Carol Burnett and Geraldine Page battle in an all-out throw-down that, as far as I can tell, didn't involve stunt doubles. They get their purses swinging. Garbage cans. Garden hose. But the funniest part of the movie might be the scene immediately preceding the fight, where Page struggles to avoid disclosing her real age. Burnett, who was surely America's greatest TV comic of the 70s and adored by millions, plays it straight down the line. Classy move.
In fact, as a kid in the 70s who watched The Carol Burnett Show with my family pretty much every week, this movie was a revelation. Burnett avoids all of her usual broad mugging that made her so popular. Whether it's in a comic scene or a dramatic scene, she has the acting chops. Watch her face - she speaks no words - as she sits back into her chair after receiving some tragic news. Most ''serious" actresses would have overplayed that scene to the point of pathos.
Walter Matthau shows once again that he had few peers when it came to moving seamlessly from comedy to drama and back to comedy again, often in the same scene.
Rene Auberjonois shows up as the gay friend. I don't know whether that portrayal would be considered overly broad in these perilous times, but he had me convinced. His proposal scene is heart-breaking on so many levels. I mean, this is 1972 we're talking about. It's still a long way from members of the Rainbow crowd being considered among the cool kids, so to speak.
I'm not sure the movie is as good as the sum of its parts. But for the individual performances it's well worth watching.
In fact, as a kid in the 70s who watched The Carol Burnett Show with my family pretty much every week, this movie was a revelation. Burnett avoids all of her usual broad mugging that made her so popular. Whether it's in a comic scene or a dramatic scene, she has the acting chops. Watch her face - she speaks no words - as she sits back into her chair after receiving some tragic news. Most ''serious" actresses would have overplayed that scene to the point of pathos.
Walter Matthau shows once again that he had few peers when it came to moving seamlessly from comedy to drama and back to comedy again, often in the same scene.
Rene Auberjonois shows up as the gay friend. I don't know whether that portrayal would be considered overly broad in these perilous times, but he had me convinced. His proposal scene is heart-breaking on so many levels. I mean, this is 1972 we're talking about. It's still a long way from members of the Rainbow crowd being considered among the cool kids, so to speak.
I'm not sure the movie is as good as the sum of its parts. But for the individual performances it's well worth watching.