S.O.B.

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S.O.B.

R

Released Jun 26, 1981

2h 4m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

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26 Reviews

64%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Felix Farmer (Richard Mulligan) is a Hollywood director well on his way to killing his career. He just spent $30 million making a musical that no one wants to see. But, after several botched suicide attempts, the filmmaker has a sudden epiphany: Why not turn his moribund family-friendly entertainment into a porn movie? Of course, to make his scheme work, Felix will have to convince his actress wife, Sally Miles (Julie Andrews), to bare it all for the camera.

Critics Consensus

A sustained blast of unbridled vitriol from writer-director Blake Edwards, S.O.B. is one of the blackest -- and most consistently funny -- Hollywood satires ever put to film.

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Derek Malcolm

Guardian

It is quite clear that Edwards knows exactly what he is talking about, and relishes the opportunity so to do. S.O.B. is his best film since Breakfast At Tiffany's.

Dec 29, 2021

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Variety Staff

Variety

Black comedy is a tough commodity to sustain and, after a broad start, Edwards quickly finds a deft balance that paints a cockeyed, self-contained world that comfortably supports its exaggerated characters.

Jul 22, 2008

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Nigel Floyd

Time Out

It seems more like an expectorant for Edwards' bile than an entertainment aimed at an audience.

Jun 24, 2006

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Mat Brunet

AniMat's Review (YouTube)

In this age of studios making stupid money-losing mistakes and increasing amount of box office bombs, S.O.B. is one of the few movies made in Hollywood that isn’t afraid to call out what is wrong with the Hollywood system and its lack of human decency. I

Rated: 8/10

Mar 29, 2024

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Philip French

Observer (UK)

A would-be Jonsonian satire on Hollywood, or Freddie Bartholomew Fair, the film is as misconceived as it is ill-executed.

Dec 30, 2021

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

...SOB lives up to its title, and like the central character it describes, it's a hot, sticky mess that's hard to scrape off your shoe....

Rated: 3/5

Apr 18, 2021

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Irene M

Watched as part of a Blake Edwards binge. acknowledge the satire. surprised at the nudity. Didn't enjoy the slapstick physical humor. Don't think I would have even understood why it was made, if I hadn't read the connection to "Darling Lily".

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

12/17/24

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Daniel P

Brilliant exposé of movie shenanigans - chokful of colorful references to common practices of studios, agents, directors, actors, managers, lawyers, etc. Especially enjoyable given the slew of A-Listers in this ensemble cast. Great backstory on this one - given that Blake Edwards himself suffered the slings and arrows of scorn after his own production in the late sixties, he effectively created this compelling tale. Brilliant performance by William Holden - his last performance, actually, and every bit as present/committed as was his first (Prison Farm, 1938).

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/19/22

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dave s

Blake Edwards' S.O.B.does its best to disprove the old adage that less is sometimes more. What could have been a scathing satire on the morals and principles of the Hollywood elite is instead a movie where virtually every scene is overplayed, replete with plenty of yelling and hysteria and silliness and pointless slapstick, subverting any message that was trying to be imparted. There are a handful of laughs, but for the most part the characters all say and do too much, to the point where it borders on exhausting. You know that there are problems when the best parts of the movie are Julie Andrews "boobies" and the secondary plot involving the fate of the corpse on the beach and its faithful dog.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Ed M

Famous director. Allstar cast. Boring movie.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/14/21

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steve d

I don't think it was consistently funny.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

The best comedy movie ever made!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

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Blake Edwards

Director

Julie Andrews

Sally Miles

William Holden

Tim Culley

Richard Mulligan

Felix Farmer

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Synopsis

Felix Farmer (Richard Mulligan) is a Hollywood director well on his way to killing his career. He just spent $30 million making a musical that no one wants to see. But, after several botched suicide attempts, the filmmaker has a sudden epiphany: Why not turn his moribund family-friendly entertainment into a porn movie? Of course, to make his scheme work, Felix will have to convince his actress wife, Sally Miles (Julie Andrews), to bare it all for the camera.

Director: Blake Edwards
Producer: Tony Adams, Blake Edwards
Screenwriter: Blake Edwards
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount, Lorimar Film Entertainment, Artista Management
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 26, 1981, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 2h 4m