In this technicolor Shirley MacLaine vehicle, the death & loss of dearly loved ones is treated as goofy joyous fun, in a story that certainly does make this film different.
Though shot in 1964, What a Way to Go! has a 1950s feeling to it, as though the music, fashion, & social events of the early 60s never existed. The big cast (Dick Van Dyke, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin & Gene Kelly) & big budget most of the time seems wasted since it's really such a small idea for a film & could've been made inexpensively to its betterment.
Edith Head fans will love it, she's over-the-top trying to be visually funny with a vast number of silly costumes for Shirley, who is cute as a button despite being saddled with slapstick costumes.
The film parodies woven into the story are the best part of this film, & taken separately probably add up to fifteen minutes of mini-movies. The rest is just for the insane novelty of death being given the upbeat Hollywood treatment.
copyright © by Paghat the Ratgirl
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