Daisy Miller

Man, that’s 70s hair…

Oh, Cybill Shepherd again — she’s a favourite of Hazel Flagg’s. (And I guess Peter Bogdanovich’s.)

I’ve seen so few of the “New Hollywood” movies it’s absurd. I guess this is one of them? But of course, all movies from the 70s seemed vaguely embarassing to me: Everybody looked so 70s to me in the 80s.

Yeah, it’s a problem — everybody looks so 70s, somehow. Perhaps it’s because he looks like he has a joint just out of frame?

Whenever Cybill Shepard isn’t talking, it always looks like she’s just waiting for the other person to finish talking so she can deliver her next line. Which is really appropriate for this character — at least I think so. She’s supposed to be playing a rôle, right?

Hey, it’s… whatsername.

No… that’s not correct, is it? C’mon, ChatGPT.

Oh! Half right! Her character’s name is Mrs. Walker, and it is, once again:

Why can I never remember her name…

Well, they keep mentioning “a fever”, so either Daisy or her… brother? son? is gonna die, I guess?

Ooops possible spoilers for a Henry James story!

The 70s were pre veneers.

It’s so weird what we’ve gotten accustomed to the past decades — like no actors having their own teeth.

This 2K Kino Lorber restoration is nice — it’s been stabilised, and larger blotches have been fixed, but there’s still specks of dusts and grain and stuff. I hate it when movies look over-restored.

Hey, she can play the pianner!

It’s just… the entire movie is about this guy looking at Cybill Shepherd and worrying about her possibly scandalous behaviour (in Rome). But… we’re not really given a reason to care about his worrying? Yes, she’s in danger of having the Patronesses Of Rome Giving Her The Snub Most Direct, but… she’s American; does she care? Should she care? Should we care?

So it’s all about this dork’s feelings, really, and why on Earth should we care about his guy?

GAH!!!

That’s a shocking smash cut.

Anyway… I liked this movie? But the decisions it makes are puzzling. It signals so clearly what’s going to happen, but then focuses to hard on that dork instead of Cybill Shepherd…

It’s a head scratcher.

Right:

Variety described the film as “a dud” and added “Cybill Shepherd is miscast in the title role. Frederic Raphael’s adaptation of the Henry James story doesn’t play. The period production by Peter Bogdanovich is handsome. But his direction and concept seem uncertain and fumbled. Supporting performances by Mildred Natwick, Eileen Brennan and Cloris Leachman are, respectively, excellent, outstanding, and good.”

Reading other reviews, it seems like they found the ending to be surprising? Well, I guess that would make a difference…

But I mean, I really enjoyed this movie. It’s just very odd.

Daisy Miller. Peter Bogdanovich. 1974.

Wife versus Secretary

The best city.

I wonder whether flats like this ever existed… I’m guessing no? But it’s a beautiful dream.

Suddenly… James Stewart!

Oh, it’s his second movie? I imagined he started earlier…

This isn’t really Clark Gable’s typical sort of role? It’s quite… frothy? But he does it really well.

The start is wonderful, and the final couple scenes are masterful — The Jean Harlow/Myrna Loy thing above is amazing.

But… The part in the middle? Eh. I dunno.

Wife versus Secretary. Clarence Brown. 1936.

The First Wives Club

I’ve watched this before — at the time it was released, I think? Probably on VHS. But I’m rewatching it now because of:

Heh heh, they had no idea that the comedically plumped lips would seem modest thirty years later.

Heh he.

Goldie Hawn really is fantastic. I’d forgotten. So funny.

This movie is super duper late 80s. Which is weird for a mid-90s movie. I like it.

The director is… the director from Police Academy.

The writer has done only one thing. But several times. (But perhaps those other instances are adaptation credits… Oh! This is based on a book. Never mind.)

Scenes like this just make me nostalgic… they actually have a set decorator — they put up some wallpaper! Nowadays this would all be greenscreen, and of course it wouldn’t be lit like this, but instead would just be a low contrast field of greyness.

I miss movies.

Heh heh.

This really is a screwball comedy once it gets going. It’s very funny indeed.

Ooo… New York…

But of course, this isn’t the 30s, so you can’t just do a screwball comedy — you’ve got to have a third act when things get serious, and you get that dreaded character development.

I love these New York doors.

Heh heh.

OK, they got the character development over quickly.

Gorgeous.

Eep.

Awww… shooting on location… with lots and lots of artificial lighting. This is a technology that has gotten lost.

Anyway, this is a very amiable movie. The funny bits are really funny, but there isn’t enough of those funny bits.

The First Wives Club. Hugh Wilson. 1996.