Cactus Flower

Director: Gene Saks
Year Released: 1969
Rating: 3.0

Free-wheeling dentist (Walter Matthau) - who apparently is so charming he's never without a lady (or girl) - is keeping current flame (Goldie Hawn) at bay by letting her think he's married (to Ingrid Bergman), but as with some white lies, things spin out of control. I happen to like the (decidedly simple) wit and banter of this one - it's a puffy but charming (and toned-down) French sex comedy, and the actors are so suitably engaging (particularly Bergman, though Hawn got all the acclaim ... and the Oscar). The story seems to argue in favor of relationships between people of similar ages, which seems a tad conservative and prudish to me ... but Matthau and Bergman do seem like a blissfully complimentary pairing, and God only knows how a dentist can tolerate a ditz for more than ten minutes.