This is supposed to be a feminist film, but it's really not, at least not by today's standards.
Alice Hyatt (Ellen Burstyn) is a married woman with a young son, Tommy (Alfred Lutter) and husband, Donald (Billy Green Bush), but her life is an unhappy one. Her son is a smart-ass (her words not mine, though he is one) and her husband is a stick in the mud. Nothing makes him happy so Alice is likewise unhappy. She is far away from her home of Monterey California. (The film begins briefly with Alice as a child, singing as she's coming home.) But then, Donald dies. He's killed in a truck accident. Alice is devastated, though that doesn't last for too long. She packs up her car and loads her son in it and begins to travel, her destination, Monterey. She cries more over leaving her best friend, Bea (Lelia Goldoni) than when her husband died.
Needing to make some money along the way, Alice and Tommy first stop in Phoenix, where she eventually finds a job as a singer. This is only after refusing to turn around for one manager and crying her eyes out, though not on purpose to the owner who at long last gives her a job. She is a good singer and someone catches her eye. His name is Ben (Harvey Keitel), and at first, Alice is reluctant to go out with him, though he seems nice. They start going out but then his wife, Rita (Lane Bradbury) confronts Alice about everything. Alice is super sorry though Rita isn't mad about that. She's angry about her husband missing some work because they need the money to pay for medication for their sick baby. Everything seems fine but then Ben breaks down Alice's door and beats his wife and threatens to beat Alice as well. Out of fear, she says that she will meet him again, instead, she packs her bags and lives town, never mind the hotel room with clutter all around.
The next stop is Tuscon. Here Alice gets a job as a waitress, determined to support herself and Tommy. At first, she is overwhelmed, but slowly starts learning the ropes. However, she doesn't like Flo (Diane Ladd, great) who is the head waitress because Flo says some crazy jokes. Vera (Valerie Curtin) is the other waitress, absentminded and odd, sorting around the people's plates after putting it down in front of them. Alice also meets David (Kris Krisstofterson). He is divorced and owns a ranch. He and Tommy get along, at first and Alice also likes him. Life seems to be getting better, but then David and Tommy get into a nasty fight and Tommy hits David and David spanks him right back. Though Alice had threatened throughout the whole film, she never laid a finger on him and is furious at David when he does so. However, on the drive home, sick of all Tommy's lip, she tells him to walk the rest of the way home. He doesn't go home. Tommy goes to his friend, Audrey's (actually Doris's) house. Audrey (Jodie Foster) is crazy. She drinks alcohol and steals things. That night, they get arrested, but luckily no charges are filed.
Alice is reluctant to get back together with David, though she says she loves him. (I don't know about this, but whatever.) Toward the end, David promises to take her to Monterey, the ranch means nothing to him. However, the thing that bothered me about that scene is the dishes on her tray kept changing the sides they were on. Though I normally don't care (or, more likely) notice inconsistencies, when I do, they bother me.
In the end, the ending is left ambiguous. Though Alice tells Tommy they may never make it to Monterey, the sign in the distance says Monterey. Tommy also says that he likes David too, because even though they fight, he still likes him.
I didn't like the ending. It is supposed to be a happy ending, with David and Alice getting together, but I cant' be happy about it. David is nice, but Alice needs to be by herself for awhile. (Listen up, Taylor Swift!) She even said herself that her future needs to include singing it, which is true, considering she's not that bad and is certainly popular at it. I really wish the studio wouldn't have insisted on having Alice end up with David.
The dialogue, on the other hand, is fabulous and quite realistic, with some of it scripted and some it improved. One of my favorite lines is when Alice asks Tommy why he isn't hanging around with Audrey and he informs his mother, deadpan, that Audrey has the curse. And this is front of David and everything.
The performances are also great, though Ellen Burstyn spends too much crying, though I suppose that's somewhat realistic, but it got annoying after a while. Diane Ladd is great in her some role and deserved more than her nomination. Alfred Lutter is also great as her young son and Jodie Foster couldn't have been better cased as Audrey. It is also odd that Martin Scorese went from directing this film to directing Taxi Driver, which is more offensive but, as a whole, a better film. Still, this film is really good and gutsy for the time, and Ellen Burstyn couldn't have delivered a better performance (props especially for the singing and learning how to play the piano), despite all the crying. I admire her dedication to the role. Still, I found Frozen River, to be a more feminist film, but you can't even compare the two films, really as Frozen River is a modern-day independence feature. Pick that one instead. Grade: A-
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