly silly. Despite the less than stellar reviews on IMDB, somehow the zaniness and craziness works with the sweet and funny moments.
Frank plays an advertising man, Dan Edwards, who is much like Don Draper on Mad Men, expect he no longer has the bachelor life that Don has, that aspect is left to co-worker Ernie (fellow rat packer and BFF Dean Martin). Although Ernie is the ladies man (and is very close with Dan’s wife Valerie (Deborah Kerr), he is Dan’s best friend and his kids even call him Uncle Ernie.
As much as Dan loves his kids and job, it’s the husband aspect of his life that has fallen by the wayside. He no longer takes his wife on dates, and when their anniversary comes up, he doesn’t even take notice. This leads Valerie to wish she had married Ernie instead, as he’s more romantic. Valerie eventually manages to convince Dan to go out for dinner to celebrate their anniversary, but they bring Ernie along. When the night at the club goes wrong (it’s way too young for them, and much more suited to their daughter Tracy’s (Nancy Sinatra) age), Valerie becomes convinced her husband is no longer the same man and she considers divorce. Ernie, wanting to fix his friend’s marriage, suggests they go away on a trip to Mexico, without their kids.
Here’s where it gets really goofy: in this version of Mexico, you can get quickie marriages and divorces, all performed by the same man, Miguel (Ceser Romero), who also runs the hotel and is the local doctor too!
Valerie and Dan accidentally get a divorce, but before they can remarry, Dan has to return to work. Dan then gets caught up on an assignment, and sends Ernie to Mexico to explain why he’s caught up, but Ernie accidentally marries Valerie in a quick Spanish ceremony, in which they don’t understand what happened until it’s all over.
This makes Ernie and Dan switch not only homes and job responsibilities, but lifestyles too. Dan becomes a playboy and Ernie becomes a step-father. The funniest parts of this movie come from the kids, Nancy as Tracy has some great scenes with both Dean and Frank, involving her boyfriend and her wanting to move out to live with her girl friend. Dan’s son David has a hilarious subplot in which he tries to use his parents’ divorce to get a Honda (no not a car, it’s a groovy little motor bike, as The Beach Boys explain in their song Little Honda).
It’s easy to guess what happens to Dan, Valerie and Ernie, so I won’t spoil the ending. Like I said earlier, is the plot goofy, 100% yes, but it works because you can tell Frank and Dean are having fun with it. Had this been forgettable actors in the roles, no one would care about this movie today, but you just go along on the ride because it’s worth watching.
MovieRob 