Waste of time

Good concept, poorly executed.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

No need to recap the zany plot. The 2-hours plus comes across more as a comedy of moments than a successful whole. The first part is the best. Lemmon was a perfect actor for white-collar comedy, and those moments when his addled Sam struggles with his ad-agency job amount to a perfect fit. The trouble is the screenplay stretches the clever premise into segments of varying quality. At the same time, it appears director Swift hasn't much feel for comedy that could perhaps finesse the bumpy parts. Then too, I get an impression the stretching was done to promote TV's Connors and Provine, along with French actress Schneider. The two girls are quite charming in their roles. Still, it's really up to Lemmon to furnish the links of amusement, but not all play to his strengths, especially the frantic chase scene. I'm still chuckling, however, over Sam's sleep habits, the ad that can't put anyone in the driver's seat, and a vacuum cleaner with an eye at the top. And , oh yes, that sudden shower door scene every guy longs for. Good also to see veteran trouper Ed Robinson picking up a payday. Anyway, the movie's very much in the upbeat suburban style of the 1950's. Unfortunately, its 1964 release date is swimming against the emerging dark undercurrents of Vietnam. So it probably soon went into cultural eclipse. Nonetheless, the flick's still a chance to catch one our best comedic talents in action. It may not be among his best, but does have its moments.

I guess I liked this better than its contemporary Kiss Me Stupid, which featured similar partner swapping. This is not saying that much. I was disgusted with Kiss Me Stupid, but it was better paced than Good Neighbor Sam. 2 hours plus is just too long for a one note plot. Some repetitive scenes and back lot filming can give this one a sitcommy feel. The ad agency part of the movie is more or less dropped near the end (though I suppose Lemmon's character no longer cared about his job at that point.) The "manic" ending is one of the least compelling ending sequences I've seen.Postives would be that Romy Schneider's quite pretty and there is some good San Francisco location work amid the back lot and rear projection scenes. Points also for casting an African American as an authority figure, without commentary, in 1964.Fans of Lemmon's comedy work should check out the earlier Operation Mad Ball, which I do approve of.

Jack Lemmon was groomed at Columbia and what a run Lemmon had... working as co star to glamor girls Rita Hayworth, Doris Day and Kim Novak in a series of great films. Jack Lemmon was also loaned out to WB for his Oscar winning Mr. Roberts working with Henry Fonda, William Powell and directed by John Ford, and loaned out to UA for Billy Wilder's comedic masterpiece Some Like It Hot with the peerless Marilyn Monroe, and Joe E Brown. (All four: Wilder, Monroe, Brown and Lemmon ought to have won Oscars).Good Neighbor Sam was one of if not the last film Jack Lemmon made at Columbia Pictures, and it is a riotous film co starring Romy Schneider, Mike Connors, Edward G Robinson and the dazzling Dorothy Provine (on loan from Ms Provine's studio Warner Bros). Dorothy Provine should have been a major movie star.David Swift who directed Pollyanna with Jane Wyman, a film that made Hayley Mills a star and other fine films such as Mr. Lemmon's Under The Yum Yum Tree directs here and creates a lot of fun. The cast is superb.This is a laugh out loud funny film, and one of Jack Lemmon's true gems.

Jack Lemmon stars as the all-American clean decent-living man with good family values. Or so his boss thinks so, when they get him to salvage an advertising account that is almost out the door, when Edward G. Robinson (who is always great) is insulted by their first slogan/gimmick for his product: Nerlander dairy products; more specifically, his eggs.But what they don't know is that his wife's best friend has moved next door to Jack and his wife. One thing leads to another and a case of mistaken identity is afoot. The neighbor has inherited some money, but she needs Jack's help in getting it, due to a clause. That's where "Good Neighbor Sam" comes in.It seems light-hearted, fun, and entertaining enough, but once complications set in and things go awry, it goes way off base and the last 30 minutes or so are more exhausting than funny. And, they leave several plots and/or questions left unanswered and unresolved with its abrupt ending.You will recognize one of the "fun girls" from "The Andy Griffith Show" in the last twenty minutes in a memorable bit.("Oh, Bernie!") All in all, if you don't want to think for well over two hours, then sit back and enjoy Jack Lemmon and his neighbors. But, just remember, when you do a favor for someone, anything might happen.