Newly-promoted if none too happily married Howard Brubaker leaves a rowdy company party early with the stunning Catherine, whom it turns out is herself unhappily married — to the boss. They spend an innocent night in New York becoming more and more attracted to each other, so that when Catherine announces she intends to leave her husband and return to Paris Howard asks to go along too.
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In New York, the newly-promoted in the Street Broker Howard Brubaker (Jack Lemmon) is invited by his boss Ted Gunther (Peter Lawford) to come to his fancy apartment. However, there is a party and the clumsy Howard feels uncomfortable and misplaced. Ted's wife Catherine Gunther (Catherine Deneuve) is amused with Howard and he invites her to have a drink in a club that Ted has suggested. Howard has a loveless marriage and his wife Phyllis (Sally Kellerman) does not pay attention to him. Catherine is unhappily married with Ted. When they meet the couple Grace (Myrna Loy) and Andre Greenlaw (Charles Boyer) that have been married for many years and are still happy, they decide to travel together to Paris to start a new life together. Will they leave their marriages behind? "The April Fools" is a shallow, naive but funny romantic comedy. The plot is pleasant mostly because of the gorgeous Catherine Deneuve. It is hard to see what she liked in the clumsy character performed by Jack Lemmon. In the end, "The April Fools" is a silly romance that entertains. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Um Dia em Duas Vidas" ("One Day in Two Lives")
Whatever praise - and criticism - has been directed at this film in other comments here is pretty much right on. But the elements considered by some as flaws need not necessarily be bothersome; they aren't to me. That all of the supporting characters are rather broadly drawn caricatures works, I think, because it leaves Lemmon and Deneuve, at the heart of the story, the only seemingly real people in it, one might say. Isn't that the way love is sometimes? Maybe everyone around you thinks you're nuts (hence the title?), but to the smitten couple, the exact opposite seems the case.What we really have here is the late-60s equivalent of screwball romantic comedy. As such, it's full of colorful characters and unlikely situations, with a good dose of social satire thrown in - with marriage, in particular, under the microscope. We have high-powered executive Lawford and Deneuve, his neglected trophy wife; put-upon suburbanite Lemmon and Kellerman, his self-absorbed, psychobabble-spouting spouse; Weston trying to be the assertive "man of the house" with his bickering "Mimsy;" Loy and Boyer as the long-married and still very much in love eccentrics. But THE APRIL FOOLS isn't about marriage, of course; it's about love.If you can find this picture, which is pretty hard to do as of this writing, it will reward with wonderful moments, delivered by a varied cast which pretty much represents the spectrum of players: the just-emerging Kellerman, Dillon and Mars; Lemmon, Lawford and Weston in their prime and old pros Boyer and Loy. Deneuve finds herself in an unfamiliar milieu here, but with her character that works in her favor. It's unexpected - and thoroughly amusing - when she suddenly lashes out at Mars: "Leesen, if you toush me agayne, I'll geev you a sock-in-the-eye!"My favorite moment: Lemmon's awkward attempt to be suave and "come on" to a sexy blond at Lawford's swanky party. The payoff is priceless.
This comic love fable has nothing really new to say, but Catherine Deneuve is beautiful as always and there are fun moments. Jack Lemmon had already beaten this character into the ground in the past, and it does become wearisome to watch him. Jack Warden and Harvey Korman are hilarious as drunken commuter train buddies of Lemmon and Peter Lawford is believable for the ONLY time as Deneuve's shallow, rich husband.Stuart Rosenberg was not really cut out to direct this kind of story, but does his best. Charles Boyer and Myrna Loy have presence as the older couple (still happy) after all these years. a 6 out of 10. Best performance = Jack Weston.
A sweet hearted, 60's drenched romp. Less than 24 hours go by. Several rich characters, not the least the beautiful Myrna Loy & Charles Boyer in a nice cameo. Jack Weston and Harvey Korman as Lemmons buddies are hilarious. Lawford plays to role perfectly. Deneuve is gorgeous. Music by Hamlisch is superb. But the best part is Lemmon's sad sack portrayal of a man on the way up that decides other priorities reign over money. I saw this on first release, and have seen it many times (20?) since. Never fails to bring a tear to the eye and a cuddle from the wife.