Come Blow Your Horn

"Are you married?" "No." "Then you're a bum!"

That's the famous exchange between Lee J. Cobb and Frank Sinatra in Come Blow Your Horn, a domestic comedy about moving out of the house. I'd always heard great things about this movie, but when I finally saw it, it was a bit of a letdown. I think it got talked up too much. Lee J. Cobb was a stereotypical overbearing father who shouted all of his lines. Molly Picon was extremely irritating as the long suffering mother, and her pacing was way too slow. Tony Bill's character arc wasn't sympathetic: At first he feels oppressed at home so he moves in with his playboy brother whom he idolizes. Then he turns into a playboy himself, with every flaw magnified so the audience can see it was a mistake. Jill St. John was her usual nauseating airhead persona, which left Frank Sinatra on his own to save the movie. Since his character was extremely similar to several others he'd played in the past, there wasn't much he could do with it.

Then again, if you like seeing him in semi-cad playboy roles, you might like this one. The title song is very cute, and some of the jokes are very funny. But I liked A Hole in the Head much better.