
Naive, by the book French police officer Nester Patou, is transferred to the Red Light district. Upon witnessing what must be a brothel, he calls the station and organizes a raid, transporting all the 'ladies' to the jail. This unfortunately disrupts the well organized system of the police and the Pimps union. Not to mention inadvertently netting his station superior at the brothel. Fired, he goes to a bar to drink, is befriended by Irma, beats up her pimp, and finds he is no... (Full plot summary below)
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Naive, by the book French police officer Nester Patou, is transferred to the Red Light district. Upon witnessing what must be a brothel, he calls the station and organizes a raid, transporting all the 'ladies' to the jail. This unfortunately disrupts the well organized system of the police and the Pimps union. Not to mention inadvertently netting his station superior at the brothel. Fired, he goes to a bar to drink, is befriended by Irma, beats up her pimp, and finds he is now Irma's new pimp. Nester's doesn't like the thought of his girl seeing other men, so comes up with a plan.
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| Combustible CelluloidJeffrey M. AndersonWilder somehow sustains the lively pace and humor for the two-and-a-half hour color comedy. |
| Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumBilly Wilder’s soggy and uninspired 1963 adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, minus the songs. |
| Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonMr. Lemmon is little short of brilliant — vigorous, incisive and deft. |
| Time OutGeoff AndrewWilder's soft-centred cynicism provides frequent enough laughs without too many longueurs. |
| Charlotte ObserverTerry LawsonFar from the home-run laughs of “The Apartment” and “Some Like it Hot,” Irma La Douce is still a fun if G-rated tour of the seedy Parisian underbelly, but coming in overlong at close to 2 1/2 hours, would have benefited from some tighter editing. |
| SlashfilmMike ShuttOn a scene-by-scene basis, this picture has so much to offer in terms of some fairly unhinged and wild work from a bunch of artists at the height of their powers. |
| Ozus' World Movie ReviewsDennis SchwartzThough the saucy French soufflé has a few tasty moments it mostly sinks into being tasteless fare. |
| EmanuelLevy.ComEmanuel LevyOne of Billy Wilder's lesser films, Irma La Douce relies entirely on its two stars, Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, neither of whom is particularly good or funny, despite the masks and the accents. |
| EmpireDavid ParkinsonLemmon and Maclaine fail to reproduce the chemistry from The Apartment but this slight film is not as ignorable as reputation suggests. |
| Slant MagazineCarson LundIf not exactly an endearing experience on the whole, Irma la Douce is a fine example of Billy Wilder’s mid-career eccentricity and cosmopolitan curiosity. |