"The Besty" is a reasonably entertaining soap opera-like movie from writer Harold Robbins' novel. However, it loses a few points because the producers chose to go with a big-name actor in one of the leads...even though he was completely wrong for the part. In this case, it's Laurence Olivier playing an American car tycoon...and he does an amazingly poor job at it. While he's often thought of as a great actor, no actor can handle all parts...and at this point in his career, Olivier was willing to make ANYTHING for the money and it just seems like he didn't care if he was right for the part or not.
The 'Betsy' in the title refers to a new economy car that the patriarch of a Ford-type family wants to be made even though the current CEO of the company, his grandson (Robert Duvall) is dead set against it. So, working with a race car driver (Tommy Lee Jones...who is also wrong for this role), the old man hopes to regain control of the company.
Like any Harold Robbins story, this one is chock full of sex and nudity. It also deals with such taboos as incest and homosexuality...heady topics in the 1970s. It also features lots of pretty people...rich people.
So why do I only give it a 5? Well, if Olivier (and to a lesser extent) and Jones had been right for their parts, I probably would have given the film a 7. But Olivier sounds like a British actor TRYING to sound American (and failing) and Jones just isn't charismatic enough for his role. Why would women want this character? I dunno...but they did! Overall, a film which should have been better and is nothing more than a sleazy time-passer.
By the way, the picture received some Golden Raspberry nominations. While it's not good...I don't think it's THAT bad.
The 'Betsy' in the title refers to a new economy car that the patriarch of a Ford-type family wants to be made even though the current CEO of the company, his grandson (Robert Duvall) is dead set against it. So, working with a race car driver (Tommy Lee Jones...who is also wrong for this role), the old man hopes to regain control of the company.
Like any Harold Robbins story, this one is chock full of sex and nudity. It also deals with such taboos as incest and homosexuality...heady topics in the 1970s. It also features lots of pretty people...rich people.
So why do I only give it a 5? Well, if Olivier (and to a lesser extent) and Jones had been right for their parts, I probably would have given the film a 7. But Olivier sounds like a British actor TRYING to sound American (and failing) and Jones just isn't charismatic enough for his role. Why would women want this character? I dunno...but they did! Overall, a film which should have been better and is nothing more than a sleazy time-passer.
By the way, the picture received some Golden Raspberry nominations. While it's not good...I don't think it's THAT bad.