The Man Who Loved Women
Dir: Blake Edwards
1983
****
I'm probably being quite generous by giving this film 4 stars but as dated and ridiculous as it is, I just can't hate it. Blake Edwards' remake of François Truffaut's 1977 version plays more for laughs which actually works better in some respects (but not all). Truffaut's version was hard to take seriously, the protagonist coming across as more creepy than sensitive. For some reason, as sexist and womanising as Burt Raynold's is (or was always portrayed as) he somehow seemed the most believable when it comes to women-worship. I believed he adored women rather than just merely leched at them. The flashback scenes of his mother weren't as strong as in the original, and to be fair this version is as cheesy as it gets but I think improves the flavour somewhat. The original was good but it was no 'Claire's Knee', I enjoyed both but for very different reasons and it's quite interesting to see the comparisons between the two considering they were made only 6 years apart from each other.