The Worst Film Ever

Simply A Masterpiece

Nice effects though.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Charming 1960s generational sex comedy is very much of it's time, but also timeless in it's humor around age and romance. Adapted from a Broadway play by Billy Wilder's longtime co-writer I. A. L. Diamond ("The Apartment," Some Like it Hot," "One, Two, Three," etc.), "Cactus Flower" tells the story of dentist Walter Matthau and his young girlfriend Goldie Hawn. Matthau has told Hawn he's a married man, even though he's really not, and when he tells her he wants to leave his wife, Hawn says she wants to meet Matthau's non-existent wife. Enter Matthau's 50-something spinster receptionist, Ingrid Bergman, who he convinces to pose as his wife so he can seal the deal with Hawn. The film has the same (for it's time) edgy sexy comedy humor that Wilder and Diamond films were known for (and by some reviled for), reminding me somewhat of "Kiss Me, Stupid," except that this film has a more liability factor than "Stupid," which although was funny also had a bit of a creep factor to it. Hawn won an Oscar for her portrayal of a cute young hippie chic, but for me it was Bergman who really shines. Her characters is introduced as a rather stern and austere character, but once she's pulled into Matthau's lies, Bergman's reserved 50-something characters comes to life. The scene where she cuts loose on the dance floor at a go-go club is a joy to watch as such exudes all of her charm and star power in a way that reminds you that not all actors are created equally and some have an innate ability to light up the screen. That scene was intended to create drama for Matthau's character to begin to be torn between the two women, and although Bergman was 54-years old at the time, she is probably one of only a few actresses who could manage to outshine a young Goldie Hawn. On the downside, I would say director Gene Saks has rather flat direction and lacks the sparkle of a Wilder picture, but Diamond's script and dialogue crackles, standing alongside the best of Wilder and Diamond's collaborations. Overall, "Cactus Flower" is a charming sex comedy that's a wonderful showcase for it's wonderful three lead actors and is a must see for film comedy fans.

in childhood it was one of my favorite movies. basic seduction tool - the flower of cactus woo remains a beautiful metaphor. than , after years, it becomes one of my most lovely comedies. for acting, for script, for something else who can be a form of magic. situations, dialogs, links between characters - ingredients of an old fashion film ever-green.it is a delight and each acting remains a gem. because it is not a problem of humor but, first, science, impeccable science of seduction. each actor has his shell but , like a puzzle, the final image is perfect. talent of director, art of actors and the viewer as part of whole story. and nothing is missed.

Ingrid Bergman must have experienced a strong sense of deja vu when she shot this movie about a man who pretends to be married so that he doesn't have to fear any of his many girlfriends thinking altar; in Indiscreet a few years earlier she herself had been fooled by Cary Grant's use of this same ploy (which was also based on a stage play, Kind Sir, by Garson Kanin) and here she is persuaded by philanderer Walter Mattheau to pose as his wife so that his latest mistress, Goldie Hawn, to whom he has proposed marriage, can ask for the blessing of the soon-to-be discarded wife. This is one of those plots where you know from the moment the premise is stated exactly what will happen ninety minutes later so that the enjoyment is in the journey from A to Z. It's Bergman's movie all the way, Mattheau was never going to be either as polished as Grant or as hip as Sinatra who played similar roles in The Tender Trap and Come Blow Your Horn yet he's too good an actor not to accomplish ninety per cent of the part. Goldie Hawn is far too precious and OTT as the lovable kook but Jack Weston scores as the seedy friend/patient. Without Bergman it would be a lot less charming, with her it's a joy.

Florigraphists, fluent in the "language of flowers", revealing a symbolic, underlying meaning to sending or receiving floral arrangements, describe cactus flower as a symbol of lust (in Japan), as well as courtship and romance (among Native Americans). All three and many other modest or excessive feelings, relationships, experiences... are nicely wrapped up in a comedy suggesting same symbolism in its title.1969 film "Cactus Flower", directed by Gene Saks (who has already introduced us, a year earlier, to another stage play classic adapted for the big screen, Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple") is a feel-good movie--based on Abe Burrows' Broadway stage adaptation of its witty French original, Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pieerre Grédy's play "Fleur de cactus"--scripted by a legendary comedic writer I.A.L. Diamond (who is, among his other memorable works, credited with the screenplay for an all-time favourite comedy "Some Like It Hot" (1959)), with impish dentist Walter Matthau, accompanied by his reputable nurse-receptionist Ingrid Bergman, coming across as likable and funny leads, further supported by young and sweet Goldie Hawn, in her Oscar awarded depiction of a-cute-dumb-blond stereotype.Bergman's Stephanie Dickinson, for all her decency and selflessness, is a character who is easy to identify with and root for in her initially seemingly unconscious pursuit of her apparently long suppressed, quietly emerging affection for Matthau's Dr. Julian Winston, a rogue we cannot hate because he behaves like a boy from Mark Twain's novel, or Dennis the menace who has grown up and old, but never out of his mischievous ways. In his no-strings-attached wished for relationship with Hawn's sparkling Toni Simmons, he pretends to be married. However, this new "fact" tickles well meant youngster's curiosity, so, surely free spirited, but not unscrupulous as eventual household breaker, Toni, tormented by many unanswered questions becomes--as seen in the introductory scene--suicidal, and... what was meant to be a small "preventive" lie asks for more lies, ultimately spiraling out of control.Interaction between the three, further helped with an additional "accomplice", Winston-like lovable cad Harvey Greenfield, played by Jack Weston, produces some truly hilarious and--specially when the most believable miss Dickinson is involved--touchy moments for a wide-range audience to enjoy. "Cactus Flower" easily stands the test of time and even improves with each repeated viewing.Current year (2011) production "Just Go with It", a loose remake of the 1969 original, provides a solid, yet, somewhat inferior entertainment when compared to its predecessor.