After Lucy left television in the late 60's, she made a few domestic comedies and this is one of them. The true story of the Beardsley family made the news for its unusual size and this sugar sweet tale was probably an inspiration for the Brady Bunch and Eight Is Enough which began to hit America's airwaves about the same time. Co-starring Henry Fonda, this domestic romantic comedy has its moments but very few belly laughs.

Navy widower Henry Fonda comes home to San Francisco after his tour of duty (no mention about Vietnam or any conflict for that matter) to face a family of ten kids (no wonder Mom died) who resent the fact that he has been away. While he tries to mend those fences by being a Dad, enter Lucy, a Navy widow with eight kids, who has just arrived from Seattle. They meet at the supermarket and soon decide to date (they do have a lot in common). As their romance develops, they go through all the motions to be accepted by each others children. One of the films true Lucy moments comes when Henry's kids spike Lucy's drink upon their first meeting, which results in Lucy treating us to some of her famous faces, and eventually a very drunk lady. Drinks are supplied by a young Tim Matheson, before he went to Animal House. Once they get married, chaos ensues in the household, as step children war upon one another, and just eating a meal together is a challenge. Van Johnson and Tom Bosley add comedic support to this all-American, wholesome, family comedy.

Picture-Modified to fullscreen, this DVD has no widescreen option, which is unusual for MGM. The print used is in good shape, with a few specks of dust. Color is well balanced, not faded and images are sharp. Sound-While only in Dolby mono, the DVD offers us two additional mono soundtracks in French and Spanish. Sound is full but nothing spectacular. Those with sound systems will have to crank it up a bit, as the mono sound levels are not boosted much by the Dolby.

A theatrical trailer, the additional soundtracks mentioned and French and Spanish subtitles, plus closed captioning are all the disc offers in extras.

They don't make them like this anymore. The story plays out like a long episode of Love American Style, with a good old fashioned love story and all American kids. While the family may have had a few problems, no one is strung out on heroin, or laying the football team in this squeaky clean comedy, which manages to totally avoid the chaotic time the film was made. The DVD is fullscreen, with mono sound and few extras. Lucy fans will enjoy this later film but Fonda fans beware-Henry was never so domestic.