What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jonathan H

  
  Woody Allen's directorial debut was an interesting experiment at the time: redubbing International Secret Police: A Barrel of Gunpowder and ISP: Key of Keys (two pre-existing Japanese James Bond-esque films) with comedic English dialogue (a definite early precursor to Mystery… More
  Woody Allen's directorial debut was an interesting experiment at the time: redubbing International Secret Police: A Barrel of Gunpowder and ISP: Key of Keys (two pre-existing Japanese James Bond-esque films) with comedic English dialogue (a definite early precursor to Mystery Science Theater 3000). The film on screen, of course, is utterly ridiculous, and Allen conjures up some good lines such as, "It's a great film! It's got rape and looting," and "I have nude pictures that I will send to every grade school in Tokyo. Unless you're confident with your body, you're in for trouble", and there's even some clever participatory lines such as "Applaud so the gun will magically have more bullets," but the novelty wears off pretty quickly. In the end, it's hard to escape the fact that, even with the new dialogue, an audience still has to sit through the movie on screen. There are some awkward and bizarre musical interludes from The Lovin' Spoonful (which happened without Allen's consent, and propelled him to insist on musical control over his films) and their inclusion, both sonically and visually, is completely nonsensical. It appears as if he and his collaborators had a few good ideas here and there, but sporadic ideas does not a movie make.

• First L

  
  After writing and appearing in the film, "What's New Pussycat?", Woody Allen was approached by producers to write an english language dub of the japanese spy thriller "International Secret Police: Key of Keys". He agreed to do it, but only if he could re-work… More
  After writing and appearing in the film, "What's New Pussycat?", Woody Allen was approached by producers to write an english language dub of the japanese spy thriller "International Secret Police: Key of Keys". He agreed to do it, but only if he could re-work the storyline, which now centers around a group of spies pursuing the "world's best egg salad". Yes, I know it sounds wacky, but those expecting Allen's usual satirical wit will undoubtedly be disappointed, as it's a far cry from his films from the 70s. Still, I got quite a few chuckles from it, and there were certain scenes that out and out cracked me up. I also enjoyed the incongruous appearance of The Lovin' Spoonful, even if they were added later without Woody's consent. It's definitely a unique film experience, and probably the first of it's kind.

• Jennifer D

  
  Good, a little strange, but funny.

• Jennifer X

  
  Um, I really hated it. And it pains me to say so because I love Woody so dearly. Unfunny, uncreative, and unintentionally confusing! Honestly I think I would've liked the ACTUAL sexploitation B-movie is Japanese versus this mess.

• Lafe F

  
  Clever, but lame. I liked "Kung Pow!: Enter the Fist" much more.

• xGary X

  
  I thought it was funny the first time I saw it, but it really doesn't stand up to repeat viewing. Some very funny lines though..."Mom could always take a punch!"

• a b

  
  Unbelievably and awesomely hilarious.

• Anthony V

  
  It's funny and quite sexy. Dubbed foreign films always come across very badly, but when Woody Allen sets out to deliberately turn it into a comedy, its another story entirely. If you're a fan Mystery Science Theater or Woody Allen, you'll find yourself in heaven here.

Read all 8 featured audience ratings