If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969)

To me, this movie is perfection.

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Many comments here about how this movie is dated, a throw back to the 60's, full of clichés, and that is a decent assessment, up to a point. But if you look on this movie as a love story, one that actually stays true to the notion that impromptu travel allows for romance to blossom (that might go either way), with characters who struggle with the idea of throwing it all in for love, then this little charmer of a film provides an unusual treat.McShane and Pleshette have an amazing chemistry, each of their characters etched strongly. Enjoy their scenes, a flashy English playboy versus a Midwestern American prude, as they tenderly fall in love, providing the anchor for the other predictable travel/nightmare hi-jinks that occur.

Though the nominal stars of If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium are Suzanne Pleshette and Ian McShane have a nice romantic fling in the film, the real entertainment value lies in the varied group of American tourists roaming the continent. If these are typical no wonder our image is so bad.Ian McShane plays the guide for our two week tour and Pleshette is traveling to Europe alone to get away for a bit and ponder the marriage proposal from good old reliable Frank Latimore. It takes a while, but she falls for tour guide McShane. He's however not a person to settle down, it's why he has the job he does.But the rest of the members of her tour are a grand collection of character players. Norman Fell loses wife Reva Rose to another tour of Japanese touring the continent where she makes the biggest contribution to American-Japanese friendship since MacArthur. Michael Constantine is interested in reliving the best time of his life which he spent in Europe during World War II. Marty Ingels with camera in hand is looking to get pictures of beautiful women from each country to show how he's scoring to his buddies. Best of all is Murray Hamilton and Pamela Britton. She wants to go to Europe for herself and to get daughter Hilarie Thompson's mind off boys, this was the Sixties you know. Hamilton goes kicking and screaming. And Hilarie finds American student Luke Halpin abroad and he's better than what she left in the states.Hamilton is great as the ultimate American Philistine. I could see coming out of his mouth a comment that William Frawley made on an I Love Lucy episode when the Ricardos and Mertzes are in Rome. Frawley was singularly unimpressed with the Colosseum, saying that Joe DiMaggio would hit 80 home runs a year in that band box of a ballpark. Stuff like that comes out of Hamilton regularly.In fact he has a very funny encounter with an Italian shoemaker in Rome, played by Vittorio DeSica. Language problems and all each eventually gets his message across.I hope in real life we don't get as many laughs as this crowd does. Less laughs would do wonders for our image.

Okay, we all know that when we go on vacation, some unexpected things are bound to happen (when I went to Russia, I didn't expect them to put the wrong dates on my visa, but they did). Well, nothing could be more whacked out than what the people in "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium" experience on their European vacation! I sort of figured that the movie would have some of what it had - like the girl always sneaking off to be with friends - but the scene where Fred Ferguson (Murray Hamilton) has trouble communicating with the Italian cobbler was a surprise, as was the embarrassment suffered by Harve Blakely (Norman Fell).One of the most interesting scenes has Donovan playing either himself or someone like himself, serenading the teenagers while their parents eat fondue. I also really liked the scene where Jack Harmon (Michael Constantine) is recounting his war story to his wife...well, I'll let you find out what happens. Also in the cast are Suzanne Pleshette, Ian McShane, Mildred Natwick, and some others. You'll love it.I have to admit, this is the only movie in which I've seen Michael Constantine, aside from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". Although I did see him on an episode of "The Flying Nun".

Comedy about a group of Americans on a 18 day (I think) tour of Europe.Unlike some previous posters, I've never been to Europe, so watching this film was not like reliving old memories. On its own, this was a very pleasant movie. The script is not bad and the jokes are pretty funny. There are some real groaners too, but the good ones far outweigh them. And the cast is full of talented character actors giving their all.The movie basically concentrates on a romance between the tour guide Charlie Cartwright (Ian McShane) and tourist Samantha Perkins (Suzanne Pleshette). Usually romance subplots in comedies are the kiss of death, but this one works. McShane is very handsome and Pleshette incredibly beautiful; the dialogue is well-written; they both give good performances and they have great chemistry with each other. It also is a good excuse to show all the romantic places in Europe (this was shot on location). And the romance has a surprising, realistic ending.Another point of interest is an 18 year old girl Shelly (Hilary Thompson) meeting a guy her age Bo (Luke Halpin). Their fashions are VERY 60s and the dialoge is SO old-fashioned...but it's all interesting. Also a visit to Canaby Street in London (which was the place to be in the late 60s) is visually fascinating. Also Murray Hamilton's one liners throughout the movie are frequently hilarious.They visit London, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Venice and end in Rome. I saw a widescreen print on TV in strong color and the movie just looked beautiful. Sometime it was like seeing a travelogue but an INTERESTING travelogue.It's not a great movie but a pleasant one. You could do worse! Recommended.