SmugKitZine Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Cody One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Wyatt There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

aj989 Once is Not Enough is a tepid screen version of a terribly trashy Jackie Susann novel. Kirk Douglas stars as an over the hill, broke movie producer, who, to maintain his opulent life style, has married one of the world's richest women, played by Alexis Smith, an overbearing snob, who enjoys nothing more than to orchestrate the lives of all those around her. His daughter (Deborah Raffin) is a beautiful, but prim and naive young woman (i.e. Virgin!) who detests her father's new bride. Her "daddy complex" is a primary theme that runs throughout the film. Rather than dating the hot young available astronaut, she instead chooses the brooding, middle aged and over bearing author - a man incidentally very much like her own father.Besides the often hilarious camp nature of Once is Not Enough, the film has few redeeming features. The cinematography is terrible. Deborah Raffin is entirely uninteresting as the lead. Throughout most of her screen time, Raffin either giggles or stares blankly into the camera. The dialogue is abysmal and the story line has been done before and done much, much better. Despite all the talk of sex, very little actually occurs. I'm still not sure why Kirk Douglas agreed to do this film and for much of the film he seems confused as to why he is on screen as well. While the first 40 or so minutes are centered on his character, he disappears for most of the rest of the film. When he is on screen, he is loud and entirely over bearing, which sadly is a hallmark of his filmography from around this time.Brenda Vacarro in her role as magazine editor and sex addict Linda Riggs, is the film's main highlight. Despite her character being written as a one note joke, Vacarro perseveres. She spits out most of her badly written lines as if they are actually worth something and she gives a full characterization of what is largely a poorly constructed out stereotype.

shanfrina ... Thank goodness legendary Hollywood film composer Henry Mancini wrote the score for this movie, for as usual, it elevates this flick with its interesting cast! - Led by Kirk Douglas, the ensemble is then headed up by Brenda Vacarro, who was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe award for her tasty role. ... "Once is Not Enough" is "Valley of The Dolls" East, but not as good! Still, is has its moments. And having worked in print-journalism for 35+ yrs. in the mainstream and gay media on both coasts: including 15-yrs. with "Billboard Magazine" in L.A., Vegas-&-the Bflo./Rochester, NY markets - I've met these "types" and lived in their worlds briefly. - Some are shallow for sure, selfish, others caring, kind, talented. Of course rich, often stingy while others very generous. All human. Kudos to Paramount Studios for this semi-gem from 1975!

ijonesiii I guess no one was able to turn out how quality camp in the 60's better than Jacqueline Susaan and every one of her novels that reached the big screen became a camp classic and this one was no exception. ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH is a camp classic from the Susaan library that induces numerous giggles along the way as it follows the adventures of a rich girl named January Wayne (the wooden Deborah Raffin)who is the daughter of a washed up of movie director (Kirk Douglas), with whom she has a semi-incestuous relationship with, who resents her father's marriage to a wealthy matriarch (Alexis Smith) and retaliates by having an affair with an alcoholic writer (David Janssen) who is her father's biggest enemy. This movie has it all...sex, drugs, lesbianism...all the makings of a camp classic, delivered by campy cast which also included George Hamilton as an aging playboy, Melina Mercouri, as an aging lesbian movie star, and Brenda Vaccaro as a man-crazy magazine editor (Vaccaro actually received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress). It's not as funny as VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, but there are definite laughs to be fund here.

Aussie Stud If you happen to catch this movie, it could easily be mistaken for the pilot episode of an 80's prime-time soap. How the producers thought that anyone would seriously pay good money to watch this midday made-for-TV movie at the theater is incredibly hilarious.Kirk Douglas surprisingly headlines this incestuous melodrama where his daughter January (Deborah Raffin) harbors some sort of daddy-complex since the day she was born. I would have loved to have sat through a theater screening of this and observed the faces of the audience around me. I don't know if I would have seen smirks or looks of discomfort, like someone shouldn't have eaten those bad tacos for lunch.The movie is very outdated. It's lifted right from a Jacqueline Susann novel (or basically take your pick from any Harlequin read) and plays out just like it on the small screen. Most of the close-ups are shot through a filter, the soundtrack is hijacked by Henry Mancini's orchestrated strings, and all the actresses parade themselves with such high camp you'll find it hard not to fall in love with this atrocity.Most hilarious is January's attraction to David Janssen's character. Talk about taking the daddy-complex to the next level! Brenda Vaccaro who received an Oscar nomination(!!!) for her portrayal of a man-hungry sex-starved magazine editor is absolutely stunning. She delivered plain awful dialog with perfect snap, "He laid me, and then he fired me!" and also managing to keep a straight face at the same time, she definitely deserved the nomination.The best line comes out of the mouth of Douglas' long-suffering housekeeper, Mabel (Lillian Randolph), "For twelve years, it's just been a parade of poon-tang!", as she boards the bus to Santa Monica.Throw in a closeted lesbian millionaire engaging in a secret relationship with a reclusive Hispanic actress (where else could you view an interracial middle-aged lesbian sex scene!!), gratuitous shots of Gary Conway (portraying an astronaut LOL!) running in short shorts on a beach and Deborah Raffin staring blankly into the camera as if she were doped on percosets, and you have the ultimate camp classic of 1975.There was a scene with Raffin's character walking blankly across the road (nearly getting run over by a taxi) after she is devastated by Janssen's character, and yet I still could not determine any difference in her acting from that scene to the entire film.Vaccaro is definitely the one thing that holds this movie together, although her character isn't necessary to the story. She seemed to express more personality than all of the other characters combined that it was a joy to watch her self-diagnosing, "Sleeping with men makes me feel better!" It made me feel better too.