Overview
A chaotic mix of romance and crime unfolds in the heart of San Francisco, where confusion reigns supreme.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- irreverent
- breezy
- lazy sunday
- classic comedy night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Peter Bogdanovich's energetic farce as a highly likable and often hilarious revival of screwball comedy.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Four identical overnight bags repeatedly generate confusion among researchers, a jewel thief, and a government whistleblower.
The film openly draws on the fast dialogue, romantic antagonism, disguises, and escalating farce associated with 1930s and 1940s Hollywood comedy.
The distracted researcher Howard Bannister is repeatedly pulled into Judy Maxwell's disruptive schemes and the surrounding bag confusion.
Matching overnight bags containing jewels, classified papers, and ordinary belongings drive the film's converging misunderstandings.
Films like What's Up, Doc?, and why
Bringing Up Baby
shared screwball farce, romantic confusion, escalating misunderstandings, and rapid comic pacing
The Philadelphia Story
shared screwball romance, mistaken identities, verbal wit, and chaotic social disruption
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
shared farcical pursuit, overlapping misunderstandings, physical comedy, and ensemble chaos
The Great Race
shared new hollywood affection for classical comedy, romantic mischief, and heightened comic set pieces
Movie Details
- Director
- Peter Bogdanovich
- Release Date
- 1972-03-09
- Runtime
- 94 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (479)
Cast
- Barbra Streisand
- Ryan O'Neal
- Madeline Kahn
- Kenneth Mars
- Austin Pendleton
- Michael Murphy
- Philip Roth
- Sorrell Booke
- Stefan Gierasch
- Mabel Albertson
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is What's Up, Doc? about?
- A free-spirited troublemaker turns a San Francisco research trip into a delirious tangle of romance, stolen secrets, and identical overnight bags.
- What is What's Up, Doc? like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of What's Up, Doc? as breakneck, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is What's Up, Doc? violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in What's Up, Doc? as mild.
- What did critics think of What's Up, Doc??
- Critics broadly regard Peter Bogdanovich's energetic farce as a highly likable and often hilarious revival of screwball comedy.
- Which films are like What's Up, Doc??
- Films with a similar feel include Bringing Up Baby, The Philadelphia Story, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, and The Great Race.
- How long is What's Up, Doc??
- What's Up, Doc? runs 94 minutes.
- Where can I watch What's Up, Doc??
- In United States, What's Up, Doc? is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
