S.O.B. on DVD

Blake Edwards sends Hollywood a poison pen letter in S.O.B., a wicked satire of tinseltown and the weenies it seems to attract.

Richard Mulligan is Felix Farmer, a movie maker with a good track record - until his latest flick, a musical starring his "goodie two shoes" wife (Julie Andrews), lands on the box office like a huge stink bomb. His career apparently in ruins, he tries to kill himself but fails - then while a debauched party takes place in his Malibu home, he gets the brilliant insight to reshoot some of the scenes to turn the film into a sex romp he thinks the audience will eat up with a spoon.

Part of his inspiration and challenge includes convincing his wife to throw off her wholesome image by throwing off her costume top. He succeeds in doing this, giving us one of Julie Andrews most unusual scenes since she hit the silver screen in "Mary Poppins."

Naturally, the movie ends up being a huge hit….

This is a biting, at times nasty (to Hollywood and its sacred cows) satire and judging by the caliber of the all star cast that showed up, there appears to have been plenty of people who wanted to help writer Edwards tell the tale. How's this for a list of co-stars: William Holden (his last role), Robert Preston, Robert Vaughn, Marisa Berensen, Larry Hagman, Craig Stevens, Loretta Swit, Robert Loggia, Stuart Margolin, Shelley Winters, Robert Webber - and more.

Each of these characters plays some kind of Hollywood stereotype, with élan, moving and shaking their part of the industry to ensure they get their share of the pie at any cost.

There are the bimbos, the back stabbers, the bitches, the businesspeople - and the humor is not only black and biting, but (at least from what seems apparent) right on. One gets the impression that Blake Edwards had been saving this one up for a long time, and that he got a lot of his own frustration out while writing and directing the film.

Julie Andrews doesn't have that large a part (the movie mostly follows Holden, Preston and Webber, who seem to be the glue that hold the story together), yet she's remarkable as she lampoons her own image. The other performances are bang on as well.

Hollywood must have cringed at this film - and if Hollywood is only half as ridiculously bad as S.O.B. makes out, it cringed with good reason.

Warner Brothers has done a good job on the DVD, though we would have loved to be able to hear what we imagine would be a terrific Blake Edwards commentary track (that, sadly, isn't included). Still, the anamorphic widescreen picture (16x9 TV compatible) is excellent. The Southern California locations look great, the picture is sharp and colorful, and there's nary a digital artifact to be found. It isn't quite as good as the video transfer Warner did for Victor/Victoria, but it's close.

Audio is Dolby Digital mono and it's fine, though unremarkable.

Unfortunately, while we can only imagine the great extras that could have accompanied this skewering, there's little offered on this DVD. You get cast/director film highlights (which is merely a list of cast members and a Blake Edwards filmography) and the theatrical trailer.

Still, this is a movie that really must be seen - and laughed at.

S.O.B., from Warner Home Video
121 min. anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1), 16x9 TV compatible, Dolby Digital mono
Starring Julie Andrews, William Holden, Richard Mulligan, Stuart Margolin, Larry Hagman, Robert Vaughn, Marisa Berensen, Robert Webber, Shelley Winters, Robert Preston, Loretta Swit
Produced by Blake Edwards and Tony Adams
Written and Directed by Blake Edwards

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