This movie starts out with some heart but soon turns into a poorly-written film with a slapstick ending that is not only ridiculous but boring (like “With Six You Get Eggroll”). I hoped for a well-written story such as “Pillow Talk,” “Teacher’s Pet” and “Lover Come Back,” but I was disappointed and learned a good lesson: rent it first on bargain day.

This is surely got to be one of the most boring and horrible films to come out of MGM. If not for Eric Fleming’s role, I’d never gone to the theater to see it, or buy the video.

The film opens on a Catalina island tour boat where people can view the sea below the glass bottom. Another boat hooks into the bathing suit of a swimmer dress like a mermaid. A scientist has invented a “gizmo” that will create gravity in space. A dime allows a telephone call from a telephone booth (that’s how old this is). There is humor from unexpected events. Is it like some cartoon of that era? Jenny has a number of pets in her home. [The situations reflect the style of humor for that era.] There are televised communicators (like in Orwell’s “1984″). The film shows how personal information can be used to gain the confidence of a targeted person. Jenny wears white gloves, a style soon to become obsolete by the 1970s. Voice recognition is in use. [Can there be a problem there?]

The comedy situations are a sort of refined slapstick. Can anything go wrong with a man on a stepladder? Poor Mr. Critter! Mr. Templeton has a very automatic and complicated kitchen. [Is it cost effective?] Can anyone imagine an intelligent vacuum cleaner? Perhaps it needs more testing? There is a spy who gathers secrets and films them to pass them on to a contact at a shooting gallery. [They will soon be banned by the 1968 Gun Control law.] There is another joke with a remote controlled speedboat. Can a new device have a problem? Jenny sings for more entertainment. This comedy turns serious when there is a stolen secret. Jenny is a suspect. There are more comic scenes that seem like padding.

The film changes to a serious drama when Mr. Critter is confronted with the need to gather more information. Is an overheard conversation reliable? There is a party at Templeton’s home. But an overheard conversation shocks Jennifer! She cries, then she decides to play tricks on the men. There is a comic impersonation. [Would this fool anyone?] Jenny’s trick works. But she is surprised at home, there is another comic scene. Dramatic events are followed by comic scenes. The police arrive to sort things out. All’s well that ends well.

Given everything that was going on in the country and the world at the time, this popular comedy tells something about popular tastes.