Michael_Elliott
A New Kind of Love (1963) * 1/2 (out of 4) A complete misfire has Paul Newman playing journalist Steve Sherman who accidentally sleeps with his bosses wife who in return send him to Paris to work. Once in Paris he spends more time partying with various beautiful women than actually working. The story also centers on fashion designer Samantha (Joanne Woodward) who does nothing but work and has no time for any sort of pleasure. The two bump heads but meets under different circumstances when Steve mistakes her for a prostitute.A NEW KIND OF LOVE was originally being developed by Billy Wilder and under his direction perhaps something would have worked out. Sadly director Melville Shavelson can't handle the material but in all honesty it's doubtful too many directors would have been able to make something out of this mess.The screenplay is simply a mess with way too much time being spent on subplots than the actual story, which is obviously the love story between the partying writer and the lonely fashion designer. This story is just buried under so much stuff that it never works and for once Newman and Woodward has very little chemistry on the screen. The entire idea of her being mistaken for a prostitute adds up to nothing and never gets the laughs that it tries for.A NEW KIND OF LOVE has zero laughs, which is its biggest flaw. The cinematography, score and opening track by Frank Sinatra are all good. Newman and Woodward are just lost in the material where the on-running joke has Woodward being mistaken for a man. Thelma Ritter, Eva Gabor and George Tobias are all wasted in supporting parts. A NEW KIND OF LOVE is certainly the least of the Newman-Woodward films and just a flat out stinker.
mark.waltz
Similar in nature to the same year's "Irma La Douce" with the exception of the era in which it was set, this delightful romantic farce is a charming spoof of the fashion industry with a bit of the lady of the evening thrown in. The team of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward may not be Burton and Taylor, but their pairings on film tend to have better scripts and are less overshadowed by their personal lives. Woodward here allows herself to be de-glamorized as a rather masculine woman who specializes in knock-offs of high end fashion and goes to Paris to find new stock. After perusing such outrageous frocks as a giant feather duster and curtains for the Versaille, she takes on a lesson from guest Maurice Chevalier to seek out womanhood. A trip to Elizabeth Arden changes her image, but sitting alone in a café only brings on the wrong kind of pass.Paul Newman, who encountered the obnoxious Woodward on the plane over from New York, at first doesn't recognize her, using the name Mimi instead of the more masculine Sam. He is allowed to think of her as paid companionship, a fact she doesn't dispute. But as he becomes wise to her, he has all sorts of bizarre fantasies of how to tame her, setting her up for the inevitable confrontation.The always sunny Thelma Ritter is a delight as Woodward's love-starved assistant with Eva Gabor, George Tobias and Marvin Kaplan in fine support. The fashion industry is playfully made fun of and there is the obvious feeling that the writer had some truth to his light-hearted attack. Sinatra sings the title tune over the credits which Chevalier repeats as part of a medley.
MARIO GAUCI
Writer/director Shavelson treads Billy Wilder territory with this Paris-set romantic comedy; nevertheless, he’s more successful penning witty dialogue (making him something of an underrated figure in this genre) than concocting funny situations (which, in spite – or because – of their satirical/fanciful bent come across as heavy-handed most of the time).Still, it was refreshing to watch the Newmans letting their hair down (incidentally, the couple’s previous stint in the French capital – in Paris BLUES [1961], with which I actually preceded this viewing – had been of a more serious nature): Joanne Woodward, especially, demonstrated a lighter side which has rarely been exploited (and earned a Golden Globe nod in the process)…though she seemed much more at ease playing the tomboyish fashion designer than the tale-spinning high-class ‘broad’.At 110 minutes, the film eventually wears thin – but the colorful scenery, a nice title tune (sung by Frank Sinatra, no less) and the supporting cast (including Thelma Ritter, George Tobias and Marvin Kaplan, not to mention a fun guest appearance by Maurice Chevalier as himself) ensure that a generally pleasant (albeit forgettable) time is had by all. For what it’s worth, looking up the film in a book my father has on Newman (written by Michael Kerbel), it’s stated that A NEW KIND OF LOVE was “Newman’s worst film” and his career nadir; while that might be too harsh a judgment, I have to say that I am quite fond of Newman’s previous and subsequent comic efforts – respectively Leo McCarey’s RALLY ‘ROUND THE FLAG, BOYS! (1958) and J. Lee Thompson’s star-studded WHAT A WAY TO GO! (1964) – both of which I’ve just acquired following the actor’s demise…
bkoganbing
A New Kind Of Love is another attempt by Paul Newman to do comedy. He has a part that maybe Rock Hudson could have carried off. Even playing opposite his wife doesn't do it in the chemistry department. Joanne Woodward is better at comedy than her husband.In fact for a long time you think you're watching two different films, that's how long it takes for these two to get together. Woodward is on a buying trip for her dress manufacturer George Tobias who takes her and Thelma Ritter to Paris. Woodward's a workaholic career woman who's been burned by romance and wants no more. She even dresses unattractive so much so that Paul Newman on the flight over mistakes her for a man.Now Newman's been exiled to Paris by his boss Robert F. Simon who he caught kanoodling with his wife. Well if you're going to be exiled, Paris is certainly a good place. As in all Parisian stories the boy and girl just have to get together, if not in Paris, than where in the world. George Tobias and Thelma Ritter who are usually a lot better merely walk through their parts. The best reason to see A New Kind of Love is for Maurice Chevalier's cameo as himself when he sings Mimi, Louise, and the title song which incidentally he introduced back in 1930 in The Big Pond. Eva Gabor is around to turn Tobias's head by just being Eva Gabor.Paul Newman would have to wait more than a decade for triumphant comedy in Slap Shot. He just doesn't cut it in more sophisticated material.
AD
