"Who'da thunk it?" -- various.
"Sacrifice is dated. You don't reform a man. They just drag you down." -- Dottie.
In 1933 a group of women friends graduate from Vassar. The first to get married is Kay (Joanna Pettet), whose husband is a philandering playwright named Harald (Larry Hagman) whose mistress, Norine (Carrie Nye), also went to Vassar (but is not part of the group). Helena (Kathleen Widdoes) is the one who sends out a newsletter detailing the activities of the others. Priss (Elizabeth Hartman of The Beguiled) gets married to a controlling doctor, while Dottie (Joan Hackett) disillusioned by her first lover (Richard Mulligan), marries a much older man. Although she seems man-hungry, the bitchy Libby (Jessica Walter) reveals that she's a virgin when one suitor tries to assault her. Lakey (Candice Bergen) turns out to be a committed lesbian who comes back from Europe with a German baroness in tow. Polly (Shirley Knight) dallies with a married publisher (Hal Holbrook) before uniting with a doctor (James Broderick) who befriends her somewhat unusual father (Robert Emhardt). Pokey (Mary Robin-Redd) is a friendly and plump gal who seems a bit on the fringes of the group. As the years go by the women interact, have babies, divorces, break-ups and react to world events such as communism and Hitler. Then one of their lives takes a decided and tragic turn for the worse.
Lidia Prochnicka as the baroness with Bergen |
Bill Fletcher (seated) with some of the ladies |
Verdict: If you can take all the cute nicknames -- what, no "Pukey?" -- this is an absorbing film with some fine performances. ***.
2 comments:
Good movie, though a bit long with some draggy parts as you mentioned.
Just saw that Candice is back on the big screen again with Jane Fonda and other illustrious mature ladies in one of those new "Funny Old Lady" movies, as I affectionately call the genre. I noted that of all the stars, Candice and Lily Tomlin were the only ones without Oscars, though both have been nominated.
-Chris
A few years back I eagerly watched one of those flicks -- forget the name -- and was very disappointed, especially by the fact that despite how long in the tooth the stars were, the "older" elderly were still subjected to stereotypical put-downs. I guess no matter how old a person gets there's always someone older you can make fun of!
Post a Comment