David and Lisa.

Review #1957: David and Lisa.

Cast: 

Keir Dullea (David Clemens), Janet Margolin (Lisa Brandt), Howard Da Silva (Dr. Alan Swinford), Neva Patterson (Mrs. Clemens), Richard McMurray (Stewart Clemens), Clifton James (John), Nancy Nutter (Maureen), Matthew Anden (Simon), Jamie Sanchez (Carlos), Coni Hudak (Kate), and Karen Lynn Gorney (Josette) Directed by Frank Perry.

Review: 

It should only be natural to cover a New York director. The son of a stockbroker and an Alcoholics Anonymous aide, he was interested in the theater from a young age, working as a parking lot attendant as a youth for the Westport Country Playhouse. He attended the University of Miami before studying under Lee Strasberg and going on to produce plays in Connecticut. He served in the Korean War and became involved with television in 1961 before making his first film with David and Lisa (1962). He would make a variety of films that were generally on the edge of the studio system. In total, Perry directed fourteen feature films, where he was known for films such as The Swimmer (1968), Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970), and Mommie Dearest (1981) before he died in 1995 at the age of 65, with his last directorial effort being a documentary in On the Bridge (1992) about his struggle with prostate cancer.

It is an adaptation of the novella of the same name by Theodore Isaac Rubin, a psychiatrist and author. It was Ann Perry (daughter to playwright Eleanor Perry) who brought the novella to the attention of the Perrys. Eleanor Perry wrote the film, the first of numerous collaborations as writer with F. Perry, who was enlisted to direct (their partnership dissolved in 1971 after they divorced). Each of the Perrys received an Academy Award nomination for their work, which is no small feat for a film made for roughly over $150,000. Admittedly, the premise does sound like a film that could have just been a cheap feature for the exploitation circuit, considering that the lead character is a kid who has an intense fear of being touched. But it is a quirky love story, one that isn't just a feature of sensationalism or goop for cheap tricks, one that asks what it means to help people not stay numb inside. Dullea got his start in acting in television in the 1960s, such as Route 66 (which got him his first film role with Hoodlum Priest (1961). Dullea received notice for this role, although he did grouse at the momentary idea of him being thought of as a troubled youth for typecasting (Dullea has been quoted as saying that his true preference is for the theater). In a role filled with compulsive tendencies that could make one not know where he might spring himself next, Dullea proves worthy to the challenge of making a compelling performance, one where we see the pain wrapped inside someone scared to let someone reach within. The scenes with his parents aren't too long, but they underlie the stark contrast between the perceived "normal" family members and how he was shaped by them. This was the film debut for Margolin, who had thought about being a doctor before being encouraged to give her other interest in acting a try; in 1961, she went from prop girl at the New York Shakespeare Festival to 18-year-old Tony Award nominee. She pulls a double act in self-realization, which means a good chunk of dialogue is short or in rhymes, but she handles it in a way that is warm without cloying that makes for compelling chemistry between Margolin and Dullea. Da Silva provides solid support in efficient timing (mostly spent with Dullea) that isn't there to wax poetically or grandstand in authoritative boredom. The movie is mostly kept inside the psychiatric center, with a few interesting exceptions, such as a sequence where the group is seen out in public and reacts to a rude sentence told to them by repeating it right as they are walking off, as if being in the same room as others a bit different than them is too much. 

It is a tactful movie about people thought to be outside the margins: people who need psychiatric help. It doesn't do so by sugarcoating the leads or turning it into a simple black-and-white tale of treatment. It is the kind of movie where a simple gesture of togetherness in a film as well-executed as this makes the difference between ham-handedness and dynamite, for which the film rests in the latter category. It is a crushing tale of acceptance that makes a useful character study of two wayward souls finding some sort of path forward together. Quick to the point in 93 minutes without needing easy resolutions or cheap tricks, David and Lisa is a testament to the power of independent filmmaking and the potential it can bring thanks to the efforts of the Perrys and all involved.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Saturday Night Fever.

Review #1456: Saturday Night Fever.

Cast: 
John Travolta (Anthony "Tony" Manero), Karen Lynn Gorney (Stephanie Mangano), Barry Miller (Bobby C.), Joseph Cali (Joey), Paul Pape (Double J.), Donna Pescow (Annette), Bruce Ornstein (Gus), Val Bisoglio (Frank Manero, Sr.), Julie Bovasso (Flo Manero), and Martin Shakar (Frank Manero, Jr.) Directed by John Badham (#086 - Short Circuit and #1293 - Dracula)

Review: 
"My mother was an acting teacher. She taught more of the existentialist style, which was that acting is believing that you're in the moment with the other actor, and I like that. I'm more comfortable portraying what I'm feeling at the moment and not knowing what I'm going to do next."
Some films are just made to endure for their era, for better or worse. The film was inspired by a story in New York magazine called "Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night", written by Nik Kohn as a supposed detailing of the disco scene of the time (it was revealed two decades later to be a lie by Kohn, with the lead focus being inspired by a person in the mod culture that he knew in the 1960s). It should only figure that this was the film that helped John Travolta become a major star. The son of a tire salesman and an actress/teacher, he had dropped out of high school at 17 to do work in the stage (such as starring in a small role with a touring production of Grease). In 1975 (at the age of 21), he caught a break with a role in Welcome Back, Kotter, which he appeared on for four seasons. The film was produced by Robert Stigwood, a music entrepreneur along with film producer behind managing groups such as the Bee Gees along with film productions like Grease (1978) and Gallipoli (1981).
Another person who was helped by the success of this film was John Badham, who had done plenty of television work earlier in the decade and one previous theatrical film (The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings) that found his way into the film after John G. Avildsen was fired due to creative differences before shooting.

It's funny, for a film so popular like this one, I am surprised that there were actually two versions of this film that were put into theaters. With such a vibrant soundtrack and diverting dance sequences, it could almost be easy to forget the grimy realism that permeates throughout this 119 minute film. In response to the youth response to the soundtrack, Paramount Pictures released a PG-rated edit of the film two years later, which de-emphasized/cut out sequences involving profanity (some involving racial epithets said by some of the characters involving Puerto Ricans) along with references to drugs and a car scene near the end of the film (which involved the rape of one character along with the attempt of another character), with the end result being a 109 minute film. The version I watched was the director's cut, which re-incorporated two deleted scenes into the original film. If one looked at the film without the disco elements, what you see is a film wrapped with the question of what it means to try and live a life beyond the dance floor. One can't dance in a night club or hang out near a bridge talking the same jokes or things forever - in other words, we have to grow up sometime and do some sort of thing with our life beyond the little things we think is all to living. In this sense, Travolta does a tremendous job with making a fascinating lead to follow, a riveting and generally charming performance when on screen - whether on the dance floor or when dealing with the long and winding road of trying to grow up beyond Brooklyn. The others match up fine with making the moments in and out of the dance floor feel real enough, with Gorney and Miller leading the pack with fairly compelling turns when paired with Travolta wherever it wants to go. Although it is a film very much of its era (with fashion and disco, which had a decline in popularity just two years after release), it is a film with a basic foundation that can still apply today with a catchy beat, impactful moments of realism and a tremendous star turn for Travolta that makes it a worthy film to seek out then and now.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.