What’s Up, Doc?

Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, What’s Up, Doc? details the chaos and confusion that ensues after four individuals carrying the exact same overnight bag converge on a San Francisco hotel – with the picture focusing most keenly on the exploits of a buttoned-up musicologist (Ryan O’Neal’s Howard Bannister) and a rebellious free spirit (Barbra Streisand’s Judy). Filmmaker Bogdanovich, working from Buck Henry, David Newman, and Robert Benton’s screenplay, delivers a briskly-paced and often hilarious endeavor that benefits substantially from the top-notch efforts of its eclectic cast, as both Streisand and O’Neal’s turn in gleefully unhinged work that’s matched (and heightened) by the efforts of a stellar roster of periphery players – with Bogdanovich eliciting fantastic performances from such funny figures as Austin Pendleton and Madeline Kahn. And although the convoluted plot is occasionally difficult to follow (and there isn’t, ultimately, a whole lot of connective tissue holding the broad set-pieces together), What’s Up, Doc? does, for the most part, capture the tone and atmosphere of a classic screwball comedy – which, when coupled with an appropriately frantic, frenetic third act, cements the movie’s place as a first-class farce.

*** out of ****