Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

We are well in our second month which means I am still committed and it's another Sunday which can only mean one thing. It's Sunday at the Classics and we have an interesting one lined up for you guys today. There are a lot of classic films from another time that I never had the chance to watch so when I was strolling through Netflix, I came across one title and I decided to go for it. The name of the film is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and it stars Dick Van Dyke (Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb) as struggling inventor and single father of two kids Caractacus Potts who just needs one big break before he is rich. A chance encounter with the beautiful Truly Scrumptious (Sally Ann Howes), the heir to the largest candy manufacture in England sends them on a wild journey of discovery, barons, and quite the amazing car that goes chitty chitty bang bang. The film also stars Lionel Jeffries (The Amazing Mr. Blunden) as Grampa Potts, Adrian Hall (Two People) as Jeremy,  Heather Ripley as Jemima, Gert Fröbe (Goldfinger) as Baron Bomburst, Anna Quayle (A Hard Day's Night) as Baroness Bomburst, James Robertson Justice (The Guns Of Navarone) as Lord Scrumptious, Robert Helpmann (The Red Shoes) as Child Catcher, Benny Hill as The Toy Maker, and the film was directed by Ken Hughes (Casino Royale).

I have to say that if you didn't watch a film like this when you were a child then you may not enjoy these types of films as an adult and I for one did not enjoy this film. I am not saying that it was a terrible movie, I just couldn't take a lot of the singing and the music. I may have just not been in the mood for Dick Van Dyke if I am being honest. Often when I am watching a film, I like to know that there is consistency in the film like for one, the film takes place in England, his father is British, and his children are British so tell me why is he speaking with an American accent? It's like what If I took Andrew Dice Clay, told him not to change the way he spoke, but told him he was the son of a Mexican war hero and his kids were Mexican. He could’ve of at least tried to speak with a British accent or were there not any British leading men at the time? Like where was Roger Moore he would have been OK in the role. The only person that made this film interesting was the child catcher because what do you do all day if you have no more kids to catch. I mean if you saw the way he acted in the film, you could see why he was eager to do the job. Nonetheless, I couldn't wait for the film to end, but it was beautifully shot, well acted (except for Dick's accent), and well written. So, I guess have to be a little nice at this point and I'll give the film an B- for a final grade.