Good Neighbor Sam

1964

2h 10m

Comedy

List

80%

5 Reviews

Tomatometer

66%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Sam Bissell (Jack Lemmon) is an advertising executive who loves his wife, Min (Dorothy Provine), and his family as much as he loves peace and quiet. When Janet Lagerlof (Romy Schneider), an old acquaintance, inherits a sizable fortune, Bissell is talked into pretending to be her husband in order to fulfill a legal requirement. Things get even more complicated when Ms. Langerlof is introduced to Bissell's employer, Simon Nurdlinger (Edward G. Robinson), as Mrs. Bissell.

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Audience Member

Great hilarious fun movie.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Hilarious all the way through. Yes, I recommend it James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas June 11, 2023.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/13/23

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Audience Member

James Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum made a career out of comedy, starting TV and debuting their first movie script here. They also wrote The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Shakiest Gun in the West, Angel in My Pocket and The Reluctant Astronaut. Greenbaum's talent also was used to create the sculptures in this movie. Sam Bissell (Jack Lemmon) is an ad exec who wants off the hamster wheel so that he can concentrate on his true love — the aforementioned sculpture work that he makes out of found materials. He has a great marriage with Minerva (Dorothy Provine, That Darn Cat!) and two kids, but when his wife's best friend Janet (French actress Romy Schneider, who was briefly in Hollywood to make this movie and What's New Pussycat?) arrives, his life goes to pieces. The good? He's a family man, unlike the rest of the agency, so he's the perfect man to keep their toughest client, dairy owner Simon Nurdlinger (Edward G. Robinson) on retainer. But Simon thinks that Janet is Sam's wife. And because Janet can only get her inheritance if she's married, she has to convince her relatives that Sam is her ex-husband. But how will his wife handle all of this? As someone who has spent his life in advertising, I loved seeing the glory days of 50s advertising, even if it's portrayed as a soulless place. The agency in the film, Burke & Hare, is named after the notorious body snatchers William Burke and William Hare*, while everyone there seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown. So, you know, it's very realistic. You just know that the agency that partnered with this movie missed all of the work/life balance lessons in the movie and instead celebrated that they were able to get product placements all over Good Neighbor Sam for their clients Hertz, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Air Lines and Allied Van Lines. *It's also a reference to Jack Finney, who wrote the book that this was based on. And oh yeah — he also was the writer of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Unexpectedly fun caper meant to be a vehicle for the subtle and slapstick talents of Jack Lemmon and unexpectedly capable Romy Schneider and Mike Connors

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Just amusing, it will catch you a couple of smiles. Jack Lemmon is great, and Romy Schneider makes a delicious role.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I hadn't seen Good Neighbor Sam in decades, and I must say it is not as good as I remembered it (as a youngster). Still, if you are a fan of Jack Lemmon, or like the Mad Men era in (white) America, it is a must-see. Then you have gorgeous costars Dorothy Provine and Romy Schneider, and what's not to like? Well, it is essentially a 2-hour (that's right, it is long!) situation comedy, and Jack portrays, as usual, Everyman, who gets caught up in a situation that "spirals out of control" as movie ads say. It has many funny parts, with the situation being the part of the plot that keeps the viewer involved, wondering how are Sam and his wif Min (Provine) going to get out of THIS jam! Fun to watch, just a little too long. An added inducement is seeing Edward G. Robinson in a character role.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

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David Swift

Director

Jack Lemmon

Sam Bissell

Romy Schneider

Janet Lagerlof

Edward G. Robinson

Simon Nurdlinger

Mike Connors

Howard Ebbets

Dorothy Provine

Minerva Bissell

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A.H. Weiler

New York Times

Mr. Lemmon and company breathlessly toss gags from bedrooms to advertising offices with verve and vigor. It might not make much sense to a discerning viewer, but it is good for more than a fair portion of giggles and one or two guffaws.

Mar 16, 2020

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Jack Lemmon's farcial flair finds amusing exposure in this situation comedy.

May 9, 2005

Full Review

Joan Didion

Vogue

Like so much current comedy, it is underwritten; it is underdirected; it is underacted. Resurrect the Thin Man.

Mar 16, 2020

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

The problem with the marital satire is that it goes on for too long, maybe like some marriages.

Rated: B

Feb 8, 2010

Full Review

TV Guide Staff

TV Guide

Good, frantic fun.

Rated: 3.5/5

Mar 26, 2009

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Synopsis

Sam Bissell (Jack Lemmon) is an advertising executive who loves his wife, Min (Dorothy Provine), and his family as much as he loves peace and quiet. When Janet Lagerlof (Romy Schneider), an old acquaintance, inherits a sizable fortune, Bissell is talked into pretending to be her husband in order to fulfill a legal requirement. Things get even more complicated when Ms. Langerlof is introduced to Bissell's employer, Simon Nurdlinger (Edward G. Robinson), as Mrs. Bissell.

Director: David Swift
Production Co: Columbia Pictures Corporation
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 18, 2015
Runtime: 2h 10m

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