What's So Bad About Feeling Good?

"What's So Bad About Feeling Good?" is the title of a 1968 comedy film, starring George Peppard, Mary Tyler Moore, Jeanne Arnold, Dom DeLuise and Gillian Spencer. It was directed by George Seaton.

Plot

Pete (George Peppard) is a former advertising executive living a hippy's life in a loft in New York City. Since living in the commune, Pete has turned into a cynical, misanthropic artist. The members of the commune are seemingly aimless, indolent or melancholy; one member (Gillian Spencer) lives her life in a burlap sack, with only her bare feet protruding.

One day, a wayward toucan arrives at the loft. The toucan, which was released by a Greek fisherman in Hudson Bay, carries a unique and highly contagious virus. The virus causes intense feelings of giddiness, happiness, and kindness in anyone affected by it.

Pete and the members of his loft all catch the virus and in an outbreak of euphoria, suddenly sense a purpose in their lives. They keep the toucan, nicknaming it "Amigo." They then decide to spread the virus to as many people as they can in New York City. Pete's girlfriend Liz (Mary Tyler Moore) is the only loft member immune to the virus. However, since everyone begins to act polite and nice towards her, she responds in kind.

The virus is quickly spread across the New York City. Rude telephone clerks are suddenly polite and understanding. Those immune to the virus are also nice, as almost everyone else acts nice to them. Pete shaves, puts on his suit, and returns to his job as an advertising executive. Pete insists, however, all the ads be honest.

Government leaders determine that the spread of the virus threatens the economic lifeblood of New York City; residents suddenly stop buying alcohol, tobacco or drugs, and the stock exchange and business districts are threatened with collapse if everyone is happy and nice to one another.

J. Gardner Moore (Dom Deluise) is sent by the government to New York to stop the outbreak. He arrives wearing a spacesuit. After several attempts, a cure is found and the vaccine is dumped into New York's water supply. Cured New Yorkers return to their nasty ways, but those immune to the virus and who only acted nice because others were, remain nice.

Pete, now "cured", desires a return to the loft, while Liz declares she can no longer live in such a way, and liked Pete better when he was "sick." Liz pretends to be pregnant to help Pete rescue the toucan from the zoo and release him once again.

Analysis

"What's So Bad About Feeling Good?" represents juxtaposition of the concepts of "normal" and "sick." The "sick" people are the ones who act nice, while the normal ones are mean and cutthroat. The film is also a slight departure from Mary Tyler Moore's candy-coated image. The film, made between "The Dick Van Dyke Show" ended and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" premiered, features Mary, at least in the opening scenes, living together with a man in a hippie commune, pretending to be pregnant in order to hide the toucan, and has, perhaps the only time in her career, a sex scene. (The screen is black and only the audio is heard.) Several actors in this film went on to successful TV careers including Moore, Peppard ("The A-Team"), Cleavon Little ("Temperature's Rising"), Dom Deluise ("Candid Camera") and Susan St. James ("McMillan and Wife"). Catskills comedian Morty Gunty has a small role as a policeman named Officer Gunty.

External links

* [http://movies.aol.com/movie/whats-so-bad-about-feeling-good/1079764/credits Credits]