An everything-but-the-kitchen-sink satire sending up Hollywood movie industry, Blake Edwards’ S.O.B. (its acronym actually stands for “Standard Operational Bullshit”) is no less blistering than Robert Altman’s THE PLAYER (1992), and gives Coen Brothers’ HAIL, CAESAR! (2016) a good run for its money in its goofiness and campiness.

The ever-high-flying producer Felix Farmer (Mulligan) is hit hard by the first turkey he produces, a movie named NIGHT WIND starring his Oscar-winning actress-wife Sally Miles (Andrews), after many futile suicidal attempts, Felix drinks in the last chance saloon and propositions to rejig the film into a soft-core pornographic picture (an inspiration derived from an orgiastic party held by his friends in his beach house), which requires Sally, a beloved household name famed for her family-friendly persona (aka. Ms. Julie Andrews herself), to go topless, as a desperate stunt to lure curiosity-driven audience, and ergo, salvages the movie from financial disaster. Of course, he has to stake his and Sally’s entire nest egg into the play, because the money-seeking studio, headed by David Blackman (an intimidating Vaughn) wants none of the dud, it is disheartening to see how callously a successful producer falls into disfavor just because one misstep, and when the wind changes, the studio is unscrupulous enough to jump back on the gravy train in a trice.

Self-serving agents, wanna-bees and wire-pullers, lascivious goings-on, plus a brassy gossip columnist (Loretta Swit hamming it up to high heaven), the whole shebang turns morbid when Felix finally achieves what he has attempted, and ironically in the wake of which, NIGHT WIND becomes a box-office record breaker just as he wishes. It looks everyone eventually gets what they want, Sally wins another Oscar, the studio hits a jackpot, only Felix, given a Viking wake by his three loyal friends, director Tom Curley (Holden), doctor Irving Finegarten (Preston) and Sally’s press agent Ben Coogan (Webber), whereas an official ceremony is simultaneously officiated by a spiritual guru (Storch) and attended by the glitterati, only, what lies inside the casket is an under-appreciated character actor, who finally gets its posthumous due honored by oblivious attendees. As per usual, Hollywood is an old boys’ club, Edwards’ celebratory gesture of the ending is nostalgic but also squeezes a flicker of warmth to those poor rich Tinseltown practitioners.

While it is revelatory to witness with one’s own eyes that Mary Poppins goes bare-breasted (Emily Blunt, take up that gauntlet!), Julie Andrews doesn’t go for broke in mining into Sally’s formality-bound impersonality (divorce is issued immediately after NIGHT WIND’s disastrous screening) and gormless duplicity (making deal with Blackman behind Felix’s back), yet the scene of a drug-addled-and-emboldened Sally loses all her propriety is a pure delight. Among the larger-than-usual ensemble, Richard Mulligan cautiously straddles a thin line between mindlessly catatonic and frantically delirious, and Shelley Winters is a gaudy hoot as Sally’s power agent, but it is Robert Preston’s eloquent Dr. Finegarten makes the most splash as he calmly articulates sideswipes, most of which have a nervous wreck Ben Coogan in the receiving end and some pertain to the latter’s excremental movement, it does take some effort to commit oneself to deliver lowbrow matters with a highbrow attitude. Also. S.O.B. is William Holden’s swan song, and his meta-referential image of a sybaritic director makes an apposite valediction to a bona fide Hollywood legend.

Met with mixed reviews upon its release (it might hit too close to home for some), nominated for both Golden Globe and Razzie awards, decades later, S.O.B. enjoys a resurgence of appreciation for its sardonic tone, reckless bravado, and authentic portrayal of a microcosm infested by feeding frenzy, cupidity and, above all, human follies, warning signs are everywhere, still, welcome to Hollywood!

referential entries: Edwards’ THE PINK PANTHER (1963, 7.4/10), THE PARTY (1968, 7.2/10); Coen Brothers’ HAIL, CAESAR! (2016, 7.6/10); Robert Altman’s THE PLAYER (1992, 8.2/10).

朱莉·安德魯斯在經(jīng)典音樂劇《音樂之聲》里張開雙臂、在翠綠的山谷里放聲唱歌的鏡頭，想必早已深深印在了影迷們的腦子里，她的歌聲清脆動聽，人也是那么美麗善良，所以很多內(nèi)地觀眾以為朱莉·安德魯斯就只能演這種白蓮花角色了。

我在看這部《S O B》之前也是這么以為的，因為我沒怎么看過她的其他電影，直到我看到了她在本片中瘋癲裸露，才徹底顛覆了我的印象！原來她也有豪放的一面。

影片講述一個超級賺錢的導(dǎo)演，突然遭遇票房滑鐵盧，賠了公司一大筆錢，他在各方面的壓力下竟企圖自殺！電影公司急忙派來三個老頭看著他。這三個老頭壞的很，在他家開放縱party，沒心沒肺的泡妞喝酒?？吹窖矍暗闹乜谖肚榫埃蠈?dǎo)演突然開竅，現(xiàn)在的社會不就是需要這些聲色犬馬么！那好，我把電影改一改，不要純情不要善良，就要騷浪就要邪惡！

于是老導(dǎo)演毅然買斷了電影版權(quán)，主演還是他老婆朱莉·安德魯斯，他說服她說：擺脫職業(yè)瓶頸最好的方法就是脫！原來的玉女、美國甜心，現(xiàn)在要在大銀幕第一次變壞、展現(xiàn)胴體，這票房馬上就能翻幾番??！朱莉一聽有道理，決定一脫成名！

于是，老導(dǎo)演用湊來的棺材本錢補拍了這部電影，曾經(jīng)翻臉無情的電影公司一看有戲，就想從中分一杯羹。他們說服朱莉降低風(fēng)險的最好辦法就是把經(jīng)營權(quán)賣給大的電影公司，朱莉不太信任老公，怕虧得分文不剩，就私自同意了。電影公司看過毛片后嫌太長，要將片子剪短再發(fā)行，老導(dǎo)演得知后氣急敗壞，跑到公司搶膠片，竟被趕來的警察擊斃！他臨死前帶著笑容，欣慰的說:這下子票房要翻倍了！

果不其然，曾經(jīng)的爛片成了口碑、票房大爆炸的全世界No1！電影公司見風(fēng)使舵，要給導(dǎo)演一個隆重的葬禮，并讓朱莉獻唱，也算是繼續(xù)炒作。三個老頭再也受不了這種利用死人賺錢的卑鄙行為，他們秘密偷出了老導(dǎo)演的尸體，給他來了一個自由的海葬。“好萊塢確實沒有幾個好人！”老人們感嘆道。

這部電影仿佛《電視臺風(fēng)云》的姊妹篇，用嬉笑怒罵、不拘一格的過火形式，表現(xiàn)出了好萊塢電影產(chǎn)業(yè)光鮮亮麗背后的世態(tài)炎涼和資本家們的殘忍虛偽。電影一開始，有個老頭在海邊跑步，不幸心臟病發(fā)作跌倒，他的狗在一旁狂吠求助，但無人理睬；他的尸體就這么晾在海灘上，其他游泳的人視若無睹；他的尸體晚上被海水沖走，白天又被沖回來，陪伴他的只有那條狗；最后那條狗也瘋了，咬了警察，才讓旁人注意到了這具尸體竟然是曾經(jīng)出名的老演員某某某。這種極端的諷刺，在現(xiàn)實中也差不了多少，藍潔瑛不就是最好的例子嗎！

導(dǎo)演布萊克·愛德華茲 Blake Edwards就是朱莉·安德魯斯的老公，她是他的第二任妻子，兩人的婚姻一直走到了愛德華茲生命的盡頭。這位導(dǎo)演最有名的作品就是《粉紅豹》系列。

《S O B》中朱莉·安德魯斯自黑似的重口味歌唱秀或許和《音樂之聲》一樣能成為影迷們的特殊記憶。