WARNING : Major spoiler ahead.
Grimsley asked if we could do a tribute to George Segal, who died recently. Segal was a versatile and very talented actor, equally at home in a war movie like "King Rat" as he was in his string of 70's light comedies. I liked him and said yes, expecting Grim to bring over "The Owl & The Pussycat" or "California Split", maybe "A Touch of Class". Instead he brought "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf"(1966), one of the heaviest dramas ever put to film, and after watching it I felt pummeled. I think Grim did too, for he said nothing as I walked him back to his car. Have you seen "Virginia Woolf"? If so, you may be afraid of her too. I saw it once before, about ten years ago, and as great as the acting is, and Mike Nichols' staging of Edward Albee's play and for all it's accolades (13 Academy Award nominations), one viewing was quite enough. This is because the experience is like being hit in the face with a sledgehammer, over and over. It's not pleasant to sit through, unless you enjoy watching two hours and ten minutes of drunken people screaming at each other and name calling in the cruelest of ways.
I'll give you a brief re-hash of the plot. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor are a married couple in early middle age. He's a history professor, she's the daughter of his boss, the department head. As the movie opens, they're coming home from a party. Burton is tired and ready for bed, but Taylor is tipsy and wants to keep going. She announces that guests are due to arrive any minute. "That couple we met at the party; the math professor and his slim-hipped wife". Right away Taylor's penchant for personal derision is revealed. It's 2:30 in the morning. She and Burton argue about having guests in so late. Five minutes later they appear. Soon they'll wish they hadn't. Fasten your seat belts cause it's gonna be a bumpy night, and it's just getting started.
The younger couple are played by George Segal and Sandy Dennis. Taylor got his subject wrong, he actually teaches biology, but no matter, she's got plenty more labels to hurl at him as the drinks and insults flow. It's clear that Taylor and Burton hate each other. To say they've got an unhappy marriage is putting it mildly. Segal and Dennis have had the misfortune of walking in on it, and at first they want to leave but are persuaded to stay after Dennis decides she'd like a few drinks herself. She also likes the idea of being a spectator at this train wreck, and offers nonsensical commentary throughout.
After it was over, I wondered what Albee was trying to say, what he meant, and what his motivation was to write such a bitter diatribe. Due to some unintelligible dialogue near the end, I had to Google the main plot point, which I thought had to do with the death of Burton and Taylor's teenage son. I got it wrong, and the real answer seemed overwrought. I don't usually do this, but I'm gonna reveal the trauma to you, the reason Taylor is such a vicious alcoholic. It's the main thrust of the movie, and it turns out she's been repressing the fact that she can't have children. The "teenage son" is an invention of Burton's, though it's never clear why they pretend he's real, dead or alive. Maybe he gives them something to argue about, I dunno, but for me, I had a problem with the idea that an infertile woman would react that violently to her inability to conceive. It would've been more realistic if they'd really had a teenage son and lost him to a car accident, but instead he's an invention because they can't have children, which has caused Taylor to become a monster.
Huh?
Wiki says that Albee was influenced by something called The Theater of the Absurd, and after being hammered by the relentless sarcastic drunken verbiage coming out of Taylor's mouth nearly nonstop, you will understand this influence. Did she deserve the Oscar for Best Actress? Possibly. Was her performance in any way based on real life, meaning her life, or personality? Hmmm, you tell me. I wouldn't have wanted to be on the set while it was filming, I'll tell you that. Let's say that it's about as great a performance (but also as unpleasant to watch) as you can imagine.
Well anyhow, I'll leave you to decide if you wanna watch the movie or not. It's worthy of Two Thumbs Up, whether Regular or Gigantic or anything in between, but you'll need a bottle of scotch to get you through it, and then another one after it's over. I'll never watch it again, that's for certain. Oh, and George Segal was very good, too. In fact, all four performers were nominated for Oscars. /////
Much more enjoyable was "Fun With Dick and Jane", another George Segal movie that Grim brought with him last night. I'm talking about the original version from 1977 that became a box-office smash and revived Jane Fonda's career. The story is this : Dick and Jane are an upper middle class couple living in blissful 70s suburbia ( which looks like Porter Ranch). But then Dick is fired from his job as an aerospace engineer after the company collapses, due to the decline in the industry after the moon landings. After applying for unemployment and even food stamps, Dick discovers how the other half lives, and not only does it suck to be poor but it's also a hassle, having to jump through bureaucratic hoops just to obtain subsistence level help. He does try to play by the rules but it's not the lifestyle he's used to, and to make matters worse, creditors are now knocking at their door. The gardeners are rolling up the turf that made up Dick and Jane's lawn, they're even repossessing the indoor plants. Everything they have is paid for on credit. They're in debt 70 grand, and even if they do qualify for unemployment, it's not gonna be anywhere near enough.
Any perceived social commentary (i.e class consciousness) is leavened with dry, well timed humor. We're not supposed to feel sorry for Dick and Jane anyway, it's really just a caper flick with a lot of great set pieces. When D & J become robbery victims after applying for a loan, Dick gets fed up with toeing the line. Seeing how easy it was for the robbers to get away, he decides to start pulling jobs himself. Jane wants in on the action too, so they start robbing drug stores, motels, bars, etc., just small fry stuff at first. But after the duo make a big score ripping off a phony-baloney megapreacher, they decide to go for an even bigger windfall. Dick is watching TV one day, when he sees his old boss (Ed McMahon) testifying before a congressional committee. McMahon is denying accusations of graft within aerospace, specifically directed at his company. "Taft Aerospace has never engaged in contract payoffs, Mr. Chairman". A lightbulb goes off in Dick's head when he realises this is B.S.
"Jane, he's lying! Guys used to walk out of his office with 200 grand in a suitcase! I'll bet he keeps a slush fund right there in a safe. All we've gotta do is find it and our troubles are over"! So begins the final heist. The tables are about to turn, with the crooks ripping off the Crooked, who represents white collar crime at it's most shameless.
"Fun With Dick and Jane" is a blast, and in watching you recall how open-minded and freewheeling the '70s were. It's important to remember that there's nothing new under the Sun, and while today's PC culture might feel at the forefront of social justice issues, there is a gender-bending scene in D&J that precedes their awareness by 45 years, and it's not only funny but instructive. There are also more Black people in the cast than in any ten current films, and yet there are jokes that would get the current culture so up in arms as to cancel the movie, and yet it offended no one at the time, only made them laugh. So how Woke are we, anyway? And what have we Awoken from? From the peace and love of the 60s? Or maybe the Have A Nice Day Smiley Face 70s? Well anyhow, I'll get off my soapbox, but it was nice to go back to a time when we weren't all in each other's faces over every little thing.
The movie is true to it's title - you'll indeed have "Fun With Dick and Jane". Segal and Fonda make a great team, and you get a lot of retro L.A. locations in the bargain. Two Big Thumbs Up, then, and a strong recommendation for this comedy classic. /////
That's all for the moment. Time to head out for my hike. Have a great afternoon and tons of love as always!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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