There’s a Girl in My Soup on DVD

Ah, those British - they sure can write and they sure can lift a run of the mill sex farce to a higher level of intelligence and humor.

And that’s exactly what we have with “There’s a Girl in My Soup,” the Peter Sellers/Goldie Hawn vehicle that sees both of them in great form indeed.

Sellers is Robert Danvers, a kind of “galloping gourmet” character with a voracious appetite for the fairer sex. He’s a one man media empire, with a TV show, books, personal appearances, you name it. And talk about a lecher! As the movie opens, he seduces one of his former belles at her own wedding! Then, on the way home, he meets another interesting conquest and, well, she’s interested in being conquered.

His life is good. He’s rich, debonair, famous, in demand, and the envy of other men - as witnessed by the married guy downstairs with the shrewish wife. Yes, his life is perfect. He even has a remote controlled, heated round bed.How Sixties!

Then, on his way to a stodgy party accompanied by his friend/associate Andrew (Tony Britton) he meets Marion (Hawn), who appears to be the typical flakey American youth. She’s living in a dumpy hippie apartment, but is feeling used and abused by her boyfriend - so on a whim she throws herself at total stranger Danvers and accompanies him home.

Well you’d think this would be just what the doctor ordered for Danvers, and so he does think - until it turns out that Marion is more than just a mouthful. She’s gasoline to his water and despite their mutual physical attraction, they’re not only from different generations but from different worlds - and it appears that never the twain shall meet.

But of course they do, and what we have is a whirlwind romance where he takes her to France with him for a wine tasting tour. This gives us the opportunity to witness some nice “fish out of water” moments as Marion is thrown into the high society world there - and throws that world into a tizzy.

Marion and Robert have fallen in love, of course, and these two ships passing in the night look as if they’re going to drop anchor once and for all - the free spirit giving up her freedom, while the freewheeling bachelor’s wheels fall off once and for all and he accepts the old ball and chain.

There’s more of course, but rather than spoil it we’ll let you savor this delicious appetizer for yourself.

Sellers is marvelous as the witty and polished Danvers. He plays the role straight for the most part, and if you hadn’t seen him in many of his other films you might think he was a real matinee idol and not a cinematic clown. Hawn is also terrific as Marion. She’s alternately sweet, sexy, and madly frustrating, and you can see why Danvers would fall for Marion.

There’s also a terrific supporting cast led by the above-mentioned Britton, whose role of the happily married family man is a great foil for the irresponsible and irrepressible Danvers.

The DVD is pretty good, too. Columbia Tristar offers both anamorphic widescreen and Pan&Scan versions on the same side of the same disc, accessible by the menu, and if you have to release a Pan&Scan version this is our favorite way to do it.

The picture, which is mastered in high definition,is very good. It doesn’t leap out of the screen in the way many new movies do, which almost seem to be made for the DVD medium, but the images are still quite sharp and the colors are outstanding - the latter of which particularly comes in handy in some of the upper crust locations.

Audio is Dolby Digital mono and while it’s nothing to write home about there’s nothing really wrong with it. The sound quality is good. Nothing’s muffled; dialogue and music are all very listenable.

Extras are limited to a bunch of trailers.

There’s a Girl in My Soup seems to be an almost forgotten movie. We’re glad Columbia Tristar remembered it.

There’s a Girl in My Soup, from Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment
96 min. anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1, 16x9 TV compatible)/ Pan&Scan (under same cover), Dolby Digital mono
Starring Peter Sellers, Goldie Hawn
Produced by M.J. Frankovich and John Boulting
Written by Terence Frisby, Directed by Roy Boulting

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