La ragazza made in Paris

Ann-Margret, Louis Jourdan, Chad Everett, and Edie Adams star in this light film which when seen today sets the #metoo movement back 50 years.

Ann-M, whom the boss' son (Everett) is in love with, plays a courtier buyer for a department store, in Paris on her first job. She is replacing another buyer (Edie Adams). Now in the corporate apartment, Ann-M doesn't realize that her predecessor was having a mad fling with one of the designers (Jourdan) as part of their contract.

This is just a frothy romance that is a showcase for the gorgeous, sexy Ann-Margret in glamorous Helen Rose outfits. If you're an Ann-Margret fan, you don't want to miss this.

Ann-Margret is simply irritating trying to play a naive and coy young lady wandering into Paris for her very first time with two (2) men both trying to woo her affections. I could not help but compare it to the earlier 196 film Gidget Goes to Rome starring James Darren, and Cindy Carol which was a more genuine adorable movie for young first time lovers.

Made in Paris was a big disappointment. It also reminded me of any number of Jerry Lewis's 1960's slapstick films. So for a so called Romance genre film it tanked big time.

I give it a lowly 4 out of 10 IMD rating.

Made In Paris is not referring to something that happens to Ann-Margret while in Paris. Not that there aren't three men willing to take on that assignment. No in fact it refers to Ann-Margret's first assignment taking over as a department store buyer in place of Edie Adams who is going to get married. No Ann's in Paris to get designer clothing for her store with that all important label in the fashion industry.

The three men in her life are designer Louis Jourdan, reporter Richard Crenna and the son of the store owner Chad Everett. Jourdan and Everett are in heat over her, Crenna just sits back and offers cynical comments hoping the other two kill each other off.

Ann-Margret was just a wee bit too innocent for this comedy with pretensions of sophistication. Not the best films for any of her leading man for that matter either. But entertaining and pleasant enough for a Saturday afternoon.

This thing was made in 1966, there were social changes a' coming. Heck, the Beatles and dozens of other Brit bands were here; fashions/makeup and social mores were changing fast. And here is our darling young gorgeous naive Ann Margret in the Gay Paree fashion world, fending off several inexplicably straight men dying to get into her lacy undies. Everyone wearing already dated huge Dairy Queen ice-cream-cone hairdos. An eye-goggling endless fashion shows of amazing, though already dated, 'Paris Fashions' (including a hideous hideous wedding gown at the end of the fashion show). And enough dead skinned animal fur to taint the Seine blood red for a year. Every other gown/coat/pantsuit was festooned with fur. Everyone smoking like MAD (and all that fur and expensive clothes worn in nightclubs so thick with nicotine you could hardly see them). Lots of I'm-not-that-kind-of-girl slap and tickle, lots of groovy and not dancing, some OK music of the time - this was made for ladies like my aunt, about 40, and still in love with Elvis years after he peaked. Long gloves, lots of up-do hair, amazing colors, exquisite set decorations (her hotel room - to. die. for.) Just watch this silly dated thing for the eye candy. It plays, and sounds, exactly like something Doris Day would have starred in (she turned it down, wisely, being a bit long in the tooth to play a beautiful young naive virgin being solicited by the three straight men in all of the fashion world.). A lovely Sunday afternoon time-filler. Not good, but not horrible.

'Made in Paris' was just another flop (film-critical wise) in Ann-Margret's film career, which had started off extremely successful with 'Bye Bye Birdie' and Elvis' most entertaining movie 'Viva Las Vegas' and then kind of took a wrong turn with 'Kitten with a Whip', which she, or better her managers, took instead of 'Cat Ballou'. It was a good movie but a critical disaster. One could say the only really good movie of her early career was 'The Cincinnati Kid', although her presence makes everyone of her films quite a pleasure to watch, even 'The Swinger'.

Yes, this 'romantic comedy' here is not bad. Unfortunately I would have to lie to say it was good. You'll not be harmed by watching it but don't expect The Godfather, though. Despite being a "comedy" the film is not very funny, except maybe for Richard Crenna, who gives the best acting performance here and has the best lines (relatively speaking, this is not Woody Allen quality). Jourdan does his usual French sophisticated charm routine and he and the other supporting players are all quite good.

Of course the simple romantic story was nothing spectacular. The highlight is, as you probably expected, the No. 1 sex kitten of the Sixties, a woman I can easily call the quintessential American beauty and sex symbol of her time and perhaps even all: Ann's sexy dance numbers are energetic, she's a fine dancer and the outfits are well-chosen, showing just enough of cleavage and legs. And that's about it. No surprise: She looks absolutely stunning here and if you happen to be unmoved by her looks, you should NEVER watch it. If you're an Ann-Margret fan, you should definitely give this one a try. Her acting is quite fine (although there's not enough character in the screenplay that could allow a great performance), and her unbelievable charisma and screen presence make this a very watchable movie in the end. Watch it for her and nothing else.