Please Not Now!

Rating:
Summary: One of Bardot's best
Review: "La bride sur le cou" ("Please Not Now!") is a pure joy to watch. Brigitte is sexy beyond compare, the plot is amusing (and sometimes very funny), and the story has some unexpected comical moments (e.g., the "kitchen" at the hotel).

I loved the opening sequence in which Sofie (Brigitte) is driving her Deux Chevaux through the streets of Paris, creating traffic mayhem in her wake. A creative mix of real time and sped-up photography, it's a comic gem that can't be missed. The Paris driving sequence foreshadows a "cool" moment later in the film where Sofie and two courting men race each other around bales of hay in karts, with the POV at ground level just a few feet in front of the karts.

Because it's a fantasy sequence, Brigitte's nude dance is seen through a glass haze. Enough clarity is seen to make it exciting without sacrificing taste. But what makes this sequence extraordinary is (1) the visual "back and forth" interplay of the la Bamba drummer, who dances while he plays, and Brigitte's strip tease, and (2) the accelerating rhythm of the music itself. I also enjoyed the fact that the director (Roger Vadim) chose to employ (literally) a visual metaphor--smoke and mirrors.

The film quality is excellent. The black and white photography is first rate, and Anchor Bay is to be commended for its transfer.

The subtitles are good, though, of course, it doesn't capture ever single word said in French. What does translate is Brigitte Bardot's sensual innocence and inimitable charm.

Rating:
Summary: The most satisfying Bardot available.
Review: (Though it's only a matter of time before CONTEMPT is issued.) I don't know why it's so hard to get a sex goddess into a great movie. Billy Wilder managed it with Marilyn. Poor Brigitte spent her early years on film saddled with empty froth and scripts aimed more at third-rate philosophy than genuine drama. If not great, at least there's nothing in the way here of getting the full measure of this charming actress. It's amazing how far a few seconds of nudity and a surpisingly joyfull riverdance through La Bamba goes to make the whole deal worthwhile.

Rating:
Summary: The most satisfying Bardot available.
Review: (Though it's only a matter of time before CONTEMPT is issued.) I don't know why it's so hard to get a sex goddess into a great movie. Billy Wilder managed it with Marilyn. Poor Brigitte spent her early years on film saddled with empty froth and scripts aimed more at third-rate philosophy than genuine drama. If not great, at least there's nothing in the way here of getting the full measure of this charming actress. It's amazing how far a few seconds of nudity and a surpisingly joyfull riverdance through La Bamba goes to make the whole deal worthwhile.

Rating:
Summary: Quaint !
Review: Definitely quaint, and sexy, though abominably old-fashionned, in the laboriously goofy plot, and loose character interactions. But all right, it's the sixties, and it's Bardot! My god, she's got something, this Bardot, to lift this little nothing movie out of the nothingness where it actually belongs. Who can forgive director Vadim for giving such small and dead-end parts to actors like Jean Tissier and Claude brasseur, for instance? But sure, he had Bardot, and the Bamba scene as well as the nude scenes remain (cute) classics....The DVD is decent in its viewing and extra features, too...I got my money worth...

Rating:
Summary: Naïf et drôle...
Review: Film à voir pour les fans de la belle blonde pulpeuse. C'est rafraîchissant et léger à souhait, mais quelque peu décevant pour le cinéphile exigeant. Bon cinéma quand même! Les blondes n'y sont pas à l'honneur encore une fois.

Rating:
Summary: almost perfect
Review: This movie is taylor-made for its main actress. Plot, speed, scene-cutting, co-actors and -actresses, everything perfectly matches the looks and skills of Brigitte Bardot. Unfortunately the star herself is out of tune: Brigitte, clearly uninspired, only acts on her routine here.

My BB-biography tells, that 'Please not now' was Bardot's first movie after her suicide attempt. So I think it's reasonable to assume this movie was set up to keep her going once again. To renew the cash-in on BB's formidable looks.