Reviews (24)

TERRIFICALLY ENTERTAINING
Combining soapy suds and exhilarating dance sequences with the formidable acting skills of lead players Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft, Herbert Ross creates a winner in The Turning Point. Baryshnikov is every bit as magnetic onscreen, in a well-chosen role as a dance lothario, as he is every second he is dancing; he defies gravity and sends your spirit soaring. Leslie Browne, a novice (to put it kindly), in the acting department, is no less spectacular on the dance floor. Rarely has a big, old-fashioned, commercial film been so successful at making classical ballet so tangible and electric. The score, punctuacted throughout with the obvious classical scores of the many pieces we get glimpses of, adds a resonance to the story. MacLaine and Bancroft, as rivals in romance and once, in their careers, have a grand old time with our emotions, as they traverse the entire wide range of jealousy, humiliation, aging, love, friendship -- and eventually combust onscreen, which provides the movie with its most dazzlingly entertaining moments of drama. Tom Skerrit is terrific as Shirley's dancer-gone-husband, and the portrait of MacLaine's character has surprising moments of reality sprinkled throughout the screenplay. A wonderful big, overlong, old-fashioned movie, and a great way to introduce your family to classic dance, not only painlessly, but engagingly.

Why isn't this movie on DVD????
'The Turning Point' was one of the best movies of the late 70's, I can't believe it hasn't been issued in DVD! It had 11 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and, in a rare instance, two leading actresses (Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft) were both nominated for Best Actress from the same film. It's about two women closing in on middle age, once good friends, both having been promising, competitive ballet dancers with the same company in their youth. Anne Bancroft's character proceeded on to become a successful, internationally celebrated prima ballerina, while Shirley MacLaine's abandoned the ballet scene on the verge of her career breakthrough to marry and raise a family. After twenty-one years, the Ballet company finally comes to MacLaine's Oklahoma City home on tour, and the women are reunited. MacLaine, now the mother of three young teens, begins regretting what she might have been and what she gave up. In addition to envying Bancroft's success, she envies her own eldest daughter's (Leslie Browne's) promising dance talent, and the chummy relationship her daughter and Bancroft begin cultivating as a result of the girl's acceptance into the company.

Bancroft, on the other hand, is an aging prima ballerina whose star has all but faded, and whom the company is slowly but surely putting out to pasture in favor of younger, fresher dancers. She begins regretting the things she's forsaken for her career, such as marriage, motherhood, and a meaningful romance with a special man. In turn, she starts stewing a jealousy of MacLaine's having these things that is as strong as MacLaine's resentment of her career success. To fill in the void, she seeks to endear MacLaine's young dancer daughter to her in a mentor/friend/mothering relationship that she hopes will overshadow and upstage the girl's devotion to her own mother. All these emotions build and build and build till they end up climaxing in a screamfest of accusations and insults between the two leads, that progresses to a classic physical cat fight in the parking lot of Lincoln Center.

Meanwhile, MacLaine's daughter is having problems of her own. She falls for the company's primary male dancer (a handsome young Mikhael Baryshnikov) who turns out to be a ladies man and stomps on her heart. The music, the moods, the gauzy views of MacLaine's drowsy family life in Oklahoma City and the disciplined New York Ballet world in summer, all have the quality of a golden fairy tale, and the dancing sequences performed by some of the best professional dancers in the world at the time are breathtaking. MacLaine and Bancroft are unmatched as the competitive friends, Leslie Browne is flawless as the somewhat airheaded but magnificently gifted daughter, Barishnikov is perfectly believable as the devil-may-care loverboy, Tom Skeritt does a fine job as MacLaine's patient husband, and even the boy and girl who play MacLaine's two younger children are captivating as typical opinionated adolescents.

I hope a DVD for this beautiful film is issued SOON and it is not a case of having to wait till 2007 for the 30th anniversary!

DOUBLY RICH: CAPTIVATING THEME, BREATHTAKING CHOREOGRAPHY
A very fitting title for this "Terms of Endearment" meets "Footloose" offering...a delicate, if somewhat idealistic, treat for people who like subtle emotional vectors.

The theme is sensitive: daughter becomes successful ballerina, makes mother hark back to her own difficult decision to give up her dancing passion to raise a family.

Envious angst and catty remarks ensue, but of course all is patched up towards the end. The performances are sterling all round but the dialogue could have been a little more taut, it is hit-on-the-head-obvious when things get sappy.

But that doesn't matter because it's the choreography that the movie will be remembered for, the ballet sequences are simply stunning. Minor gripe: a couple of ballet scenes have overbearing voiceovers which recap all that the dancer has gone through in life, which interrupts the lyric of the moment a bit. Again, editing may have been in order.

Nonetheless, it makes for an engaging, luminous portrait of dance and its various twists and turns as apt metaphors for the quirky vagaries of life, loves, ambition.

Very decent rental, but a great must-own if you dig chickflicks.

TOADS AND FROGS
how many times I have used that line when things have popped out of my mouth without thinking them through. This is a GREAT movie. The dancing will "wow" you and the acting by MacLaine and Bancroft is wonderful. This should be released in DVD with lots and lots of extra dance footage. My husband even stayed awake throught it. PLEASE release it!

Please, please, please issue in DVD!!!
I will purchase this film in a heartbeat as soon as it is available in DVD. The story is moving, but the dance sequences that are captured here - especially of Baryshikov in his prime - make it a ballet lover's dream. ... Read more

Reviews (31)

Shirley MacLaine in her greatest musical performance
This new DVD release of SWEET CHARITY is a welcome addition to any classic movie collection. Shirley MacLaine stars as Charity Hope Valentine in the celebrated film version of the Broadway hit.

Charity (Shirley MacLaine) works at the Fan Dango Ballroom, a dingy dime-a-dance hall where the girls give a lot more away than dances. Charity runs her heart like a hotel, and gives her love to one undeserving man after another. Her two best friends Nickie and Helene (Chita Rivera and Paula Kelly) are the ones who help Charity when she is ultimately betrayed by each boyfriend who comes into her life. Ever-hopeful (sometimes impossibly-so), Charity goes through life with wide eyes and wide dreams...

When Charity meets the mild-mannered Oscar Linquist (John McMartin re-creating his Broadway performance), she believes that she will finally be able to leave her sordid past and profession behind her. But will Oscar be as understanding?

Shirley MacLaine colors Charity more vividly than Broadway's Gwen Verdon did (or was permitted to do). MacLaine is especially affecting and heartbreaking in the final 15 minutes of the movie, and sings a plaintive "Where Am I Going?".

Bob Fosse's first big Hollywood film, SWEET CHARITY was a big, if not huge, success when it was first released. The choppy editing and artistic touches that audiences failed to appreciate then make much more sense now, following the success of MOULIN ROUGE. The impressive supporting cast includes Ricardo Montalban, Sammy Davis Jr. and Stubby Kaye.

This beautiful new Special Edition DVD presents the complete 'Road-Show' version of the film including Overture and Intermission. There are also many extras including the trailer, the original 'Making-of' featurette, a featurette where designer Edith Head takes us through her colorful costumes, and the alternate ending that was never used. (Single-sided, dual-layer disc).

You're gonna get up, get out, and buy it!!
I'm grateful for the comments before me which explain the enigma that is "Sweet Charity." It takes a book of a relatively sad, downtrodden character and turns it into a musical (and not a happy-go-lucky one either, as is often the assumption). The film comes at the start of the stylized, mod 70's- and while some of Fosse's visuals over-saturate this point, the story is so smart that it doesn't matter. (It was Fosse's first film direction and it has his signature all over it.) And I'm glad that the VHS presentation letterboxes the musical numbers, even if it standard-screens the nonmusical portions. There's no other way to view the dance hall girls sexily draped over the barre in "Hey, Big Spender," or the film's best number- the sensational rooftop dance "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This." (This may be the most theatrical moment in the film as it allows pure, full-bodied dance by Shirley MacLaine, Chita Rivera, and Paula Kelly.) And those who generally dislike musicals would be surprised at the film's bittersweet ending; it's not entirely happy but it is completely triumphant, and it never ceases to bring tears (well, just one) to my eyes.

For Serious Fosse Fans Only
Ok, this movie is a clunker. The story doesn't hold up well in today's feminist or post-feminist era and MacLaine's performance made me cringe.

However, here's the great thing about DVD: use the scene selector to skip right to the fabulous dance numbers! "Rich Man's Frug" and "Hey Big Spender" are two of Fosse's best on film, and big enough that you'll want to watch them several times to catch all the details and dancers. And as a special treat to Fosse fans, the extras on the DVD include some brief segments with THE MAN himself.

Fosse newbies, skip right over this and go straight to CABARET which is a brilliant musical AND a brilliant film.

I'm amazed
I'm amazed that some studio gave Fosse the chance to direct again after this downright failure. I do have to give some of the blame (ok, most) to Shirley MacLaine who is annoying, needy, and badly acted/sung/danced. I want to sock her Charity in the nose almost ceaslessly.

The only let up from her killing the part are Fosse's dance numbers. "Rich Man's Frug" lives up to its reputation, and "Rhythem of Life" are amazing. ( My friend and I were ready to burn the tape we were watching, and then "Rhythem" came on. We stayed for the rest of the movie.) Fosse as a director also seems to care only when his signature dances, or any dances, come on. That's when the camera usage that one gets to know so well in Cabaret and All That Jazz come in. During the naratives, he seems bored with the story and doesn't put nearly enough energy into it. One is left waiting for the stars, (preferably not Ms. MacLaine) to sing and dance for all they're worth for all the movie. It is also too long. I felt the ending was not harsh enough to Ms. MacLaine's Charity. An STD would have satisfied me.

Such Fun
Shirley McCain is wonderful in this movie. Kudos to Gwen Verdon, but unlike many other movie versions or broadway shows, this movie has the ultimate actress for the role. She is strong, naive, vulnerable and eternally hopeful as well as charming.
In additions there are great musicall numbers, of which, Rich Man's Frug is the worth the price of the dvd or tape. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Great introduction to Westerns for women!
Westerns aren't known for having much appeal to women, but this one tops my Listmania list of "Westerns Even Your Girlfriend Will Enjoy."

Young Clint Eastwood and a gorgeous young Shirley MacLaine have real chemistry on the screen together in this romantic adventure. MacLaine plays Sister Sarah, a righteous but beautiful nun on a mission of political mercy. She's determined to get through some treacherous country on her own, with or without the help of the rugged Eastwood -- yer typical rougish figure turned reluctant hero.

There's a bit of a twist at the end... that I think is fabulous and brings closure to the whole story... Give it a watch and decide for yourself.

And sign up for notification for the release of this movie on DVD... This movie is definitely one to watch again and again and keep on the better medium.

Eastwood + MacLaine = Highly Enjoyable Western Romp!
Though a bit quirky at times, TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA makes for great entertainment. This is mainly due to the pairing of Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine; the two work surprisingly well (no, great) together, and form a hillarious duo. Do not be mislead by the DVD cover and back; Eastwood does NOT play his usual "Man With No Name", but rather a wandering nomad by the name of Hogan. One day he happens upon three men about to rape a young woman, and he of course plugs all three and saves her. Hogan is soon shocked to see that the woman is, in fact, a nun raising money for the Mexicans, and all the while on the run from the French. So the two pair up together, Sara in need of Hogan's protection and Hogan in need of her directions to a well-protected fort, where there is a safe full of over $1 thousand (I think). While the plot may not seem like much, what makes the movie so great is the constant bickering between the two superstars; seeing those two play off eachother is both fascinating and, at times, side-splitting. One can easily tell how this film served as a partial basis for the 1975 western ROOSTER COGBURN (AND THE LADY), in which John Wayne and Katherine Hepburn squarred off in a very similar fashion. One complaint I have about TWO MULES... is the score by none other than Ennio Morricone. Despite his brilliant music for Eastwood's MAN WITH NO NAME TRILOGY, his work here is far from impressive. But since the score is absent for most of the film, it is of little consequence.

After purchasing both "Universal Western Collection" editions of JOE KIDD and HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER, I was fearing more of the same here in terms of sound and picture. But luckily, this DVD is far superior in this sense. Unfortunately, there are even less extras present here than in those other discs; all you get is a trailer. But, as I said in my review for JOE KIDD, for $it's definitely worth it.

Clint Eastwood meets Frank Zappa
Pass on this hodgepodge of tuff guy meets nun/ballet dancer in a no-holds barred feature film guaranteed to bore you to tears.

Music from Heaven...
As one of the many people in the U.S. who engaged in a letter writing campaign to the film company, begging them to release a soundtrack recording for this movie, I can assure the previous reviewer that it wasn't available in the States when the movie was released. I can't speak for Canada, but as one of the people lucky enough to see the movie at it's New York Premier, and having seen it many times after that just to bask in the music and magnificent visuals again and again, I can tell you there was no soundtrack available when it first came out. The initial response we received to our letters was that a soundtrack wasn't planned at that time. It came out several months (nearly a year) after the initial release of the movie.

That aside, it is a dreadful shame that the entire soundtrack to Days of Heaven is not available by itself, as this recording is missing several essential pieces in the original LP soundtrack recording. The fact that this CD version hasn't been available for awhile, and used copies are nearly eighty dollars as of March 2004, tells me this soundtrack desperately needs to be re-released!

If you ever find this one at an affordable price, buy it immediately-this is gorgeous music...

...
I do want to correct one of the reviewers, "Days of Heaven" was initially released as a soundtrack upon the release of the movie but didn't stay in circulation for all that long. And with the pairing of "Two Mules for Sister Sara" this particular disc is once again going through the ranks of obscurity and hard to find, I know because I have spent 20 years searching to no avail. I was finally able to obtain "Days of Heaven" and shame on me from a music downloading site from a stranger from Denmark, he had no idea how much this music meant to me...it was my holy grail. It's a uplifting experience but sadly only 26 minutes of music that you never want to end. ... Read more

Reviews (108)

What are Steel Magnolias?
A pleasant mix of comedy and tear-jerking drama, Steel Magnolias is a heartwarming movie with a strong message, no matter what happens life goes on and the strong can survive almost anything. This movie takes place 1980s Louisiana and features a small town gaggle of women who congregate at Truvy's Beauty Spot to laugh, cry gossip and generally experience life. Each women has their own strong personality and brings something unique to the film. Steel Magnolias is adapted from the play of the same name by Robert Harling. The movie flashes through several milestones in the lives of six women. M'lynn Eatenton played by Sally Field is the mother of Shelby Eatenton (Julia Roberts). And the two seem to be the main focus of the movie. Strong M'lynn and caring but naive Shelby make the perfect mother-daughter team. The movie begins with the wedding day of Shelby, and after a nail polish crisis the two head to Truvy's beauty parlor to gossip and laugh. Dolly Parton plays a caring and hopelessly romantic "southern belle," named Truvy Jones; who is constantly trying to elicit some romance from her husband, Spud (Sam Shepard). Providing a scapegoat of sorts is nervous newcomer, Annelle (Daryl Hannah) who soon finds out the gossipy nature of the group when she announces she "isn't sure" if she is married or not. And of course, no clique would be complete without the sarcastic pessimist. Shirley MacClaine slips artfully into the role of Ouiser Boudreaux. The rich seemingly nasty woman who is rarely seen without a floppy straw hat and a huge slobbering dog. Providing the perfect compliment to Ouisers acrid personality is best friend Clariee (Olympia Dukasis). Miss Clairee is always ready with gossip or a playful insult of Ouiser. Ouiser, Truvy and Clairee are the main suppliers of the quirky, well timed one-liners that add spice to the movie as a whole. Being a real "chick flick" Steel Magnolias contains a few, underdeveloped male characters who are regarded more as scenery than actual characters. Drum Eatenton, played by Tom Skerritt is M'lynns husband who spends half of his screen time shooting pigeons from trees and the other half grinning blankly or snarling at Ouiser. Shelby's husband, Jackson Latcherie (Dylan McDermott) is upstaged in most of his scenes and then forgotten about completely. Annelle's boyfriend, Sammy Desoto (Kevin J. O'Connor) really only has one poorly executed, pointless scene before he too is forgotten; only to reappear at the end wearing a bunny suit. And who could forget Truvy's Husband Spud, probably everyone as his few scenes involve him reclining on a bed, drinking beer, watching television and being grumpy. Despite the appearance that these women are dippy southern women, several tragedies call them all to action, where each shows they are more than meets the eye. The character and will of the six is gradually introduced as the viewer moves from one milestone to another. The true acting brilliance of Sally Field is presented in one poignant scene, where M'lynn, hysterically asks God why. The captivating tear-jerking scene complete with Fields signature locked jaw distant eyes is broken only by a lame attempt at comedic relief. In which M'lynn switches from pissed to amused in a matter of seconds. With one motion the scene goes from classically emotional to pathetic and back again. Steel Magnolias is quite possibly the funniest movie that will also make you cry. These six witty southern belles show their strength and character time and again, proving they are true Steel Magnolias. Steel Magnolias was directed by Herbert Ross, written by Robert Harling is a TriStar Pictures production. Steel Magnolias received a 1990 Oscar nomination for Julia Roberts as best supporting actress and a 1990 Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Sally Field. And in 1990 Julia Roberts won a Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her work in Steel Magnolias. With an award like 1990s Peoples Choice Awards-Favorite Dramatic Motion Picture is it any wonder that Steel Magnolias comes highly recommended.

#1 favorite movie of all time!...
Steel Magnolias, which is based on the play by Robert Harling (who plays the pastor) revolves around a group of friends down in Louisiana. Julia Roberts plays Shelby, the center character. Shelby is a diabetic determined to have a baby, despite doctor's warnings that she "shouldn't." Even though this plot line would seem emotional, this movie is actually charming and witty without getting too sappy.

My favorite character is the caring and stylish Truvy Jones (played by Dolly Parton). Her beauty salon, known as The Beauty Spot serves as the gathering place for their gossip. Well, that and the local Presbyterian church. Olympia Dukakis, Daryl Hannah, Shirley MacLaine and Sally Field all have terrific roles as well. The whole cast is extraordinary.

Read the play too. Unlike the movie, every scene takes place in Truvy's beauty salon, and it gives the movie a new perspective.

Usually worried
I'm usually worried when I hear that Hollywood is going to make a movie out of some great book or play. So many have been botched in the process and few have been made better. My current fear is what they'll do to "A Confederacy of Dunces" or "The Bark of the Dogwood" when those books go into script form. But for some reason, seeing "Steel Magnolias" when I did in New York all these many years ago, I had no fear. The play lends itself expertly to a movie script (This is actually a good thing), and of course, the cast they chose was/is stellar. This is one of my favorite all-time movies and if you're not moved by it, please, get yourself to an emergency room so they can check your pulse.

One of the best stage to screen movies I have ever seen.
Steel Magnolias is a movie that is timeless. You cannot beat it. I know I am in a minority in saying that it is better than Terms of Endearment and Fried Green Tomatoes but in my opinion it really is. The love between the characters is more real and heartfelt and isn't as dismal to watch as in the previous two films. The acting is awesome, as well as the score and plot. The movie will rip your heart out. I highly reccomend it.

Shut Up You Old Bag
So let me get this straight - a bunch of old ladies and Julia Roberts in the south trying to be funny, heartwarming, poignant, dramatic and important? I'm out. ... Read more

Reviews (83)

"Shut up and deal..."
This movie, directed by the legendary Billy Wilder, is one of my all-time favorites. It features a funny script, great acting, and an interesting and original plot. The Apartment is a perfect example of what is missing in Hollywood today: it is a witty, entertaining movie that relies on the script and on the acting to keep the viewer's attention and consequently does not need to use obscene language or inappropriate scenes to be amusing!

Essentially, The Apartment is about a young insurance company worker (played by Jack Lemmon in an excellent performance) who is forced to allow his philandering bosses to use his apartment on dates. In exchange for allowing his bosses to use the apartment, Lemmon is recommended to recieve promotions. Things get more complicated, however, when the bigger boss, Sheldrake (played by Fred McMurray) gets involved in the apartment renting. This would seem like a good thing for Lemmon - but there is one problem: McMurray (who is married and has no plans of divorcing) is dating Lemmon's dream girl, the beautiful elevator operator at the company (played by Shirley MacLaine). To say any more would be to give too much away...

In addition to having an intertaining plot and a funny, sarcastic script (like most Billy Wilder movies), The Apartment features amazing performances by all of its actors, especially Lemmon and MacLaine.

So I don't know how else to recommend this movie - get it soon and enjoy!

ATTENTION: a Home Theatre/HDTV/16:9/480p DVD Review!!
Now that the Home Theatre environment is becoming more common it is time to sort the GOOD from the BAD DVD's. This is only from a videophile who enjoys the total viewing and listening Home Theatre experience. The movies themselves are the main ingredient but unfortunately Film Studios don't always give us what we think we are getting. (Quality vs quantity) Another words they are already re-releasing DVD movies with enhancements and extras for wide screen TV's etc. So we need to buy right the first time and not repeat buying on the same movie.
My first (#1) Home Theatre DVD Review "The Apartment" is an AFI (American Film Institute) top 100 movie of the last 100 years. It won "5" Oscars including "Best Picture of 1960", and Best Director, Billy Wilder (in 1959 he directed, "Some Like It Hot" - voted by AFI as the #1 Comedy in the last 100 years) So you can see this was and is a GREAT Comedy (filmed in Black and White). Jack Lemmon, Shirely MacClaine and Fred MacMurray lead the emsemble cast.
Simply put its a boy meets girl, falls in love she is distracted by another man and "The Apartment" brings them together. A great story, great characters and the greatest comedic director.
Now this DVD is Digitally ReMasterd (Picture and Sound). It is enhanced for widescreen 16:9 (Aspect Ratio) TV's & HDTV's. The movie's 235:1 means you still get a LETTERBOX presentation but it is enhanced for maximum viewing enjoyment. The Picture clarity is perfect (480p - 480 horz lines with Progressive Scan (a line doubler feature. NOTE: regular DVD players are 480i). The only extra is a Trailer. "The Apartment" is a must both for its entertainment value and viewing quality. It is the best!!!!

They Should All be Like This
Wouldn't it be great if all movies were this good? This funny? This wise? This clever? This heartfelt? This true? My favorite Jack Lemmon movie. He plays a perfect schmuck who discovers himself. My favorite Shirley MacLaine movie. She plays a sweet but wounded modern girl who wises up. My favorite Billy Wilder movie. A perfect ear for dialogue and eye for mannerisms in his adopted country. Fred McMurray turns in a perfect performance as a shameless cad. No reason not to own this on dvd.

The boss borrows his apartmwnt for a love tryst

Director: Billy Wilder
Format: Black & White
Studio: Mgm/Ua Studios
Video Release Date: August 3, 1999

Cast:

Jack Lemmon ... Calvin Clifford 'C.C.' 'Bud' Baxter
Shirley MacLaine ... Fran Kubelik
Fred MacMurray ... Jeff D. Sheldrake
Ray Walston ... Joe Dobisch
Jack Kruschen ... Dr. Dreyfuss
David Lewis ... Al Kirkeby
Hope Holiday ... Mrs. Margie MacDougall
Joan Shawlee ... Sylvia
Naomi Stevens ... Mrs. Mildred Dreyfuss
Johnny Seven ... Karl Matuschka
Joyce Jameson ... The blonde
Willard Waterman ... Mr. Vanderhoff
David White ... Mr. Eichelberger
Edie Adams ... Miss Olsen
Mason Curry
David Macklin ... Messenger
Hal Smith ... Santa Claus
Benny Burt ... Charlie (the bartender)
Frances Weintraub Lax ... Mrs. Lieberman
Dorothy Abbott ... Office worker

C.C. 'Buddy Boy' Baxter (Jack Lemmon) has a downwtown apartment near his work where he is an insurance analyst in a large firm. He is ambitious to work is way up the ladder, and so loans his apartment out to various of his supperiors for their trysts in an effort to win their favors, which means that he is forced ro work overtime and stay out late while his apartment os occupied.

Fran Kubelik (Shirley McLaine), elevator girl, is in love with big boss and branch manager Jeff D. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray), who is a married, cheating philanderer with a long history of conquests among the female staff. C.C. Baxter is also in love with Fran, who is having an affair with Sheldrake in his apartment.

This is not really a comedy, although it has its funny moments. It is a good story which comes out all right in the end.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

An absolute Gem from Lemmon and Wilder
Mr. Lemmon figured prominently in a good dozen of the best films ever made, and he is at the absolute top of his game in "The Apartment" as C.C. Baxter - an up and coming business man who makes his way through the corporate ranks faster than usual by making his apartment available to higher executives to carry on affairs without paying for hotel rooms. This is probably a borderline premise for a romantic comedy today, and it must have seemed absolutely scandalous 44 years ago, but the truth is that it is very contemporary in tone today while also being funny, thoughtful and poignant. It's too bad there's noone as clever as Billy Wilder making Romantic Comedies today. Shirley Maclaine has never been better, and anyone who grew up watching Fred MacMurray in "My Three Sons" or any of those Disney films will be surprised to see him playing an absolute scumbag in this movie. The dialogue is witty and sharp and the acting is crisper than a fresh celery stick. This is a good time. ... Read more

Reviews (51)

Tears of Endearment
Fresh off the success of his television series TAXI, James L Brooks came to the big screen with his directorial debut: a comic film culminating in a main character succumbing to cancer. That certainly doesn't sound like the most promising comedy material but TERMS OF ENDEARMENT is a success in both comedy and drama. It is a very funny film that ends up a tearjerker without ever sacrificing the humor.

The mother and daughter act of Aurora (Shirley MacLaine) and Emma (Debra Winger) are at the heart of the story. The mother is consistently over-protective and disappointed in her daughter. Emma is one of the most compassionate human beings in the cinematic world. When Emma ups and marries the wrong guy (Jeff Daniels) there relationship becomes one of the phone lines. Even that doesn't squelch Aurora's power of her daughter. But when Aurora finally dates her free-spirited neighbor (Jack Nicholson), she softens as a human being and backs off of.

The film is quite clever with its characters and dialogue, often right from McMurtry's novel. Brooks works wonders with a dream cast that was often a nightmare. The audio commentary on the DVD offers a very open discussion of the Diva attitudes on the set. And Brooks exposes some other things as well but the commentary is often self-congratulatory. This is a great film in the style of BROADCAST NEWS and AS GOOD AS IT GETS.

Funny,sad,intense,just like real life.A classic.
I first saw "Terms of Endearment" in the theatre when it first came out at Christmas 1983 and thought it was an excellent picture. Then,saw it several years later on home video and I still think so. I even gave a copy of the video to my sister for a birthday present(along with some other of her favorite movies). A lot of the credit should go to James L. Brooks who was the writer and director.Mr. Brooks was a writer on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" in the '70's and wrote the enjoyable movie "Starting Over" in 1979.

Shirley MacLaine stars as Aurora and Debra Winger is her daughter Emma and the story is about their relationship over many years.The two leads both gave fabulous performances. Ms.MacLaine won the Academy Award for Best Actress(her one and only win) and Ms. Winger was nominated.Jack Nicholson gave a very funny,likable performance as the former astronaut who lives next door to Aurora. Nicholson won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for this role(a role that Burt Reynolds turned down due to a prior commitment.Reynolds regretted it later because the movie he turned the role down for turned out to be a flop).Actors John Lithgow and a then unknown Jeff Daniels also give good performances in supporting roles.

However, the real kudos go to James L.Brooks who won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay Adaptation(from the novel by Larry McMurtry)and for Best Director,very impressive since this was his directorial debut.And,it also won Best Picture of the year.The story has many funny moments,sad moments,and intense moments,just like in real life.Mr.Brooks went on to write and direct "Broadcast News" in 1987 and "As Good As It Gets" in 1997 which were both very good pictures also.There was a sequel to "Terms of Endearment" some 16 years later in 1996 called "The Evening Star" with Ms.MacLaine and Mr. Nicholson but with a different writer and director."The Evening Star" was no classic but "Terms of Endearment" truly is.

Somewhat cold, but still wonderful.
I saw this movie after I had seen Steel Magnolias, and to be honest it did not impress me as much as Steel Magnolias did. They are both classics in the film world, but I found Magnolias better and more heartwarming. Shirley Maclaine did a wonderful job acting in this film as the troubled mother of a sickly daughter. The movie comes together in the end but at some points the movie lacked that sense of heart and home that Steel Magnolias had. See it and make the judgment for yourself. I do reccomend it.

Tear-jerker
Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger play mother and daughter who are alternately at love and war with each other as they go on the roller-coaster of life. On a routine visit to the pediatrician for one of her sons, Winger's doc is more interested in her swollen glands than he is in her son's ear ache - and the next thing we know, Winger's diagnosed with a terminal illness. The pathos is well played, and I challenge anyone to emerge dry-eyed from the scene in which she says good-bye to her sons, esp to the one who is so angry and uncommunicative.
Everyone comes thru in the end, including the lumpish ex-husband, and Jack Nicholson, playing a free-spirited astronaut who is MacLaine's love interest, deservedly won an Oscar for this performance.
Excellent book by McMurtry; great movie by James L. Brooks.

As a Male, I Dig This Movie
This film is categorized as a chick flick...but hey it made me cry too. I was a kid when I saw this film. My cat had just died, and guess what her name was? ...EMMA!!!!
Well when Emma died in the film I almost lost it..
Shirley MacLaine said working with Debra Winger was hard to do as Debra was very gassy... ... Read more

Description

Based on Jerzy Kosinski's satirical novel about an illiterate gardener who has lived his entire life behind the walls of a Washington, D.C., house, his only knowledge of the world coming from the TV programs he watches.When his employer and protector dies, he is catapulted into the fast lane of political power. ... Read more

Reviews (120)

Excellent Satire - Incredible Acting from Peter Sellers
This film came out in 1979 and seems to get better every year. It is the bizarre story of a blank slate of a gardner who literally has never been outside of the walls of a single house until he is in his 40s or 50s. The entire view of this man comes from watching television.

The basic story is quite simple. As Chance the gardner is forced to leave the house he has lived in as a child, he is hit by a limosine transporting the wife of a dying plutocrat. Taken to the home of the plutocrat, he eventually meets the rich and powerful of the land (the president included)and is taken to be an oracle of wisdom with his simple statements about gardening and the television he has watched. It is a great satire that just keeps getting better as we rely more and more on soundbites for our information.

The best part of the film is Peter Sellers who plays this absolutely blank, innocent, and slow-witted person with complete aplomb. I remember an interview with Sellers when the movie came out, and he said it was a real struggle to develop an accent that had no roots at all -- a perfect blend of voices heard on television. He plays the movie absolutely straight, the comedy being how people react so seriously to his child-like comments. For example, in a television interview about the economy, people take his comments that "there is always growth in the spring" to mean an end to a recession when he is simply talking about his garden.

This is a unique film with lots and lots of subtle humor (no slapstick ala Clouseau). There are some very funny moments as people react to Peter Sellers, but the humor always comes back to how we choose to see the world. There is no deception of the part of the character of the gardner -- it is everybody else who plays the fool here.

This is a definitely a movie to own and to watch over and over. I know some people who have found it a bit slow, in that very little really happens -- it is almost a comedy of manners. It is a great memorial to Peter Sellers from one of his very last movies.

"I like to watch..."
Peter Sellers is wonderful as the simpleton gardener who in middle age finds himself in the real world for the first time and through a series of coincidences is hailed as a genius with all cures for mankind's problems. As a confidante to a wealthy philantropist, Chance the gardener is introduced to the President of the United States. Paraded through formal dinner parties, invited as talk show guest, and eventually investigated by the CIA, "Chance Gardener" becomes an unprecidented enigma .

A star-studded cast includes a beautiful Shirley MacLaine as the tycoon's wife who is very attracted to the "inexperienced" Chance. Melvyn Douglas took the Best Supproting Actor Oscar (his second) for his role as the dying philantrophist.

The slow moving yet poignant film offers many observations about people and how they are perceived by new acquintances. Peter Sellers' character benefited greatly from his handsome, classy attire when forced out of his home of many years. His simple speech would have been taken as foolish babble, had the man been dressed in rags.

There is a particularly moving scene near the end of the film, when Chance's benefactor is layed to rest. Seemingly disinterested in the ceremony, Chance wanders off, examining nearby plant life, to see what improvements need to be made. The DVD version offers a hilarious set of "bloopers", showing how Sellers can't get through the lines without laughing out loud.

"Being There" is certainly quite a departure from any standard comedy/drama. Not for everyone, but worth a chance!****

Two movies in one!
This is really two different movies. Most viewers will watch the DVD up until the credits start, hit the Stop and Eject buttons and will have seen one, admittedly excellent, story.

BUT... those lucky few who tend to watch the credits to the end...will get a mind-snapping shock! For there's one additional scene burried in the credits, a scene that changes the entire meaning of the movie - and will send you back to chapter 1 to watch the entire film all over again.

And you will then see the SECOND story.

It was THIS movie that has led me to sit in theaters until the end of the credits ever since!

I'm very hungry
My wife and I tend to quote lines from this wonderful movie, much like I do on the golf course with Caddy Shack lines. As Caddy Shack is to golf, Being There is to life: a delightful comedy but with meaning.

Brilliant and haunting.....
This film is like none I have ever seen before. In the past, when I thought of Peter Sellers (who plays lead character "Chance the Gardener"), my mind automatically went to Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther series. I thought of the bumbling, clumsy and silly detective in hot persuit of the pink panther jewel. What a terrific change of pace! I really got a sense of Peter Sellers' depth as an actor in this brilliant film. Sellers, Melvyn Douglas, and Shirley Maclaine were all strong leads in this story, along with a great supporting cast.

BEING THERE tells the story of Chance, the Gardener, a simple man who spends his entire life gardening in the backyard of his boss' house, until one day the old man passes away. When a couple of journalists come around to find out more about the former master of the house, Chance is the only one there. The house must close, and for the first time the man must make strides into the big, wide world. This world is like nothing he could have ever imagined outside of the house where he worked. One thing that keeps him tranquil and holds his attention is the television. As Chance says, "I like to watch." (this line is misinterpreted a few times during the course of the movie.) By chance, Chance meets up with Shirley Maclaine the wife of an elderly billionaire. This is just the beginning of an intriguing series of events where Chance--renamed Chauncey Gardner--the simple man who speaks of plants and their growth (the only real knowledge he has about the world) becomes central as wise sage in one of the most intriguing political ventures.

This film has moments of laugh-out-loud comedy, and serious elements as well. (The final scene is chilling.....that is all I am going to say......)
Check it out if you are in the mood for something completely different. In the words of Chauncy, this is definitely a film "I like to watch." ... Read more

Description

A child's lie has life-shattering consequences in this daring adaptation of Lillian Hellman's celebrated play from legendary director William Wyler. Starring Academy Award* winners* Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine and co-starring James Garner, Miriam Hopkins and Fay Bainter, this landmark film is "one of the most finely wrought dramas in the history of the screen" (Motion Picture Herald). Karen (Hepburn) and Martha (MacLaine) are the headmistresses of an exclusive school for girls. When they discipline a malicious little girl, the vindictive child twists an overheard comment into slander and accuses her teachers of questionable behavior. Soon the scandalous gossip engulfs the school's community, with repercussions that are swift, crushing...and tragic. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

The Power of Cinematic Image
Based on the book by Vito Russo, written by Armistead Maupin, and narrated by Lily Tomlin, THE CELLULOID CLOSET uses interviews and hundreds of film clips to examine the way in which Hollywood has presented gay and lesbian characters on film from the age of silent cinema to such recent films as PHILADELPHIA and DESERT HEARTS. Throughout the documentary, the focus is on both stereotypes and the various ways that more creative directors and writers worked around the censorship of various decades to create implicitly homosexual characters, with considerable attention given to the way in which stereotypes shaped public concepts of the gay community in general.

Overtly homosexual characters were not particularly unusual in silent and pre-code Hollywood films, and CLOSET offers an interesting sampling of both swishy stereotypes and unexpectedly sophistocated characters--both of which were doomed by the Hayes Code, a series of censorship rules adopted by Hollywood in the early 1930s. The effect of the Code was to soften some of the more grotesque stereotypes--but more interesting was the impetus the Code gave to film makers to create homosexual characters and plot lines that would go over the heads of industry censors but which could still be interpreted by astute audiences, with films such as THE MALTESE FALCON, REBECCA, BEN-HUR, and REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE cases in point. Once the Code collapsed, however, Hollywood again returned to stereotypes in an effort to cash in on controversy--with the result that throughout most of the sixties and seventies homosexual characters were usually presented as unhappy, maladjusted creatures at best, suicidal and psychopatic entities at worst.

The film clips are fascinating stuff and are often highlighted by interviews of individuals who made the films: Tony Curtis re SOME LIKE IT HOT and SPARTACUS, Shirley MacLaine re THE CHILDREN'S HOUR, Stephen Boyd re BEN-HUR, Farley Granger re ROPE, and Whoopie Goldberg re THE COLOR PURPLE, to name but a few. All are interesting and intriguing, but two deserve special mention: Harvey Fierstein, who talks about the hunger he had as a youth to see accurate reflections of himself on the screen, and Susan Sarandon, who makes an eloquent statement on the power of film as "the keeper of the dreams."

Although the material will have special appeal to gays and lesbians, it should be of interest to any serious film buff with its mix of trivia and significant fact. The DVD also includes notable packages of out-takes from interviews that are often as interesting as the material that made the final cut. If the documentary has a fault, however, it is that it offers no "summing up," preferring instead to show only how far the portrayal of homosexuals has come and indicating how far it has yet to go. Recommended to any one interested in film history and interpretation.

Excellent film on so Many Different Levels
Looking at the roles given to gay and lesbian characters in American cinema over the past several decades, "The Celluloid Closet" manages to simultaneously be hilariously funny, educational, and occasionally quite thought-provoking and even tragic. We see gay and lesbian stereotypes being reinforced over and over again, scenes cut from famous films because they hinted at homosexuality, etc.

Although the initial reaction is to sort of laugh at how backwards and ludicrous the intense homophobia of Hollywood once was, there are also reactions from people growing up during those years who talk about the effect of seeing gays and lesbians in films, or the impact of NEVER seeing gays and lesbians in films. Also, as the film progresses, it helps one to see that, although things have gotten SO MUCH BETTER in many ways, they're still so far from being where they ought to be.

This is a great documentary to watch with friends who might question what the big deal is with GLBT issues... why it's even an issue at all. It really helps one to see the importance of how popular media deals with (or chooses to ignore) minority groups and the very real impact of those decisions on people belonging to that minority group. And the fact that it's so darn entertaining makes it a fun, light movie to watch - a real pleasure!

A MUST SEE
The Dvd extras alone are worth the $25.00 Made in 1995 just shortly after Tom Hanks won an Academy Award for Philadelphia (playing a gay man ). The hero of this production however is Lily Tomlin! This movie documentary was finaly made after the wirters & producers got in touch with her. Lily loved this project and got HBO to fund this movie! The basic theme in this movie is to show us how gay people have been portrade in the movies! Gay themes were Taboo! They were always taboo until the late 1960's. (However All movies were made to a strict code up to that point). So all gay themes (during the era of the Code) were between the lines! (This is the humor) After the code was lifted gays were shown mostly as the villians! ( This is the drama) This documentary was one of the best movies of that year!
Is it dated? Not by much! It has been ALMOST 10 years since this was first released! Now we now have on TV "Will and Grace" (but after 7 years and no boyfriend give me a break). The big break in Hollywood was "The Birdcage". The next year was "My Best Friends Wedding" and "In and Out". (all money makers) Earlier that year "ellen" came out on TV but her show was cancelled a year later. In 2004 "The Stepford Wives" remake hade a gay couple. Although gays are more visable now than ever in the movies most of the time they are regulated to the "best friend" for comic relief! Not much of a change! Would I like a gay movie hero? Of course! I would also like to see hollywood remake movies that had they had gay stories to begin with! "The Lost Weekend" "Gentelman's Agreement" "The Childrens Hour" all had gay themes but were rewriiten for straight story lines or toned down! Yes "Fried Green Tomatoe's" is another but there was a kiss!

After YOU VIEW "The Celluloid Closet" watch "Rebecca" "Rebel Without a Cause" and "Some Like it Hot"! You will be laughing!

A 1995 Documentary That is Still Relevant
The Celluloid Closet has been out for nine years and I have only now seen it for the first time. You would think that gay themes and the presence of gay characters would be even greater now, in 2004, than when the documentary was made in 1995, and that it would seem dated. Unfortunately, it does not seem at all dated. The idea of a gay hero is still edgy and daring, and oddly enough, television, rather than the big screen, seems to be taking the lead in featuring gay characters and themes.

The Celluloid Closet is an eye-opening look at how gays have been portrayed in American film. Film clips are interspersed with interviews and commentary by writers, producers, and actors who are gay or have played gay characters. It is interesting to see that people mocking gay men swished and minced the same way 100 years ago as they do today.

A highlight is the deleted scene from Spartacus with Laurence Olivier as a slaveholder in his bath telling his uneasy slave played by Tony Curtis that he enjoys both snails and oysters. Strangely absent in the documentary are any mention of Clifton Webb or Cary Grant.

I will be looking at old (and new) films in a different way now that I have seen The Celluloid Closet.

Excellent Documentary , but a bit too ideological
Celluloid Closet is a well-done, thought-provoking documentary detailing the history of homosexuality in movies. The author(s)
compile a fascinating list of films, many well-known and beloved, and describe how filmmakers, constrained by prevailing mores and production codes, were forced to deal with the subject creatively through innuendo and subtext. It works equally well as a history of film censorship. Only one drawback: the best documentaries are objective, letting the material tell the story, so why interview exclusively archetypal Hollywood liberal, pro-gay-rights activists? It would have been interesting, for example, to hear Charlton Heston's response to Gore Vidal's take on what "Ben Hur" is really about. Instead, we're left hanging by Vidal quoting the director: "Don't tell Chuck (Heston) what it's really about, or he'll die". (or words to that effect) ... Read more

Description

After the sudden death of magazine publisher Colonel Ryder, his nephew, Tony (Martin) inherits the magazine and has big plans to expand it.While negotiating a loan from the bank, Tony gets a call from a detective surrounding his uncle's death.It turns out Colonel Ryder died in his hotel room with a smile on his face and a young woman (MacLaine) was seen fleeing his room wearing only a towel.Suspicious of this woman and afraid the magazine's wholesome image may be tarnished and their loan denied, Tony asks the detective to stick around and find her.What ensues is a series of misunderstandings. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Oh Mr. Ryder
Tony Ryder (Dean Martin) never took a real interest in his uncles publishing business until his uncle died. Now the rest of the board does not know what to expect. Luckily it looks like Tony is able to carry of the moral tradition of the magazine.

There is just one hitch, turns out the hotel detective reports that Uncle Rider died with a smile on his face and a woman clad in a towel was scene leaving the room. The only clue to her identity is an earring with the Chinese symbol for good.

Tony and the board brace themselves knowing that they are ripe for the picking (black mail) by this mysterious woman. If only they could find her and someone foil the plot.

This film was a long time coming let alone on DVD. You will want to watch it again once you know the story to see the clues that were not so obvious the first time around.

Superb 60's Comedy Romance Classic!!
This is a another superb comedy romance classic starring Shirley MacClaine and Dean Martin Hopefully dvd distributors will have the decency to release another 60's MacClaine classic"Please Come Home",it would be very beneficial for both them and us!!! ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Very Funny!
A great story and script make this a wonderful movie to see. Jack Lemmon falls in love with Irma, a streetwalker played by Shirley MacLaine. To keep her off the streets, he begins to work four to five jobs at night to pose as a wealthy English lord. Of course things don't quite work out as he would like. Very funny movie by Billy Wilder, the same director as "Some Like It Hot".

A must see.

Darin

irma la douce
Is there another movie this great? My 90 year old grandfather and I are in total agreement about this hilariously wonderful film! Jack Lemmon and Shirley Mcclaine at their young and sweet best. It tops my all time favorite list.

Sweet Faeri Tale for the grown ups
This movie has a slow start (understandably being made in 1962) but then before you know it, it transforms in to a sweet faerie tale for the grown ups. From this aspect, it was indeed a very creative idea even though the movie has its own slow moments and not so knitly tied up sequences.
Shirley MacLaine's performance is certainly memorable!

Comic masterpiece (part 2)
"Irma la Douce" was Billy Wilder's biggest hit at the box-office. With its absurdly funny situations and its snappy dialogues it is perhaps the most anarchistic screenplay he and I.A.L Diamond have ever written. The stars were at the height of their artistic powers. Marguerite Monnot's tuneful score didn't hurt, either. And this is just the package. Audiences are always grateful when allowed to peep through key-holes and "Irma la Douce" was the first major Hollywood-production ever to deal with the subject of prostitution. Of course, there have been many women with a past, shady ladies, innocent girls gone astray or clever girls in search of a sugar-daddy. But never before has a leading actress been shown while haggling over the price or describing the strange predilections of her clients.

Wilder originally wanted Charles Laughton for the role of Moustache. Those who have seen him in "Witness for the prosecution" know what he could have done to this film and his co-stars. Wilder's initial choice for Irma was, as everybody knows Marilyn Monroe. Her memories fresh from "Some like it hot", she threw the role away. She would have been wonderful in the role. MacLaine however, is excellent in her own right. Her ultra-cool delivery of her lines make her a provocative foil for Lemmon.

Watching Lemmon's performance, many critics were reminded of the great comedians of the golden age. No wonder. One must be tied up to resist this lovestruck hero. The scene where he enters Irma's room for the very first time, sweetly hesitant, ill at ease, because he knows that in a few minutes he is going to make love to her - this scene alone would secure this film its place among the great romantic comedies.

Why then has this film been refused its place as a true classic? The problem with Irma is, that the story ends 20 minutes before the film does. We had our thrills, we had our laughs, and now the story forces Wilder to send after an ending that will satisfy the "little bourgeois" in us. It feels as if the film-presenter announces: Ladies and Gentlemen, I hope you enjoyed this film and now, as an extra, Mr. Lemmon will perform some acrobatics...he married during shooting, be indulgent.

Make your choice: enjoy "Irma" completely, including its anticlimactic ending, or miss one of the funniest films of all time. Spicy enough to send you from one fit of laughter to the next, innocent enough not to offend your maiden aunt or harm your (elder) children. This film captures the delightful atmosphere of Paris and bubbles and sparkles like champagne. If "Irma la Douce" can't cheer you up, no film can.

Comic masterpiece (part 1)
She's a music student with an interrupted career, the victim of U.S.Airforce, the daughter of a missionary. Sometimes her sister needs a blood transfusion. This is what Irma la Douce (Shirley MacLaine) tells her clients in order to send up the price. She occupies the best spot on her street - near "Les Halles" where it literally smells of fish - and her admirers prefer her charms to those of Amazon Annie, Mimi the Mau Mau and Lolita. She commutes betweent the "Hotel Casanova" (her office) and the bistro "Chez Moustache" (Lou Jacobi) where Hippolyte, her "Mac" is losing her money at the gambling-table.

Nestor Patou (Jack Lemmon), a young cop has saved a little boy from drowning. As a reward he is transferred to Irma's district. He struts along, self-contented, unsuspecting, and buys himself an apple. The fruit-seller looks perplexed at the money in his hand: In this part of the city, as a custom, policemen are not those who pay, but those who get paid...While Nestor saunters about the street, wishing the ladies a good morning, eating his apple, something is beginning to dawn on him. He seeks information from Moustache: What is it, with all those couples who enter this Hotel?

Sadly, Moustache's make-love-not-war-message is lost on Nestor's little-bourgeois mind. He puffs himself up ("fragrant vice...must be stamped out") and decides to make a raid. But first, would Moustache kindly tell him the phone-number of the police-station? In his industry he fails to notice that he is bribed behind his back...The transport of the ladies to the police-station is heavy work - they spray perfume in his eyes and taunt him badly - but crowned by success: "16 females and one poodle. I'll do better next time". But his expected promotion does not take place, because - I bet you guess this one - the Chief of police was among the customers...

This same evening, after a day of futile efforts of finding another job, Nestor winds up again at "Chez Moustache". His belongings are in his suitcase. It's raining. At this late hour, things are usually pretty lively, but the rain keeps the customers away and Hippolyte has no luck with his card-game - and takes it out on Irma. Nestor hurries to her help - one of the most hilarious fight-scenes in film history - and wins. Irma's knowing smile reveals it, but it's not until the next morning that Nestor realizes that a new job fell right into his lap. While he still abandons himself to the recollection of the pleasures of last night Irma orders him to try on Hippolyte's suits and slings field-glasses (for the horse-race) around his neck. She promises that she will work harder for him than for any of his predecessors...

Every profession has its own status-symbols. Irma's trade requires a posh "Mac". She decorates him with expensive tie-pins in order to impress the other girls. She is also extremely jealous: Heaven help the girl who dares to make a pass on him. Traces of lipstick on his face present us with the most hilarious boxing-match between ladies since Marlene Dietrich fought it out in "Destry rides again".

Nestor too is jealous: of Irma's clients. He loves her dearly and wants her for himself. But Irma is a real pro who considers her trade as vocation and there is always this problem with money...After much brooding Nestor develops an ingenious plan: Irma needs a long-term patron: Lord X (himself + false beard + fake accent) will pay Irma 500 francs, twice a week for the exclusive title to her favor. Problem solved. Is it?

Suddenly Nestor discovers that those 500 francs, twice a week have to come from somewhere, have to be earned...Now he learns the rough way how hard it is to lead an easy life: Drug Irma's poodle with champagne, steal out of her arms to the market where the pork-butcher is waiting for him. He is pinched by lobsters, garbage has to be disposed off, too. A slightly untidy gentleman steals himself into Irma's bed again, always hoping she won't wake up...Irma's life underwent a drastic change too: Her relationship with Lord X is strictly platonic and Nestor is always tired. Slowly she shifts her affection from Nestor to the Lord. Mad with jealousy, Nestor decides to get rid of his alter ego. The truth is lost on Irma, but she certainly understands a crime of passion... ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Unexpected gem...
When "Guarding Tess" was released eight years ago, I ended up watching it in the theater because I was bored and because it looked a little more promising than the rest of the pack. That thought proved to be an understatement. To date, I have seen this movie at least eight times, and I tend to enjoy it more with each viewing. Nicholas Cage is perfect as the disgruntled Secret Service agent who feels he has been banished to his current duty -- namely, doting on a cantankerous former First Lady, played to the hilt by Shirley MacLaine. "Guarding Tess" is alternately funny and moving, and even includes a bit of a mystery for Cage to solve. Far more than a one-dimensional film, "Guarding Tess" is satisfying for so many reasons -- the witty script, the fine performances, the deft direction, and the mostly even pacing, to name a few. While you can catch this on a regular basis on TBS (which has made the movie one of its most reliable staples), "Guarding Tess" is definitely worth owning for more frequent viewing.

A delightful folie-a-deux between a guard and his First Lady
"Guarding Tess" opens with a dapper and cheery Doug Chesnick (Nicholas Cage) fleeing a three-year stint as Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, during which he was responsible for guarding a recently-widowed former First Lady (Shirley MacLaine) in her mansion in rural Ohio.

It's not only ditching the rusticity that puts a spring in Chesnick's step, but the opportunity to flee his employer, the authoritarian, aristocratic former First Lady, who has zeroed in on Chesnick while largely ignoring the rest of her staff. Her specialty, one quickly learns, is what the armed forces call the "psy-op" or, more simply, psychological warfare.

It is part of Tess Carlisle's modus operandi to let Chesnick believe that he is finally free, and waste to his time reporting to Washington for a new assignment. Chesnick yearns to join the elite who guard the President. Instead, in D.C., Chesnick is told that Carlisle already has called the President to request that Chesnick be reassigned to another three-year "tour", a tour of a truly martial sort.

The current President was the late President Carlisle's Veep, which permits Tess to continue to brusquely address him as the underling he always was to her. Tess's wish is the new President's command, not least because it was her private say that got him the winning Carlisle ticket.

In a fury, Chesnick is forced to return to Ohio. A kind of dance of death begins as Tess tries to break the spirit of the Special Agent in Charge, a title she cannot resist deconstructing, while Chesnick's fury mounts and he becomes all the more fanatical about adhering to the strictest (and most deadening) regulations of the Secret Service.

It is quickly apparent that Tess Carlisle is vastly too clever and even (almost secretly) high-minded to have summoned Chesnick as a dimwitted mouse to bat around, yet she sincerely loathes his fastidiousness about seatments in cars and the tedium of being followed and observed 24-7. There is no denying the emotional S&M the Tess and Chesnick mete out, but it is curiously bilateral. For reasons unexplained for much of the film, Tess cannot quite afford to have Chesnick quit (or actually quit, more precisely).

The power struggles that break out over her attempted use of agents as golf caddies and her recurring jailbreaks with a fearful chauffeur are as uproarious as they are petty.

When the humiliated Chesnick is forced "by regulation" to alert the local sheriff, for example, that Tess Carlisle and her driver have lost their detail yet again, the sheriff puts the brokenly dignified agent on speakerphone. The deputies snigger en masse when the Sheriff intones mockingly: "That Mrs. Carlisle sure is slippery...for a senior citizen and all." Formal as always, Chesnick does not permit himself so much as a note of sarcasm in his response. He communicates in rare tics and elaborate, furious pronunciations of basic instructions, but at no time does he debase his office.

Sure enough, Chesnick quits over his inability, courtesy of the eccentric, tantrum-throwing Tess, to do his job "properly" (read: perfectly). And, sure enough, Mrs. Carlisle has the new President on her speed dial.

The calls put through from the President, a snarling and barking Texan, are episodes of comic sublimity. Each time, Chesnick, like virtually anyone other than the formidable Mrs. Carlisle, freezes with terror when told via a sudden phone call to "hold for the President".

The disembodied voice, emanating variously from the Oval Office and from Air Force One, is an uncanny, flawless mimicry of LBJ. Johnson's private threats, manipulations and vaunted coarseness are preserved in an inimitable Texan patois which melds obscenity, patriotism, blackmail and phoney good-ole-boy charm.

The President is required, for example, to investigate Mrs. Carlisle's story that her agent "ripped up some flowers". Chesnick speaks carefully about the distinction between fact and fiction: it was only a single flower, and he merely snapped off the bud. Though the President is whipped by the retired Mrs. Carlisle, he is fully alert to the lunacy of how his time is being wasted. The solution? Fix it, Agent Chesnick, "or next time, you'll be guarding my dog, do you hear me son?"

When we learn at last of the origin of Tess Carlisle's fixation on Agent Chesnick, it is suitably poignant and ennobling. Rather than trying to break him, as it first appears, she is "merely" trying to get him to break the rules. We see Tess at her bullying worst and then her impossibly gracious best, in two very rare encounters with "her" public.

No less a figure than Barbara Bush is said to have told MacLaine that the film was a perfectly accurate rendition of the relationship between agent and protectee. It is very revealing that such a remark should have come from the Grand Dame, Mrs. Bush, who is usually described as being as vicious and petty in private as she is marvellously patrician in public.

The gun Chesnick is required to place on a table outside Mrs. Chesnick's room must go off, by the fifth act, according to the rules of drama. It does, and Chesnick's attention to detail is finally rewarded. Rather than "some sick [sexual] thing" going on, as the President earlier, hilariously, suggests, there is a courtly love which unfolds between Tess and her devoted agent which gives a final unity to this first comic, then poignant story.

TBS Superstation.
I just watched the second half of Guarding Tess on TBS. It's now 11:30PM, and I am writing this review when I should be in bed 1 and half hour ago. Nicolas Cade and The old woman in the movie both turned in great performances. The story was lightly funny at first, but didn't really go anywhere. The relationship between The FBI agent and ex-first lady was strange, and though the movie tried to give their intimacy an explanation, it was still weird. The climax came at the end, and was very entertaining, for it broke a long line of fairly boring plot. There is much meaning in the movie; it tried successfully to bring the emotions of a smart first lady widow who dearly wants attention to life. I was touched by the movie. Thank you. I should go to bed now.

Better Than Guarding The President's Dog
Nicholas Cage stars as a Secret Service agent assigned to protect former first lady Shirley MacLaine. MacLaine has a difficult personality, and being guarded by Cage, a by-the-books man, causes a lot of friction between the two. She won't let him be reassigned, yet she seems bent on messing with him every chance she can get. It turns into one of those love-hate relationships that have fueled many a film, but this one works better than most. Cage and MacLaine are both excellent choices for their roles, giving the kind of quality performances you'd expect, with an unexpectedly good chemistry between them. I wish Cage would appear in more films like this, since I often find his choice of pictures puzzling. The rest of the cast takes a backseat to the star performances. The writing is good, allowing the relationship to develop naturally between the characters. I do wish there had been a few more laughs and that the ending had not come so quickly. I don't know if relationships develop between Secret Service agents and the people they are assigned to protect, so I don't know how realistic this was, but I really liked the characters, found the story amusing, and enjoyed the film a lot.

Wonderful character story
This is the film that made me like Nicolas Cage. He and Maclaine are terrific as the protector and retired First Lady who must maintain a working relationship despite their opposing views. Lots of amusing character revelations, and an increasingly absorbing pace. I watched the ending again and again because I liked it so much. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

fine comedy-drama
Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine star in Carrie Fisher's autobiographical POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE, a funny and chilling expose on Hollywood and celebrity.

Suzanne Vale (Meryl Streep) is a fading screen queen, determined to jump-start her languishing career. Her mother (Shirley MacLaine) is a wisecracking old barb, and knows just how fast Hollywood can chew you up and spit you out.

With a talented supporting cast including Dennis Quaid and Rob Reiner, POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE offers a new, warts-and-all perspective on Hollywood and the "dream factory".

The DVD also includes audio commentary by writer Carrie Fisher, talent profiles and original theatrical trailer.

Carrie Fisher's Magnum Opus
What a revelation. I never knew what a movie could be until this film. Sweet, sentimental, dramatic, heart-wrenching and fall-down funny all in one movie. Meryl Streep shines and is more accessible than ever before. Shirley MacLaine is luminous as ever. Mary Wickes (Grandma) is hilarious and ended a wonderful career with this and "Sister Act," forever cementing herself as a 20th century fixture. Robin Bartlett (Aretha) is also a delight. A wonderfully written and awesomely acted story. Highest of recommendations for one and all, especially anyone who's interested in the "behind the scenes" aspect of Hollywood.

Brilliant!
This movie is simply brillant. The acting, writting, casting, everything.

Funny Stuff!
This is one of the funniest and smartest movies I've ever seen. And an absolutely wonderful performance by Shirley MacLaine. Who knew Meryl Streep could sing? Terrific!

What a riot!
Hilarious! Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine are right on the mark with this sharp and clever story by Carrie Fisher. Both hand in performances that are close to comic perfection. With a star-studded supporting cast, a story we can somehow all relate too despite its Hollywood overtones and low-key hysterics throughout, this is a DVD you'll want for your collection. ... Read more