Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon join forces to deliver this comedy that falls well short of their other offerings.
Shirley MacLaine plays the title character, a Parisian prostitute who sort of decides she might want something else out of life after Nestor Patou (Lemmon), a policeman who falls for her, continuously tries to make her see the alternative.
The comedy relies on two things: Jack Lemmon's mugging, and a plot point that involves him playing two roles. If you like really broad humor, say on the level of "The Pink Panther", this might appeal to you. As for the two-role joke, it grows old quickly.
Neither main character is very endearing. This is in contrast to their characters C. C. Baxter and Fran Kubelik, in "The Apartment".
Perhaps there is a moral to be imparted? If so, it is well hidden under the wink-wink, nudge-nudge focus of the story.
There is one clever bit at the end, where Nestor comes up with a strategy for clearing his name with the police, but it is too little too late.
Shirley MacLaine plays the title character, a Parisian prostitute who sort of decides she might want something else out of life after Nestor Patou (Lemmon), a policeman who falls for her, continuously tries to make her see the alternative.
The comedy relies on two things: Jack Lemmon's mugging, and a plot point that involves him playing two roles. If you like really broad humor, say on the level of "The Pink Panther", this might appeal to you. As for the two-role joke, it grows old quickly.
Neither main character is very endearing. This is in contrast to their characters C. C. Baxter and Fran Kubelik, in "The Apartment".
Perhaps there is a moral to be imparted? If so, it is well hidden under the wink-wink, nudge-nudge focus of the story.
There is one clever bit at the end, where Nestor comes up with a strategy for clearing his name with the police, but it is too little too late.