650. Being There

Being There
1979
Directed by Hal Ashby

Perhaps I am just being cranky, since I have recently had surgery and my leg feels like Annie Wilkes went to town on it.  But there have really been a streak of bad movies lately.  I am very excited to say goodbye to the 1970s soon.

Chance is a simple minded gardener, who learns about life only through watching television.  His slow nature is mistaken for profound genius.  Sort of like the opposite of Dostoyevsky's The Idiot.  Hijinks and misunderstandings ensue.

I did not care for this at all.  It felt almost Jerry Lewis-like.  I don't like it when the main character is portrayed as mentally retarded for some cheap laughs.  It's just too upsetting to me.

I think I have succeeded as being the buzzkill of the day with this post.  Maybe I should go throw up again.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

"Life is a state of mind" is written on Peter Sellers' tombstone.

531. Harold and Maude

Harold and Maude
1971
Directed by Hal Ashby

Filmmakers love to create unlikely couplings and friendships.  While I am not a fan of the cheese factor that often comes with this, I have to say that this was rather enjoyable.  Now it is nearly impossible to have any sexual chemistry between a couple that is approximately fifty-five years apart.  But they got as close as they could with Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort and as this is a comedy, it is almost forgivable.

Harold is absolutely obsessed with death, mostly for the attention that the deceased get.  Ruth, on the other hand, is around eighty-five years old and is grateful for every second.  I would love to meet an elderly person like this, but I am not quite sure they exist.  Anyway, they fall in love, kind of, to what seems like the entire Cat Stevens catalog.  If there was ever an artist who is only good in moderation, it is Cat Stevens.

I did laugh quite a few times during this film, but I am struggling to understand what the point of it was.  I assume it was to challenge our notions of conventional romance, but you would think then that they would try to make the love story a bit more convincing.  Overall, an interesting movie but did not leave a very lasting impression on me.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

The film was originally going to contain a scene with Harold and Maude having sex, but the studio refused.  Praise the lord.