Written by: Charles Wood
Starring: Rita Tushingham, Ray Brooks, Michael Crawford, Donal Donnelly
Rating: [1.5/5]
While the best comedy has a universality to it, some simply make more sense within their specific time and perhaps do not hold up when audiences of different sensibilities watch it. That’s one reason why The Knack… and How to Get It does not work for some, but ultimately while it has a fun first half, it makes an unimaginable choice to conclude its story that shows this production is rotten to its core.
Lacking much experience with women, Colin (Michael Crawford) seeks to learn “the knack” of how to seduce women. He enlists the help of his friend Tolen (Ray Brooks), who has his methods, albeit a bit different from how Colin would approach things. As Colin allows Tolen’s methods to influence his life, he learns some valuable lessons on interactions with the opposite sex.
Truly one of the more confounding films I’ve ever watched, The Knack… and How to Get It leaves me in two minds. On one hand, it transports us to a time of sexual revolution in England that made the comedy on tap throughout this film edgy and quite pointed. The kind of humor that made crowds go wild to the point it somehow won the Palme d’Or the year it was released. On the other hand, in today’s eyes it represents such a transgressive view of gender dynamics, especially as it reaches its fairly shameful final act.
Through its quick editing and line delivery, this film certainly makes itself stand out, as the adventures of these three male friends in their exploration of seducing women at least come through a very interesting visual presentation. That much I can give this film, as its humor matches the editing style to make it fairly effective. We can see the difference in Colin and Tolen in their approach to life and women, and while misogynistic at times, at the very least provides some insight. That very insight and their dochotoimy bring some laughs because of the way Colin wants to emulate Tolen but also does not like the guy very much. Quite the pair here.
Whatever good will this film creates for itself, it completely destroys all of it when we get to the scene and further sequences that have aged the worst. A moment of uncertainty for the audience leaves Tolen and the only primary female character, Nancy (Rita Tushingham), with two very different accounts of what transpired while in a park. An interesting choice to make when Nancy claims Tolen sexually assaulted her. Everything that happens afterwards plays her hysterical calls for rape as some sort of joke to the point where the men actually discuss if this behavior by Nancy is actually her wanting to be assaulted and that Tolen should help fulfill this fantasy of hers. Frankly, a bold move but one that comes across incredibly tasteless. The optimistic side of me cannot even think of a devil’s advocate counterpoint to this being such a horrific sequence and finale of the film. If it tried to convey something more impactful, it certainly did not present it in a manner that does not look horrifically misogynistic.
It further raises the concern of what this film represents at the end of the day. Sure, it has some fun humor at the start and creates some wacky sequences that create entertainment for us audience members. However, given how the film ends, it provides the firepower to look at this film as a whole to show it has a wickedness to it. A hard edge to it without the skill to deliver, its attempt at potential satire leaves a real bad taste by the time the final credits roll, which fascinates me to think what exactly they wanted to pull off here.
Truly a shocking film viewing experience where it deteriorates in a way I do not think I have ever experienced before. Plenty of movies fall apart, but The Knack… and How to Get It goes out of its way to create a horrible scene that does not necessarily need to be shoehorned into the narrative and continues to double down to a disturbing degree. It’s almost impressive just how much it completely loses the plot and therefore blew up all elements of the film that can be enjoyed.
