inman50
10-28-2003, 04:25 PM
Sorry, Johann, Oscar, and all of you that have replied so generously and magnificently to my original thread about 70's films, but I didn't want this to get buried. Before I rumminate about Elaine May's brilliant comedy, what is this about Ken Russell doing a new version of The Fall of the House of Usher, Johann?? My God, that is amazing news!
I have throughly enjoyed all your trenchant posts about the 70s film oeuvre, including many films I had completely forgotten about. It occured to me that no one has mentioned The Heartbreak Kid, which put Charles Grodin in the limelight, and was a triumphant followup for Cybill Sheperd to The Last Picture Show, before she became a victim of Peter Bogdanovich's Swengali tactics and was paraded regrettably in both At Long Last Love and Daisy Miller. There is a unique and inspired streak of meanness here that Danny DeVito would cannibalize and parlay into unmitigated sadism if he were to redo it now. In Elaine May's exquisite hands, it becomes an artful and hilarious tale of moral retribution. I love the arc of this wonderful film, where it takes us, as well as Charles Grodin's Lenny. How many characters in film comedy provoke so much ambivalence? You absolutley hate the guy for the way he dumps his bride (the glorious Jeannie Berlin) on their Miami honeymoon, then cringe for him as he makes a colossal fool of himself chasing Sheperd back to the Minnesota heartland to wrest her from the patriarchal clutches of Eddie Albert, who is enough to scare even the most determined suitor. The dinner scene is priceless, and I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but for those who have, you know what I'm talking about. It's Lenny's spurious charm in high, desperate gear, and it's pure Elaine May. Genius.
I heard alarmingly that a remake is in the works, or at least in development hell, God forbid. Let's see: Nora Ephron will direct it and Josh Hartnett, Chrstina Ricci, and Tara Reid star in it. I can't wait.
I have throughly enjoyed all your trenchant posts about the 70s film oeuvre, including many films I had completely forgotten about. It occured to me that no one has mentioned The Heartbreak Kid, which put Charles Grodin in the limelight, and was a triumphant followup for Cybill Sheperd to The Last Picture Show, before she became a victim of Peter Bogdanovich's Swengali tactics and was paraded regrettably in both At Long Last Love and Daisy Miller. There is a unique and inspired streak of meanness here that Danny DeVito would cannibalize and parlay into unmitigated sadism if he were to redo it now. In Elaine May's exquisite hands, it becomes an artful and hilarious tale of moral retribution. I love the arc of this wonderful film, where it takes us, as well as Charles Grodin's Lenny. How many characters in film comedy provoke so much ambivalence? You absolutley hate the guy for the way he dumps his bride (the glorious Jeannie Berlin) on their Miami honeymoon, then cringe for him as he makes a colossal fool of himself chasing Sheperd back to the Minnesota heartland to wrest her from the patriarchal clutches of Eddie Albert, who is enough to scare even the most determined suitor. The dinner scene is priceless, and I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but for those who have, you know what I'm talking about. It's Lenny's spurious charm in high, desperate gear, and it's pure Elaine May. Genius.
I heard alarmingly that a remake is in the works, or at least in development hell, God forbid. Let's see: Nora Ephron will direct it and Josh Hartnett, Chrstina Ricci, and Tara Reid star in it. I can't wait.