film in Austin, Texas. Sonny & Cher were flown in on a chartered plane, they participated in a gala parade through the streets of Austin, and, according to Cher, the film did well in that town. However, in the rest of the world it was less than a hit.
The film Good Times runs 91 minutes and is about Sonny and Cher fantasizing about the roles they would like to play in the movies. Within the plot of their cinematic fantasies they appear as (A) themselves, (B) a sheriff and a dance hall girl in an 1800s western town (Irving Ringo and Nellie), (C) a hippie-esque Tarzan and Jane (Jungle Morry and Zora), and (D) a gangster and his gun moll (Johnny Pizzicato and Samantha). They got to sing, dance, ride an elephant; and Sonny got to write all the songs used in the film. To give the film additional star power, they hired respected actor George Sanders to play the sleazy movie producer whowas the film’s villain. It seemed like a brilliant idea on paper; however, when it was released in 1967 it failed to make the huge splash that Sonny had anticipated. Fortunately, he had pre-sold television rights to the film and made back all of the production costs up front. The song “It’s the Little Things” was released as a single that hit Number 50 on the Billboard magazine charts, and “Beautiful Story” made it to Number 53. The soundtrack album brought in extra money as well. So, through Good Times , Sonny and Cher found themselves with a movie credit to their name and money in their pocket. Mission accomplished.
Good Times was no incredible work of art, but it was a fun, silly, rock movie, and it received several good reviews. At the time, the New York Times called it a “colorful, sprightly bit of good-humored silliness” (48). Leonard Maltin’s 1998 Movie & Video Guide says, “Back when the singing duo was considered kooky, they made this enjoyable little film” (49).
As silly as the plot is, from the vantage point of the 2000s, viewing Good Times is like looking at a 1960s time capsule. During the opening credits, actual footage of Sonny & Cher arriving and performing at the Hollywood Bowl is used. There are some very cute segments showing Cher designing elaborate bell-bottom pantsuit fantasies with colored pencils and markers. Much of the footage, especially on the musical numbers, is really a precursor to music videos, similar to the ones that the Monkees were making famous every week on NBC-TV. There is a nice segment of Cher wandering through the California canyons in her bell-bottoms. There is also a quick glimpse of Sonny in the kitchen of their home, with a gallon can of imported Italian olive oil, obviously cooking up some specialty. The movie, in its own innocent way, is a filmed preview of things to come for Sonny & Cher: Cher as a film actress and Sonny as a future restaurateur. There is also an amusing segment of Cher as a torch singer in a beaded gown and a blonde wig. Little did she know at the time, but in the 1970s she was going to become famous for wearing over a million dollars worth of beaded gowns on national television.
However, while some of Sonny & Cher’s material was contemporary and cutting edge in 1967, some of it was embarrassingly silly. Although they were huge rock and roll stars, Sonny kept introducing vaudevillian elements onto their albums. Their debut album, Look at Us , contains the silly bit of nonsense called “Sing C’est La Vie,” on which the duo sounds as if they are doing a circus skit on a TV variety show. In Case You’re in Love featured a cut called “Podunk,” which found Sonny & Cher setting up one-liner jokes for each other like a vaudevillian comedian and his foil.This bit of silliness was accompanied by bawdy ragtime music, which was very nearly the epitome of non-psychedelic.
Although Good Times had been a bomb, Sonny & Cher found that it didn’t hurt their ability to continue to do concert tours. It was also during 1967 that Cher announced that she was pregnant.
The film Good Times runs 91 minutes and is about Sonny and Cher fantasizing about the roles they would like to play in the movies. Within the plot of their cinematic fantasies they appear as (A) themselves, (B) a sheriff and a dance hall girl in an 1800s western town (Irving Ringo and Nellie), (C) a hippie-esque Tarzan and Jane (Jungle Morry and Zora), and (D) a gangster and his gun moll (Johnny Pizzicato and Samantha). They got to sing, dance, ride an elephant; and Sonny got to write all the songs used in the film. To give the film additional star power, they hired respected actor George Sanders to play the sleazy movie producer whowas the film’s villain. It seemed like a brilliant idea on paper; however, when it was released in 1967 it failed to make the huge splash that Sonny had anticipated. Fortunately, he had pre-sold television rights to the film and made back all of the production costs up front. The song “It’s the Little Things” was released as a single that hit Number 50 on the Billboard magazine charts, and “Beautiful Story” made it to Number 53. The soundtrack album brought in extra money as well. So, through Good Times , Sonny and Cher found themselves with a movie credit to their name and money in their pocket. Mission accomplished.
Good Times was no incredible work of art, but it was a fun, silly, rock movie, and it received several good reviews. At the time, the New York Times called it a “colorful, sprightly bit of good-humored silliness” (48). Leonard Maltin’s 1998 Movie & Video Guide says, “Back when the singing duo was considered kooky, they made this enjoyable little film” (49).
As silly as the plot is, from the vantage point of the 2000s, viewing Good Times is like looking at a 1960s time capsule. During the opening credits, actual footage of Sonny & Cher arriving and performing at the Hollywood Bowl is used. There are some very cute segments showing Cher designing elaborate bell-bottom pantsuit fantasies with colored pencils and markers. Much of the footage, especially on the musical numbers, is really a precursor to music videos, similar to the ones that the Monkees were making famous every week on NBC-TV. There is a nice segment of Cher wandering through the California canyons in her bell-bottoms. There is also a quick glimpse of Sonny in the kitchen of their home, with a gallon can of imported Italian olive oil, obviously cooking up some specialty. The movie, in its own innocent way, is a filmed preview of things to come for Sonny & Cher: Cher as a film actress and Sonny as a future restaurateur. There is also an amusing segment of Cher as a torch singer in a beaded gown and a blonde wig. Little did she know at the time, but in the 1970s she was going to become famous for wearing over a million dollars worth of beaded gowns on national television.
However, while some of Sonny & Cher’s material was contemporary and cutting edge in 1967, some of it was embarrassingly silly. Although they were huge rock and roll stars, Sonny kept introducing vaudevillian elements onto their albums. Their debut album, Look at Us , contains the silly bit of nonsense called “Sing C’est La Vie,” on which the duo sounds as if they are doing a circus skit on a TV variety show. In Case You’re in Love featured a cut called “Podunk,” which found Sonny & Cher setting up one-liner jokes for each other like a vaudevillian comedian and his foil.This bit of silliness was accompanied by bawdy ragtime music, which was very nearly the epitome of non-psychedelic.
Although Good Times had been a bomb, Sonny & Cher found that it didn’t hurt their ability to continue to do concert tours. It was also during 1967 that Cher announced that she was pregnant.
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