THE MAFU CAGE

James Olson and Lee Grant

THE MAFU CAGE (aka Deviation/1978). Director: Karen Arthur.

Ellen (Lee Grant) lives with her strange sister Cissy (Carol Kane of Annie Hall), who retains a love for all things African -- they once lived in Africa with their late father -- and who also seems to have incestuous feelings for her sister. Ellen is herself not too tightly wrapped, because she resists the notion of sending Cissy to a therapist for, among other reasons, her penchant for slaughtering her pet apes. Cissy, who is unraveling by the minute, chains up Ellen's boyfriend, David (James Olson of The Andromeda Strain), in the cage where the apes are kept, and you can probably guess what happens next. The Mafu Cage is a film so bad that it seems to exist in its own universe of awfulness, never coming close to a real world or even a cinematic equivalent. It just moves along, ploddingly, throwing idiotic scenes at the viewer, and providing embarrassment for all of its actors, all of whom should have known better. The film reaches its absolute nadir with its scene of poor Carol Kane exchanging sloppy mouth to mouth kisses with a champagne-guzzling orangutan. (I am not joking; this is not an old April Fool's post.)  Grant, Olson, and Will Geer [The Brotherhood of the Bell] as a friendly animal trainer all give good performances; Kane is like her character from the sitcom Taxi on uppers. The script was written by actor Don Chastain (from a play by Eric Wesphal), whose other writing credit was for an episode of As The World Turns. Karen Arthur primarily directed for television.

Verdict: Without a doubt, the worst movie Lee Grant ever appeared in. 1/2*.

NOTE: This review is part of the "Lovely Lee Grant" blogathon co-hosted by Chris of Angelman's Place and Gill of Realweegiemidget Reviews. 

LOVE AND BETRAYAL: THE MIA FARROW STORY

Patsy Kensit as Mia Farrow

LOVE AND BETRAYAL: THE MIA FARROW STORY (1995 telefilm/mini-series). Director: Karen Arthur.

"If this scandal breaks, the media will put your corpse in an envelope and mail it to Roman Polanski."

Based on a biography of Mia Farrow (Patsy Kensit) as well as a tell-all by her former nanny -- but not on her own memoirs -- this telefilm looks at the life of the actress with particular emphasis on her scandalous relationship with long-time partner and artistic associate Woody Allen (Dennis Boutsikaris). Flashbacks reveal Farrow's relationships with Frank Sinatra (Richard Muenz) and Andre Previn (Robert LuPone), both of whom married her whereas Allen did not. The shit hits the fan when Farrow discovers that Allen has been having an affair with her own adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn (Grace Una), under her nose, which is betrayal from two people she loves. Soon-Yi is an adult, but later Mia charges that Allen molested a much younger daughter, Dylan (who maintains that to this day). Cynthia A. Cherbak has written an excellent script which intelligently examines this business from both sides, but whatever Farrow's faults (and she has many) it's hard not to see Allen as a sleaze-bucket who showed no restraint but rather slept with his long-time girlfriend's daughter, who was also the sister of his own children (Allen was not the father, adoptive or otherwise, of Soon-Yi). The telefilm is extremely well-acted by a cast that is invariably more attractive than the characters they portray, and along the way we're treated to glimpses of versions of Maureen O'Sullivan (Frances Helm); Dory Previn, Andre's cast-off wife (Lynne Cormack); Roman Polanski (Bruce McCarty); and other personages well-known or not. Kensit actually played Mia Farrow's daughter in The Great Gatsby, and has had many credits, and Boutsikaris has had even more.

Verdict: An entertaining and very well-acted three hours. ***.