This is an a movie about two irascible persons who meet and want it all, with bittersweet results. Although the two principal characters are obnoxious, their chemistry together simply overcomes their natural propensities to try to one up the other. George Segal and Glenda Jackson are wonderfully casted for their respective parts. The entire movie is basically a farce; the plot is so contrived that no one can possibly take it seriously. By all rights, the movie should have ended with their first argument at the airport. But this movie is driven not by the story but by the actors who succeed in transforming a ludicrous script into an award-winning movie. Jackson plays an excellent straight man to Segal's whining antics, and Segal, in turn, manages to transform his character from a two-dimensional stereotype of the spoiled American into a character with some depth and feeling. Together, Segal and Jackson form a duo that the audience can care about. Less skilled actors would have come off as shallow; with Segal and Jackson, the story is enriched and becomes entertaining.

It's hard to imagine how this film got such a strong reception on its first release. Viewed several decades later, it's trite, formulaic, frustrating, and downright dumb.The strongest redeeming factor is Glenda Jackson: sharp as always, and fun to watch even in this mess. (Unfortunately, her talents are offset by the smirking anti-charismatic presence of George Segal.) Another plus: the lovely locations, especially in London, which make the film at first seem like one of those effervescent European sex comedies... rather than the cliché-ridden Hollywood farce that it is. On top of everything else, the plot is basically a needless reworking of Melvin Frank's far better 1960 film, The Facts of Life. The older film must have been far more adventuresome in its time. It's also blessed with the wonderful pairing of Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. And it actually manages to be about something.A Touch of Class is pretty much the bottom of the barrel for Melvin Frank fans. My advice: check out The Facts of Life, or The Court Jester, and give this creaky curio a miss.

I saw this movie in 1976 and loved it. It was the first time I saw a movie where a woman had an affair with a married man that made me sympathize with the woman. At the same time I also felt sorry for the man, but not as much because he lied to her about his marriage making her think he wasn't happy with his wife and that their marriage was a sham. I've tried several times to rent this movie but have not been able to find it. I've tried all the main rental places such as Hastings, Hollywood Video and several smaller mom and pop type video rental places, but all to no avail The movie is good because it shows all the pitfalls of getting involved with someone who is married and yet has a tenderness about it that makes you understand why it happens. It is good for young girls to see because they can see how a man can take advantage of a gullible young woman by saying the right things. At the same time, it is interesting that the lead female role play by Glenda Jackson is anything but gullible in every other way. She is a strong woman with a strong personality who speaks up for herself but falls into the all too often belief that her love can make all the difference and that their love is so unique and wonderful that it cannot possibly fail and that he will leave his wife for her because he cannot live without her. Unfortunately, real life is not like fantasy and the practical takes over when the sun rises on the often cold reality of the pain and financial strain that breaking off a relationship can bring. Also, this man like many others didn't want to leave his marriage he just wanted to have an affair to fill whatever voids were there real or imagined. Still, I liked this movie and have often thought about it over the years. For me this is the true test of how effectively a story touches me.

The main interest of the film is the presence of two wonderful actors, Glenda Jackson and George Segal. They support the movie from the beginning with very good acted dialogues and a lot of humor. "A touch of class" works very well for the first part -the way the two meet in London and their funny holiday in Spain-. After that the film becomes less interesting, many scenes become quite boring. It seems that director Melvin Frank put all his energy in showing how this two people learn to accept and to love each other... Even if the movie doesn't end in a conventional way, it begins to lack speed in the second half.It's a pity, because it could have been a classic.