I was once struck by Joan Collins’ character on "Dynasty," Alexis Carrington Colby Dexter, and how she kept all her former husbands' names—it seemed extraordinary. Shirley MacLaine had already done something similar, though, roughly two decades earlier with her role as Louisa May Foster Hopper Flint Anderson Benson. The movie opens with a woman in stylish clothes attempting to pay the IRS a check for hundreds of millions of dollars. They question her sanity and suggest she see a psychiatrist, who then hears stories about her past marriages. Dean Martin is among the first local men to become infatuated with her, but she finds herself drawn to Dick Van Dyke, a shop owner who manages to transform his small store into a successful business before things go wrong. She subsequently encounters struggling artist Paul Newman in Paris; then Robert Mitchum, a millionaire, as she departs Paris; and Gene Kelly in a modest diner where she tries to escape—even going so far as to propose to her therapist—before the narrative eventually returns to its starting point. This is an enjoyable showcase of MacLaine’s talents—as a singer, dancer, and someone who enjoys life's pleasures—and the male actors revolve around her. Newman stands out, being both skilled and attractive, as the painter who employs automated methods for his artwork. Poor Bob Mitchum seems to offer more in the way of prestige than a private jet or an arm to hold while she displays a collection of fashionable clothes that could rival any runway show in Milan or Paris. There's also a reasonably good song-and-dance sequence with Kelly. The humor is somewhat foreseeable, and the film’s studio setting occasionally feels too still, but the way the story weaves together different episodes is captivating, as is MacLaine herself; it felt like it went by quickly. It isn’t exceptional, but it's enjoyable.
On October 3, 2026
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