''What's So Bad About Feeling Good?'' is a 1968 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by George Seaton and starring

George Peppard George Peppard (; October 1, 1928 – May 8, 1994) was an American actor. He is best remembered for his role as struggling writer Paul Varjak in the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', and for playing commando leader Col. John "Hannibal ...

and

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...

. The film was a

box office disappointment A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...

Plot

Pete (

) is a former advertising executive living a Beatnik–Bohemian life, as part of a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

loft. Since living in the commune, Pete has turned into a cynical, misanthropic artist. The members of the commune are seemingly aimless, indolent or melancholy while waiting for the world to end; one member (

Gillian Spencer Gillian Spencer (born December 18, 1939) is an American soap opera actress and writer. She had supporting roles on the soaps '' The Secret Storm'' as Lynn Wilkins Warren from 1961-1962 and ''The Edge of Night'' as Leora Davies in 1963 before joi ...

) lives her life in a burlap sack, with only her bare feet protruding. One day, a wayward

toucan Toucans (, ) are members of the Neotropical near passerine bird family Ramphastidae. The Ramphastidae are most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five g ...

arrives at the loft. The toucan, which stowed away on a Greek banana boat from South America, carries a unique and highly contagious virus. The virus causes intense feelings of giddiness, happiness, and kindness in anyone affected by it. Pete initially catches the virus and in an outbreak of euphoria, suddenly senses a purpose in his life. Pete's girlfriend Liz (

) is initially horrified at his behavior change. When she learns from nearby police about the bird's virus, she tries to warn him, but he has already shaved his beard off and proposes marriage and conventional living. Pete plans to trick her and the other residents of his loft into getting infected, by pretending to be the nihilist German philosopher leader of a doomsday cult popular in the commune, and spreading it through close facial contact with them. In his disguise, he convinces Liz to let him kiss her, but he is soon revealed as himself. The now upbeat collective keep the toucan, nicknaming it "Amigo". They then decide to spread the virus to as many people as they can in New York City, disguising themselves in conventional dress. Liz is physically immune, but the positivity she encounters from her friends leads her to respond in kind. When authorities show up to catch the bird, Pete and Liz spirit him away by Liz hiding him in her dress and pretending to be pregnant, though the ruse is complicated when "nice" police take the couple to a hospital to give birth. The virus is quickly spread across New York City. Rude telephone clerks are suddenly polite and understanding. Those immune to the virus are also nice, as almost everyone else acts nice to them. Pete returns to his job as an advertising executive, but insists, however, that all the ads be honest. This initially gets him fired, but when his fellow executives are later infected, he is rehired and given a raise. Government leaders determine that the spread of the virus threatens the economic lifeblood of New York City; residents suddenly stop buying alcohol, tobacco or drugs, and the stock exchange and business districts are threatened with collapse if everyone is happy and nice to one another. J. Gardner Monroe (

Dom DeLuise Dominick DeLuise (August 1, 1933 – May 4, 2009) was an American actor, comedian, director, producer, chef, and author. Known primarily for his comedic performances, he rose to fame in the 1970s as a frequent guest on television variety sho ...

) is sent by the government to New York to stop the outbreak. He arrives wearing a space helmet. After several attempts, the toucan is intercepted and a cure is found. The vaccine is spread around the city via gasoline and industrial exhaust fumes. Cured New Yorkers return to their nasty ways, but those immune to the virus, and who only acted nice because others were, remain nice. Pete, now "cured", returns to the loft, while Liz declares she can no longer live in such a way, and liked Pete better when he was "sick". Liz plans to return to her hometown and visits a zoo where the toucan is now caged to say goodbye. Pete shows up independent of Liz and almost misses connecting with her, but the bird escapes from its cage and as he follows it, is reunited with her. They catch the bird, Liz pretends to be pregnant again to rescue Amigo, and they all escape from the zoo.

Cast

as Pete *

as Liz *

as J. Gardner Monroe *

John McMartin John Francis McMartin (August 21, 1929 – July 6, 2016) was an American actor of stage, film and television. Life and career McMartin was born in Warsaw, Indiana, on August 21, 1929, and raised in St. Cloud, Minnesota. After graduating fro ...

as The Mayor * Nathaniel Frey as Conrad * Charles Lane as Dr. Shapiro * Jeanne Arnold as Gertrude *

George Furth George Furth (born George Schweinfurth; December 14, 1932 – August 11, 2008) was an American librettist, playwright, and actor. Life and career Furth was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of George and Evelyn (née Tuerk) Schweinfurth. He was ...

as Murgatroyd * Morty Gunty as Sgt. Gunty *

Thelma Ritter Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969) was an American actress, best known for her comedic roles as working-class characters and her strong New York accent. She won the 1958 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and received ...

as Mrs. Schwartz * Joe Ponazecki as Officer Ponazecki *

Frank Campanella Frank Campanella (March 12, 1919 – December 30, 2006) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous television series, as well as a few films and Broadway productions. Early life and career Campanella was born in New York City, the son of P ...

as Captain Wallace *

Susan Saint James Susan Saint James (born Susan Jane Miller; August 14, 1946) is an American actress and activist, most widely known for her work in television during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, especially the detective series ''McMillan & Wife'' (1971–1976) and ...

as Aida *

Don Stroud Donald Lee Stroud (born September 1, 1943) is an American actor, musician, and surfer. Stroud has appeared in over 100 films and 200 television shows. Early years Stroud was the son of vaudeville actor Clarence Stroud (of "The Stroud Twins" team ...

as Barney

Production

The film was the first in a three-picture deal between Seaton and Universal. The script was written by Seaton and Robert Pirosh who had last worked together on ''A Day at the Races'' (1937). Filming was meant to start in 1966 but was pushed back until the following year. "For those of us who've been in analysis, it'll be a lot of fun," said George Peppard, who signed to play the male lead. His co-star was Mary Tyler Moore, then under long-term contract to Universal. "This picture is now comedy, influenced by the new wave," said Seaton. "There's not so much emphasis on the story and everything tying in anymore. Sometimes there's a scene almost extraneous but if it is entertaining or extraneous audiences accept this. Today's comedy writing mirrors the times. It's much harder to make people laugh today because of the world conditions. The young certainly don't have much to laugh about. So humor in film has to be so wild, so outlandish, that you can't help but laugh. The sophisticated humor of 20 years ago, the Noël Coward type of thing is not today. Not now." The film was shot entirely on location in New York. The cooperation of Mayor

John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...

meant it was the first film to be shot in New York City Hall.

Analysis

In a September 2020 episode, ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internatio ...

'' compares portions of the film with themes similar to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, such as a suggestion to wear masks to avoid airborne contagion, and economic impacts of a virus on tax revenue. However, the virus in the film causes only euphoria.

References

External links

* * *
Review of film
at

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...