Stirred but not Shaken

Another one of the movies I picked up for cheap at my now defunct neighborhood Hollywood Video store was On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the black sheep of the Bond canon--by turns underrated and overrated by fans and critics alike. When I first saw it on TV in '70's, I was already a Connery fan and therefore found this interloper--George Lazenby????--wholly inadequate to the part. As the years went by, the film grew on me a little, mostly due to a gradual warming appreciation of its other characters (Diana Rigg was so hot and Telly Savalas so evil), its awsome sets and locations, its fashion and decor (Bond's first real forays into genuine grooviness), and its rather good musical score. I began to see, too, that the film was gaining in reputation--some fans "in the know" were calling it the best of the Bonds. I wasn't ready to go that far, but I was willing to cut it some slack. Now, having watched it again the other day, I have to say it's a pretty mixed bag--far from "best" but certainly not a failure. I can see better now what was really going on. Connery had bailed on the series after You Only Live Twice (a lesser Connery, I'm afraid) and the producers were faced with the task of replacing Connery and freshening up a series that was beginning to lose some of its luster in the age Swinging London. They chose George Lazenby because he wowed them in interviews and looked great, but he was clearly a mistake. He looks the part okay--he's handsomely ugly in a Clive Owen sort of way--but he can't act. Period. He acts just as you would expect a male model (which he was) to act: he's well built and impressive in action sequences, but whenever he speaks he sounds like he's delivering an endorsement in a TV ad. Part of it, too, is the horrible script--it's certainly the worst writing of the 60's Bonds. But at the end of the day he had to fill Connery's shoes and he just couldn't do it. So, here's a list of the likes and dislikes of this film (in lieu of a belabored review that I don't want to write and nobody will want to read):

Likes:

• Supporting cast: Diana Rigg, Gabriele Ferzetti, Telly Savalas, Joanna Lumley (though she's fleeting).
• action: ski chases, car chases (on ice, no less), and some of the stunts and fights.
• aerial photography (really fab).
• groovy clothes (though, I realize, this is subject to change).
• groovy sets and decorating.
• wonderful Swiss locations.
• groovy cars (though edging into late 60's early 70's muscle-mobiles which I don't find nearly as cool as the trim mid-sixties roadsters).
• music (no lyrics?? s'okay, two of my other faves don't have them either--Dr. No and FRWL [well not in the opening credits anyway]).
• an emotionally vulnerable Bond (quite a risk, that, but it works and it was a good attempt to freshen up the character even if it didn't stick).
• and no gadgets! thank God.

Dislikes:

• Lazenby--acting, and even more so, his jaunty Aussie swagger (sorry for the bigotry); I find him irritating to watch; about half the time he doesn't look comfortable--in fact, he looks like what he is, somebody who's crashed the party and is trying a little too hard to act natural.
• Bond leering at a product-placement Playboy (he wouldn't bother).
• bad puns and "witticisms" (they should be groaners not cringers).
• the uneven pacing--revamping things with lovey-doviness is fine, but don't let it become a thrill kill (really, a lovers montage???).
• the plot with the international babes, infertility, etc. --well, I suppose it's more creative than just stealing an atom bomb.

So then, how does it all balance out? I'll rank it 8th in the series, which I'm beginning to think is too generous:

1. From Russia With Love

2. Goldfinger

3. Casino Royale (Craig)

4. Thunderball

5. Dr. No

6. Quantum of Solace

7. Live and Let Die

8. On Her Majesty's Secret Service

9. Man with the Golden Gun

10. You Only Live Twice

11. The Spy Who Loved Me

12. Diamonds Are Forever

13 + all the rest that I can't really be bothered with trying to rank...

That's my list for now. Always subject to change, of course.

Ciao,

~cd