Titled with a question mark for a reason, this Don Knotts vehicle casts him as a meek, mild-mannered magazine publisher who is mistaken for a suave playboy after his ornithological magazine is rebranded by a smut merchant while he is out of the country. Upon returning to America, Knotts finds himself as a pawn of sorts for several parties with specific agendas, including a team of lawyers who believe that he is a perfect advocate for free speech. His looks of utter disdain in court as he is branded "dirty" are absolutely pitch perfect as Knotts slides comfortably into the role of a man in over his head. The best performance in the film though comes from B.S. Pully as a gangster in the mix who is insistent on improving his grammar, dropping 'big' words like "fastidious" and "prerogative" at all the wrong points. Frequently funny as the film may be, its satirical ambitions are unfortunately not always at the forefront with the vast majority of gags derived from how unlikely a candidate Knotts is for a playboy, which in turn makes the film feel a lot like a one-joke comedy at times. An abrupt ending furthermore causes the proceedings to end on a low note. And yet, while the potential for more is striking, this is an undeniably engaging motion picture while it lasts. The imaginative costumes need to be seen to be believed, the set decoration in the master bedroom is quite creative and Knotts has a ball playing a character torn between wanting to be seen as a conservative, upstanding citizen and gradually coming to like the idea of being seen as a charming rogue.
Review of The Love God?
