Saturday, December 11, 2021

California Suite (1978)

 Based on Neil Simon's play, this is sort of mish-mash of great actors thrown together in what should have been four separate movies as none of the characters ever overlap, which is annoying.

There is the long-divorced couple, living on opposite ends of the country who need to figure out who their wayward daughter should live with; the bickering couples competing to ruin their vacation for the other couple; the devoted husband who can't say no to the stripper his horny brother got for him and the British stage actress finally nominated for her first Oscar. 

By far, the best plot is the latter, with Maggie Smith brilliant as an actress, Diana Barrie, who both wants to win and regrets flying in all this way knowing that's a big chance she could lose, but at least she has her supportive husband, Sidney Cochran (Michael Caine) only in a twist, he's a homosexual. He loves her, adores her, but they mostly have a fake marriage. 

It is a shame that this film managed to get so many good actors in mediocre plots in a film that just makes no sense. I found the talents wasted. Still, Maggie Smith was great, clearly the best role in a film with too many roles, jam packed to the point of overflowing. Grade: B-

No comments:

Post a Comment