Demme's film has the unusual and primary quality of being satisfying and amusing and funny; we might call this quality gusto—it's a movie made with gusto. It has also a first-class appetite for the story and the world it describes. As a funny description of a portion of the provincial life, it is much more amusing and intelligent and well-made than all Eastwood's comedies—and than many more famous but stupid films.<br /><br />The most important thing here is the delightful character of Demme's film—it is a very simple, delightful and charming film. Another important thing is Demme's …maybe not really art, but certainly skill, craft: it is extremely obvious from this movie that Demme knows how to film things—such as the asphalt wet after the rain …. Demme knew how to film a landscape, a woman, a scene. It is a felicitous and good-hearted film; it won me from the beginning.<br /><br />Of course it's no more than a good movie; but the last few decades of Hollywoodian movies should of taught us the value of a good film.<br /><br />One thing that has to be mentioned is the score—very appropriate and adequate score, unobtrusive and funny. Melvin and Howard (1980) may not be a piece of art, but it surely is a piece of craft and fun.And Mary Steenburgen makes a very sexy housewife.<br /><br />There are those movies which convince us that by the cinema art the greatest things can be done;and there are also the delightful unpretentious films that convince us that cinema is at least first-class fun.<br /><br />Melvin and Howard (1980) belongs in that class of good compact charming movies of immediate charm--like Howard Hawks' The Big Sky (1952) or Jan Troell's Zandy's Bride (1974).