Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

mark.waltz Obviously ripped off by the hit Broadway musical and its non-musical film version, "Irma La Douce", this is a fairly amusing but empty farce that has all the ingredients except for the fizz. It's about the phony suicide of struggling artist Dick Van Dyke who pretends to be dead to increase the value of his paintings. Hiding out at the bordello of Madame Coco (Ethel Merman!), Van Dyke becomes jealous when his scheming pal James Garner romances his grieving fiancée (Angie Dickinson) but is comforted in the presence of Elke Summer, a suicidal girl he rescued from the river after he took his drunken fall.Starting off with cartoon credits that reminds me of a "Pink Panther" short, this seems all too familiar in its plot devices, especially when Garner's scheme lands him on trial for his pal's murder. The performances are exactly what you expect them to be, with rubber legged Van Dyke doing his typical schtick. While it's obvious that the singing and dancing girls working for Merman do more than wear colorful costumes, the script never confirms it. There were dozens of French set films involving artists in the 1960's, so this is nothing too spectacular, but there are some funny moments especially from the multi color haired Merman. She even gets a musical number (music by Cy Coleman) complete with can can girls. It's colorful and sexy yet generic, the type of film that haunted neighborhood movie theaters on their first run rather than play the big movie houses, and would ultimately end up haunting the late show where I first saw it back in the mid 1980's. A lot of 60's clichés abound, but professionally directed by Norman Jewison, it's amusing fun that won't bore you but won't stimulate your brain either.

David Edward Martin Theowinthrop: "There is also a short story by Mark Twain entitled "IS HE DEAD?" about a plot to make a reputation for a prominent 19th Century artist, Gustave Courbet, by him pretending to be dead, and his paintings being sold for larger and larger amounts of cash so that the still living Courbet and his friends make a huge profit." It was Millet, the artist responsible for THE GLEANERS and other works, who faked his death in order to raise the value of his art. Twain later turned the scam into a play, IS HE DEAD?, which finally got discovered in 2002 and produced on stage in 2007.That said, THE ART OF LOVE has long been one of my "Favorite Films I Haven't Seen in a Long Long Time." The lack of video release is depressing. Hopefully Universal will start a cable movie channel dedicated to its own films, much like Fox Movie Channel (a great place to see long-forgotten flicks like PRUDENCE AND THE PILL).

shepardjessica This is a decent comedy starring Dick Van Dyke and James Garner (boring as usual), Angie Dickenson, lovely, and the beautiful Elke Sommer who makes it worthwhile. The premise (faking suicide to sell paintings) is pretty ridiculous, but Ms. Sommer's presence lights up the screen. This totally undervalued actress was stuck in too many dumb comedies and is a very intelligent woman who speaks many languages.A 7 out of 10. Best performance = Elke Sommer. This type of comedy was on it's way out in 1965, but with the fascinating Ms. Dickenson and Elke Sommer it's worth your while. James Garner should re-evaluate the roles he takes. He just never seems believable.

aesgaard41 I saw this movie once a long time ago and never forgot it.It has several funny lines and wierd situations in it as well as Dick Van Dyke fakes his suicide, but survives to get even with the friend played by James Garner who is getting rich off his phony death. Not that I condone suicide, but it's unreal as the phony murder that Van Dyke sets up takes up a life of its own. Ethel Merman is the dance hall owner keeping them from killing each other as she is unaware of the extra duties of her female dancers.Beautiful Elke Sommar and lovely Angie Dickinson are Van Dyke's and Garner's love interests as "Star Trek's" Roger C. Carmel and Van Dyke's TV boss Carl Reiner provide some comic relief in this black comedy.