Critic's Choice

1963
Approved
1h 40m

IMDb RATING

5.7/10

1.2K

YOUR RATING

Lucille Ball and Bob Hope in Critic's Choice (1963)

Trailer for this comedy starring Lucille Ball

Play trailer3:21

1 Video

12 Photos

Slapstick Comedy

Parker Ballantine is a New York theater critic and his wife writes a play that may or may not be very good. Now Parker must either get out of reviewing the play or cause the breakup of his m... Read allParker Ballantine is a New York theater critic and his wife writes a play that may or may not be very good. Now Parker must either get out of reviewing the play or cause the breakup of his marriage.Parker Ballantine is a New York theater critic and his wife writes a play that may or may not be very good. Now Parker must either get out of reviewing the play or cause the breakup of his marriage.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.7/10

1.2K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
Last of four feature films that Bob Hope and Lucille Ball made together. The other three pictures were Fancy Pants (1950), Sorrowful Jones (1949), and The Facts of Life (1960).

Goofs
The movie takes place in New York, but during the softball game, the famed Los Angeles Gas Works tank is clearly visible in the background.

Quotes
John Ballantine: For the record, Sisters Three was written by Angela Ballantine, directed by Dion Kapakos, and produced by mistake.

Crazy credits
Ending: "The absolute End"

Connections
Referenced in What's My Line?: Bob Hope and Lucille Ball (1963)

User reviews25

Review

Featured review

Why did they do this?

I will assume that Ira Levin's original Broadway play was much better than this dull, tedious film. It has obviously been altered to fit the acting styles of Ball and Hope. Lucy's role comes across as a toned-down version of her Lucy-wants-to get-in-show-business character, and Hope hams it up as the husband. Scene after scene comes across as rather pedestrian. The sets and cinematography are fine, and Edith Head provides Lucy with great costumes. Perhaps fans of the then-running "Lucy Show" made this film a success. However, 1968's "Yours, Mine and Ours" is a much better vehicle for Ball, even if her advanced age made that role unrealistic. In retrospect, Lucy comes across as annoying and passive in this film. In addition, the child actor Ricky Kelman is extremely irritating as the son of Hope, and step-son of Ball.