So Fine

Directed by Andrew Bergman, So Fine follows buttoned-up college professor Bobby Fine (Ryan O’Neal) as he invents bottomless jeans and subsequently finds himself pursued by a dangerous mobster named Mister Eddie (Richard Kiel). Bergman, armed with his own screenplay, delivers a hit-and-miss comedy that fares best in its engaging and sporadically laugh-out-loud-funny first half, as the picture boasts a frenetic sensibility that’s reflected in its far-from-subtle performances and smattering of larger-than-life interludes and set-pieces – with, in terms of the former, O’Neal and Kiel’s broad efforts certainly going a long way towards perpetuating the agreeable atmosphere. (It doesn’t hurt, either, that Bergman offers up a series of oddball digressions that are undeniably hilarious, including (and especially) a bit involving Bobby’s perilous efforts at driving a visiting poet to his college.) It’s clear, then, that So Fine‘s impact is dulled significantly by an opera-set third act that rarely, if ever, fares as well as Bergman has obviously intended, as the filmmaker’s efforts at infusing this stretch with an uproarious, farce-like vibe tend to fall completely (and distressingly) flat – which is a shame, ultimately, given the affable bent of everything preceding it.

**1/2 out of ****