Louisa May Foster is a modest and unassuming woman. She knows just what she wants : a little house and a happy marriage with a man who shares her liking for the simple, uncluttered life. Sadly, this inoffensive life ambition is difficult to fullfil... Poor Louisa is to encounter a succession of ever more ambitious and driven men.
Enjoyable black comedy with a fine performance by lead actress Shirley MacLaine. The movie is also notable for its stellar cast and its many references (under the form of pastiches and parodies) to other films and film genres. Poor/rich Louisa tells her life story to a psychiatrist and many of her explanations turn into pastiches : there's a "silent comedy" sequence, a "Gene Kelly musical" sequence, and so on. My personal favorite is the "Lush Budgett" sequence, where Shirley MacLaine, evolving in the world of the super-super-rich, wears ever more expensive and outlandish costumes. There's many a clever dig at movie costumes and movie costume-making here.
The main target of the movie is, of course, the dark side of the American Dream : work, work harder, pour all your energy into your work, become a captain of industry and die young of a heart attack, estranged from family and friends. As a result the movie is required viewing for all workaholics, both potential and actual.
Enjoyable black comedy with a fine performance by lead actress Shirley MacLaine. The movie is also notable for its stellar cast and its many references (under the form of pastiches and parodies) to other films and film genres. Poor/rich Louisa tells her life story to a psychiatrist and many of her explanations turn into pastiches : there's a "silent comedy" sequence, a "Gene Kelly musical" sequence, and so on. My personal favorite is the "Lush Budgett" sequence, where Shirley MacLaine, evolving in the world of the super-super-rich, wears ever more expensive and outlandish costumes. There's many a clever dig at movie costumes and movie costume-making here.
The main target of the movie is, of course, the dark side of the American Dream : work, work harder, pour all your energy into your work, become a captain of industry and die young of a heart attack, estranged from family and friends. As a result the movie is required viewing for all workaholics, both potential and actual.