Yentl

Yentl
January 6, 1984
United Artists
Comedy, Drama, Musical, Historical, Romance
DVD
B

This has obvious similarities to Zelig.  Not only were they released close together, but both titles are from the end of the alphabet.  (There's even a minor character here, the tailor's assistant, who's named Zelig.)  Both producers/writers/directors/stars (born six years apart and becoming famous at roughly the same time) explore identity, including Jewish identity, although Yentl is definitely more of a "Jewish" film in theme and setting.

The movie also has things in common with Tootsie.  Besides the cross-dressing plot and the resulting tangled romances, both movies star performers who are known for being difficult, and they parody themselves a bit.  More so in Tootsie, but the pushy, argumentative, talkative Barbra shows through in Yentl, or rather in her male alter ego Anshel.

As in Tootsie, the tangled romances don't untangle quite satisfactorily, more so here than in Tootsie.  When I saw this movie at 15, it was almost painful to watch, because I was attracted to both Barbra and Amy Irving,  (Not so much Mandy Patinkin, although he is cute, and he can definitely play a near-nude scene.)  When beautiful Amy Irving tried to kiss her "husband," that was both titillating and embarrassing for me as a closeted bisexual adolescent.  The friendship between Anshel and "his wife" Hadass moves from slumber-party to a not-quite-sisterhood, and Yentl recognizes she loves this other woman, although not romantically or sexually.

There's no good way to resolve the triangle, not in that time and place, however much I want the married couple to move to a new town, with Avigdor as their "roommate."  And Yentl recognizes that Avigdor will never fully accept the Anshel side of her.  In a way, it's right that he go back to a newly assertive (but still feminine) Hadass.  The problem is, because the story focuses on Yentl, we're left to fill in a lot of gaps, wondering how Avigdor told Hadass (Yentl writes her a note, but surely that's not enough), and how she reacted, and how Avigdor and Hadass were able to defy her parents.

It's a good movie: warm, sweet, funny, sad, with Barbra's lovely voice providing her own Greek chorus through songs that vary greatly in mood.  The film is definitely worth seeing despite the resolution.  It's based on "Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy" by Isaac Bashevis Singer, who hated the movie, particularly that Yentl sails to America.  But I accept that part because it's pure Barbra.  I just wish the script had given more thought to Hadass.

Nehemiah Persoff, who plays Yentl's wise, sweet papa, is almost unrecognizable a quarter century after his role as Little Bonaparte in Some Like It Hot.  Bernard Spear, who plays the tailor, was the second spy in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Peter Whitman, a yeshiva student here, would be Friborg in Morons from Outer Space.  Miriam Margolyes, who's Sarah here, would be Dr. Wallace there, although she may be best known as Professor Sprout in a couple of the Harry Potter movies.  Norma Atallah, who plays Debra here, would be Irini in Mamma Mia!  

Unspoken

Zelig

Zelig
July 15, 1983
Orion
Comedy, Historical, Romance
VHS
B+

As with Annie Hall, I saw this at the time.  But I was 15 by then and visiting New York for the first and only time.  My aunt, cousin, and I knew only (I think from The Village Voice) that a new Woody Allen movie was premiering that night, but we stood on line and had such a good time that we stayed for the second showing.  (I'm surprised we weren't kicked out, but I think theaters weren't as strict back then.)  Even now, I remember lines that were hilarious then and still funny now, like "She's elderly and uses her wrist a lot" and "It was nothing like the movie."

This mockumentary (released a few months before This Is Spinal Tap) is about the influence of the media on society and vice versa.  Not only do we get this documentary on the life of fictional but almost believable Leonard Zelig, "the human chameleon," but the documentary contains faked newsreel footage and scenes from the imaginary 1935 biopic, as well as radio broadcasts, newspaper editorials, toys and games, and wonderful songs.  (The best of the lot is probably "Chameleon Days," sung by the one and only Mae Questel, the voice of Betty Boop, who lived another 15 years, dying at almost 90.)   There are also modern-day interviews with people who knew or at least met Zelig, my favorite being Ellen Garrison as the older Dr. Eudora Fletcher.  The young Dr. Fletcher, who cures him and loves him, is played by Woody's then girlfriend, Mia Farrow.  She's quite good here and they're sweet together.  You just have to block out what happened to them later in life, although that's hard when Leonard gets caught up in many scandals, including marital ones.

When I said Annie Hall was probably my favorite Woody Allen movie, I wasn't completely wrong, although I'm giving this a B+ as well.  This is technically a better movie-- and all the more impressive for being pre-Forest-Gump among others.  But by its very nature, this film keeps us at a distance.  Even when the illusion is almost shattered, as in the interview of Dr. Fletcher's mother where the old lady says all the wrong things but the interview is released anyway, we're never not aware this is a movie, while we're practically in bed with Alvy and Annie.  In fact, it takes awhile to even hear Zelig's voice here, while Alvy talks to us right away.  Instead, our main contact is the earnest British narrator, who pronounces "Anti-Semite" with a long E.  (Even in '83, I wasn't sure if this was deliberate.)  All these layers of film (in several senses) make for a very interesting movie, but the movies I love don't hold me at arm's length.

The archive footage has many, many recognizable faces, among them, Adolphe Menjou more than forty years after he appeared in Turnabout, and Dolores del Rio half a century after starring in Flying Down to Rio.

Although this doesn't have nearly as many performers who went on to greater things as Jeff Goldblum et al in Annie Hall, there are some folks that Woody Allen would use again later in the '80s.  Wendell Craig, who's the Universal Newsreel Announcer, would go on to be a radio voice in Woody's Radio Days, while Hearst Metronome Announcer Dwight Weist would be the Pearl Harbor Announcer in the later film.  Dimitri Vassilopoulos, who's Martinez here, would be Perfirio in Radio D, despite his Greek-sounding name.  Paula Trueman, who was a street stranger in Annie Hall, is Woman on Telephone here, and she was Stick-up Lady in Can't Stop the Music during that gap.  John Doumanian was a semi-regular in Woody's movies, appearing as Coke Fiend in Annie Hall, a Greek waiter here, and a Thanksgiving guest in Hannah and Her Sisters, among other appearances.  Ken Chapin is On-Camera Interviewer here and would be a reporter in The Purple Rose of Cairo.   Peter McRobbie, the Workers Rally Speaker, aptly plays The Communist in that movie.  George Hamlin is Experimental Drugs Doctor here and would be part of the movie audience there.

Deborah Rush has more prominent, although still minor roles, as Lita Fox here and Rita in Purple Rose.  John Rothman, who has the supporting role of Paul Deghuee, would be Mr. Hirsch's lawyer in Purple Rose.  And Mia's younger sister Stephanie not only plays her sister Meryl here, but they would have some other nice sisterly moments in Purple Rose.

Keeping cool with Coolidge

Tootsie

Tootsie
December 17, 1982
Columbia
Comedy, Romance
DVD
B+

Late in the movie, Jessica Lange's Julie tells one of Dustin Hoffman's characters, "I love you but I can't love you."  I think that sums up how I feel about this movie.  I've treasured it since I first saw it at 14, but I don't think it holds up quite as well as Nine to Five does.  Ironically, this is because it's a farce that plays out realistically, while 9to5 is a farce that is inspired by real-life issues but exaggerated on a grand scale.  9to5 ends just as it should, with every character getting what he or she deserves; while Tootsie's ending abandons characters we've grown to care about.

Like 9to5, this was a huge hit and remains a "comedy classic."  But just in case you don't know or have forgotten the situation, here we go:  Forty-five-year-old Dustin Hoffman plays Michael Dorsey, an actor who doesn't have Hoffman's success but does have Hoffman's pain-in-the-ass-ness.  His agent George Fields, played by the film's director Sydney Pollack, tells him no one will hire him.  So out of a desperation that's somewhere between Joe & Jerry running from the mob in Some Like It Hot and Kip & Henry needing an apartment in the early '80s sitcom Bosom Buddies, Michael passes himself off as Dorothy Michaels, a sweet but tough Southerner, in order to get a role on a soap opera.  He succeeds but, yes, complications ensue.  Some of these are romantic, with Michael bedding his long-time friend Sandy (Teri Garr) but falling for Julie, meanwhile attracting the attentions of the lecherous male lead on the soap (George Gaynes) and of Julie's old-fashioned but good-hearted father Les (Charles Durning).  Julie is involved with the soap's director Ron, whom, since he's played by Dabney Coleman, we know is going to be, as Dorothy puts it, "a macho shithead."  Roommate Jeff (Bill Murray) is the only one besides George who's in on Michael's secret.  When everything is a mess, including that Dorothy's contract is going to be extended, Michael decides to reveal his gender, on national television!  (No, it doesn't get explicit, it's enough for him to take off his wig.)  This doesn't exactly improve any of the situations, so he has to deal with the fall-out.

I have to say, the cast is wonderful:

• Hoffman shines in all four roles (Michael, Dorothy, her soap character Emily, and briefly Emily's brother Edward).  Dorothy in particular is a memorable, likable, and even believable character.  We agree with Julie at the end when she says she misses Dorothy.
• Jessica Lange got an Oscar for this movie, as a consolation prize for not winning the Lead Actress in Frances.  She's one of the few characters who's not there for humor, instead bringing sweetness and wistfulness to the part.
• Teri Garr was also nominated for Supporting Actress, with more grounds.  She manages to pull off the insecure role without getting annoying.  (It's not unlike Diane Keaton's Annie Hall, although we never get to see her come into her own, as Annie does.)
• Bill Murray is a scene-stealer with his partially improvised role.  Whether he's doing one-liners about his roommate's drag or pontificating on the meaning of The Theatre, he's great!
• Sydney Pollack is spot on as the agent, with so many good lines, the popular "a tomato doesn't have logic" one possibly the best.  In a different way than Murray, he provides a crazy New-York-y kind of sanity to contrast with Michael's dead-serious outrageousness.
• The supporting cast are solid, with Coleman playing Ron as more intelligent and less crude than Mr. Hart but still "sexist, egotistical, lying, and hypocritical" (although not bigoted per se).  Special praise goes to 26-year-old Geena Davis as April, making her debut in what was just supposed to be a role for a tall actress whose "tits" would line up with Hoffman's eyes, but she adds what would later be recognizable as a Geena Davis specialty, that wide-eyed quirkiness.

The two Stephen Bishop songs, the droll title tune and the love song "It Might Be You," are both used twice, which might be a bit much but they work all those times and add to the moods of their respective scenes.  The costumes are less memorable than you'd expect, except for some of the garb Dorothy wears during the photo-shoot montage.  The sets are workman-like, not really calling attention to themselves, except when the walls of "Emily's party scene" match her dress.

The main weakness is the script, which I realize sounds funny because in some ways this is one of the best comedy scripts ever.  But it's that darn ending.  And I'm going to try to distinguish between what is my Teri Garr bias, and related Michael/Sandy shipping over Michael/Julie shipping, vs. the need for a full resolution.  I don't have anything against Jessica Lange, and she is lovely here, and I totally believe that Michael would fall for her.  However, I'm more drawn to the Teri Garr type (personality and looks), and the truth is we see her with Michael, including the before & after of their bedding, while with Michael and Julie we only see him "being a better man with her as a woman" etc.  Michael doesn't have to end up with Sandy, but we don't see him making amends to her, as we do with Les, whom he has hurt and betrayed much less (no pun intended).

Michael tells his agent, "These are good people," meaning he doesn't like deceiving them, but Julie and Les aren't the only people he's hurt.  There's no real closure to the Sandy thread, other than she decides to go ahead and do Jeff's play with Michael, as planned.  And after his classic "That is one nutty hospital" line, Jeff disappears from the movie, too.  I like the scene of Michael pushing over the mime, and I do like his scenes with Les and Julie, but the fact is the movie feels incomplete.  If it hadn't made me invested in the characters, I wouldn't feel so let down.  Even with Julie, I can only accept her forgiving him because one, she and Dorothy really did become best friends, and two, we know she's used to making bad choices about men.  Let's hope that this time she will, as Jerry told Sugar Kane, get the sweet end of the lollipop.

Richard Whiting, who plays a priest here, would be "Other Doctor" in Zelig the next year.  Anne Shropshire, who plays the scary nanny Mrs. Crawley, would be " ' A Certain Age' Cast Member" in The First Wives Club.  Elaine May did then uncredited work on the script (including giving Michael a sounding-board roomie) and would reunite with Hoffman later in the '80s for the infamous Ishtar.

Heidi's Song

Heidi's Song
November 19, 1982
Hanna-Barbera
Children's, Comedy, Drama, Musical
VHS
C+

This came out almost a decade after H-B's version of Charlotte's Web, but, although it has some things in common, including some voice talents, it's nowhere near that level of quality.  In fact, I'd say it's closer as an animated adaptation of a children's classic to Pinocchio in Outer Space.  The songs are weak, sometimes poorly sung (Heidi's songs are all off-key), and sometimes with laughable lyrics, most notably in "That's What Friends Are For," which offers the dubious message that jumping in the water to save a drowning friend when you can't swim is admirable.  (It doesn't work symbolically either.)  There's also a lot of pointless, unfunny slapstick.

On the plus side, I like the look of the film for the most part, the scenery especially, both the mountain and the town.  The animals, other than the deliberately ugly rats and dogs, are cute.  Lorne Greene as Grandfather and Sammy Davis, Jr. as Head Ratte [sic] are a bit over the top but add to the fun.  There are also two '60sish psychedelic sequences, one with Sammy of course, and the other with Heidi dreaming of mountain spirits.  (It's worth noting that Robert Taylor was also writer-director for The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat.)  The movie isn't overly faithful to the book but it's not way off either.

Pamelyn Ferdin, by then 23, sounds much the same as Klara as she did as Fern in CWeb.  Joan Gerber, who does the voice for Fraulein Rottenmeier, was a Hanna-Barbera mainstay, and she provided voices for both Mrs. Zuckerman and Mrs. Fussy in CWeb.  Berlin-born Fritz Feld, who does a very Von-Stroheim characterization of Sebastian, has credits going back to 1917, and in fact was Jardinet in At the Circus, as well as Mr. Jackman in Freaky Friday.   Frank Welker, who voices both Hootie the Owl and Schnoodle the Dog, was the narrator in Zorro: The Gay Blade.  (He's still very busy as a voice actor.)

Sue Allen was a chorus girl in Singin' in the Rain, while Loulie Jean Norman was a singer in The Band Wagon.  Other chorus members-- John Richard Bolks, Ida Sue McCune, Gene Merlino, Paul Sandberg, and Robert Tebow-- sang in CWeb.

Heidi is trippin', Man!

Everything's better with kittens!