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SYNOPSIS:
Song composer George Webber, suffering from a midlife crisis,
a fight with both his girl friend & business partner, becomes
obsessed with a beautiful young woman, Jenny, who he sees by
chance in a mercedes, on her way to her marriage ceremony. He
jumps from this frying pan of troubles he has in Malibu, into
a bigger fire when he follows the young newly weds to an Acapulco
beach resort. After he winds up rescuing her husband, he gets
the full attention of the beautiful Jenny. George learns from
personal experience that one has to be careful for what you
wish for, because you may just get it. And when you are offered
it, it isn't what you want after all.
Review: Academy award winner,
song composer George Webber, has turned 42, and doesn't like
it, and confesses to his girl friend, Samantha Taylor (Julie
Andrews), an accomplished singer / actress, that he feels betrayed.
This begins a self-centered journey of self-discovery and self-
awareness, as he enters the murky waters of male mid-life crisis
which disrupts his relationships with both his long-time friend
and love of his life, Samantha (Sam) Taylor (Julie Andrews),
and his gay, song-writing partner, Hugh (Robert Webber), who
has troubles of his own, concerning his own personal relationships.
George yearns for his younger years,
not happy with what he has and what he has accomplished. He
finds himself secretly rating young women he sees at a distance,
on a scale of 1 to 10, and peeks through a telescope at his
neighbor's wild, 24 hour sex parties, just down the hill from
his house in the Malibu hills. Both of these habits of George's
land him into trouble. Samantha Taylor, a strong-willed woman,
who directly faces problems, confronts George one evening concerning
his lack of attention paid to her, his use of the word, "Broad"
in referring to the women his neighbor (Don Calfa) down the
hill entertains, and the fact that George peeks at them at all.
After a heated discussion, Sam leaves in a huff.
The next morning, George, after
falling down the hill, when he hits himself in the face with
the telescope, ( a great slapstick moment) he just misses the
return phone call from Sam, whom he had tried to call a moment
before while she was on the stage rehearsing for a play. In
a foul mood, George goes to Hugh's place to try to work on a
new song. They wind up fighting, and George leaves.
On his way home, he spies a girl
of his dreams, rated by him as an 11, who was a bride on her
way to be married. George, mesmerized, follows them to the church,
and winds up ramming his convertible smack into the front of
a police car. George has three tickets as a result. Undaunted,
he sneaks into the church, and watches the ceremony of the marriage
of Jenny and David (Sam J. Jones) until George is stung by a
bee from the flowers, causing a commotion in the back of the
church.
A few days later, after some more
mishaps with his girlfriend, he seeks out the Reverend of the
church, (Max Showalter), endures an impromptu concert of the
Pastor's corny love song, and Mrs.Kissel's (Nedra Volz) powerful
ability to pass gas. It was all worth it, because George finds
out that the full name of his dream 11, Jenny Miles Hanley (Bo
Derek) and her father, Dr.Miles(James Nobel) a Beverly Hills
dentist. George, who hasn't been to a dentist for several years,
went to see Dr. Miles, and winds up having 6 cavities filled,
but now knows where the young couple is honeymooning, at the
Las Hadas Hotel in Mexico.
With his mouth full of cotton,
he stumbles home, armed with pain killers, which he takes with
booze. Guess who calls him on the phone at this moment? As he
is unintelligible on the phone, Sam calls the police, who catch
him looking through his telescope. After a humorous interchange,
George writes on a piece of paper who he was and why he was
acting so strangely so the police understood. The police haul
him gently inside, admonishing him of the dangers of taking
painkillers with booze.
Unfortunately, when the police
leave, George doesn't stay there. George in this funky state,
gives in to temptation and makes a house call to his neighbor
down the hill. George soon finds himself undressed, surrounded
by young, pretty women, which proves to be disastrous to his
troubled relationship with Samantha, when she sees him through
his own telescope. After this disastrous event, and Sam won't
take George's phone calls, George decides to take a vacation.
He flies down to Mexico, in a smashed state, and checks into
the same resort that Jenny and David are staying at, Las Hadas
Hotel.
After he sleeps off his intoxicated
state, he goes down to the beach, and sits near the newly married
David and Jenny Hanley. A new melody is forming in his mind,
inspired by Jenny. As the guests sit on the beach, George notices
that David rents a surf board, and falls asleep, as the board
slowly floats away from shore. George courageously rescues David,
earns the gratitude of the young, beautiful Jenny, but is shaken
back to reality when he really has the chance to spend some
time with her. He realizes what he had at home was more valuable
than what he thought he wanted. How can he repair things with
the true love of his life?
Blake Edwards wrote and directed
this humorous, yet poignant comedic screenplay, that is a classic
because of it's witty dialogue, wonderful mix of slapstick and
cerebral humor, wonderful cast, squirmy moments and an entertaining
storyline, that explores male mid-life crisis, and the trouble
one man finds himself when he acts upon his fantasies. 10, S.O.B;
and Victor/Victoria were considered his best efforts.
Dudley Moore's brilliant portrayal
as George Webber, a man suffering a mid-life crisis, made him
a star. His comedic talent shines forth, not only in slapstick
moments, but in line deliveries, comic timing, and his portrayal
of a man with one too many drinks in his system. He also plays
the piano and sings as well, and is convincing during the poignant
moments of the story, when truths hit home.
Julie Andrews does a convincing
job as Webber's strong-willed, stage actress girl friend, Samantha
Taylor, who is a little annoying, but changes her attitude by
the end of the story.
Bo Derek - was perfectly cast
as the lovely young woman, Jenny, who George Webber has a huge
crush on, until she opens her mouth and reveals her true character.
Max Showalter - A colorful character
actor who did a marvelous job portraying the Reverend, a wanna-be,
amateur song writer, who enthusiastically sings his corn-ball
piano composition for George (Dudly Moore), who has a hard time
keeping a straight face. Showalter and Moore had a great time
shooting this scene. Max Showalter in real life was a a composer,
a songwriter and pianist.
Brian Dennehy (Don, the bar tender), Robert
Webber (Hugh, George's insightful, gay songwriting partner)
and Dee Wallace-Stone (Mary Lewis) all offer fine supporting
character performances.
10 is rated R, and is definitely
for the over 17 crowd, being a comedy for adults, dealing with
adult issues, in a humorous, poignant way. The film is tastefully
done, compared to films done presently, but the language is
rather salty, with both four letter and potty words, and there
are sex scenes that aren't appropriate for the younger generation.
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