Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘What's Up, Doc?’?

What's Up, Doc? (1972)

tomatometer

91

Average Rating: 7.1/10
Reviews Counted: 34
Fresh: 31 | Rotten: 3

Barbra Streisand was never more likable than in this energetic, often hilarious screwball farce from director Peter Bogdanovich.

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 1

Barbra Streisand was never more likable than in this energetic, often hilarious screwball farce from director Peter Bogdanovich.

audience

87

liked it
Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 9,146

My Rating

Movie Info

With Howard Hawks's Bringing Up Baby (1938) as his blueprint, Peter Bogdanovich resurrected and payed homage to 1930s screwball comedy in What's Up, Doc? (1972). When wacky co-ed Judy Maxwell (Barbra Streisand, in the Katharine Hepburn part) spies nebbishy musicologist Howard Bannister (Ryan O'Neal in bespectacled Cary Grant mode) in a San Francisco hotel lobby, she decides that Howard and his precious igneous rocks are right up her alley. Too bad Howard already has a fiancée, the

G, 1 hr. 34 min.

Romance, Classics, Comedy

Peter Bogdanovich, Buck Henry

Jul 1, 2003

Warner Bros. Pictures

Cast

All Critics (34) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (32) | Rotten (3) | DVD (7)

This picture is a total smash.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The strength of a movie like this, of course, is that you don't have to believe too much for too long, because there's something else happening.

October 23, 2004 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comment
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Not the least of Bogdanovich's triumphs is his success in scaling down Miss Streisand's superstar personality to fit the dimensions of farce.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The busy script by Buck Henry, Robert Benton, and David Newman keeps things moving, but the spirit of pastiche keeps this romp from truly rivaling its sources.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A lot of fun for the whole family.

December 29, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

No one is going to match Grant and Hepburn, but Ryan O'Neal and Barbra Streisand give it the ol' college try in the criminally entertaining What's Up, Doc? [Blu-ray]

August 9, 2010 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | Comment

It's never quite as tight or fierce as the original screwballers, but is fizzy and loveable and always worth watching.

February 2, 2009 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | Comment
Empire Magazine

Bogdanovich has delivered a film with energy, wit, and a madcap pace that is well worth watching.

February 2, 2009 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Never less than entertaining and is sometimes side-splittingly hilarious.

October 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | Comment
Decent Films Guide

Enjoyable thanks to the fine use of San Francisco locations and an agreeably nutty Barbra Streisand.

March 6, 2008 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid

Hilarious live cartoon directed by Bogdanovich with sexy, silly turn by Streisand, and equally funny O'Neal and Kahn.

March 2, 2008 Comment
Video-Reviewmaster.com

Energetic contemporary takeoff on the Hollywood screwball comedies of the 1930s.

February 13, 2007 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A homage to Hollywood screwball comedy that by and large gets its pace and cartoon/slapstick timings right.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

a fun, nostalgic trip to the screwball comedy days of old Hollywood featuring Striesand at her most likable

October 1, 2005 Comment
Scene-Stealers.com

90 easy minutes of big laughs

June 14, 2005 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | Comment
Filmcritic.com

Not successful as a screwball update; it manages instead to create a considerable diversion despite itself.

June 4, 2004 Comment
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for What's Up, Doc?

"There's not much to see actually. We're inside a Chinese dragon." Kinda like Bringing Up Baby meets one of those 70s's Alka Seltzer commercials - with Babs. A funny, silly movie.

July 9, 2007
brooklynspo

Super Reviewer

Classic 70s chaos comedy about a girl called trouble and four identical bags with very different contents. The mix up and chase after these bags still belongs to the most hysterical pieces of comedy Hollywood ever delivered. The fun being, that the film takes itself and its characters entirely serious, the actors being

September 23, 2007
ironclad1609

Super Reviewer

    1. Judy Maxwell: But you know something Steve? Love means never having to say you're sorry.
    2. Howard Bannister: That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
    – Submitted by Mauricio R (6 months ago)
    1. Eunice Burns: Don't you know the meaning of propriety?
    2. Judy Maxwell: Propriety? Noun. Conformity to established standards of behavior or manners, suitability, rightness or justice. See etiquette.
    – Submitted by Mauricio R (6 months ago)
    1. Judy Maxwell: Eunice? That's a person named Eunice?
    – Submitted by Mauricio R (6 months ago)
    1. Eunice Burns: They tried to molest me.
    2. Judge Maxwell: That's... unbelievable.
    – Submitted by Mauricio R (6 months ago)
    1. Judge Maxwell: Get the court psychiatrist, tell him to bring straitjackets, in assorted sizes.
    – Submitted by Hector H (7 months ago)

Latest News for What's Up, Doc?

What's Hot On RT

Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus

Journey 2 Not Worth the Trip

Luis Guzman
Luis Guzman

What are his 10 best movies ever?

<em>Amazing Spider-Man</em>
Amazing Spider-Man

See the all-new action-packed trailer!

The Avengers!
The Avengers!

Five new Marvelous pictures

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 18,565 taken
created 12 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 44,430 taken
created 15 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 27,152 taken
created 15 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 27,649 taken
created 15 months ago

Foreign Titles

  • What's Up Doc? (DE)
  • What's Up Doc? (CA)
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Blog | Developers | Mobile