Blume in Love (1973)

Director:

Paul Mazursky

Writer:

Paul Mazursky (writer)

Release Date:

15 February 1974 (Denmark)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

There's no such thing as a perfect marriage.

Plot:

Lawyer Stephen Blume, specialized in divorces, lives a paradoxical situation when, having his own marriage break up...

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Ex Wife | Divorce | Lawyer | Second Chance

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

George Segal	...	Stephen Blume
Susan Anspach	...	Nina Blume
Kris Kristofferson	...	Elmo Cole
Marsha Mason	...	Arlene
Shelley Winters	...	Mrs. Cramer
Donald F. Muhich	...	Analyst
Paul Mazursky	...	Hellman
Erin O'Reilly	...	Cindy
Annazette Chase	...	Gloria
Shelley Morrison	...	Mrs. Greco
Mary Jackson	...	Louise
Ed Peck	...	Ed Goober
Jo Morrow	...	Bar Hostess
Gigi Ballista	...	Older Man
Ian Linhart	...	Young Boy

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:11 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

St. Mark's Square, Venice, Veneto, Italy

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The title of the movie is a word play on "Love in Bloom" which was a hit song for Bing Crosby in 1934 and which later became Jack Benny's theme song.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Soundtrack:

De Colores

Misguided and Pretentious - nothing new for Mazursky

I don't really feel like writing this up, but I'll spend a few moments doing just that. Mazursky can be one of the most painfully self-indulgent filmmakers of the last 30 years, though admittedly I love a few of his films (especially HARRY AND TONTO). But more of his films are chores to get through, and pretentious ones at that. BLUME IN LOVE comes nowhere near the tedium that marks ALEX IN WONDERLAND as one of the worst studio films of the '70s, but it's still pretty lousy. Yeah, George Segal is great, and Kris Kristofferson and Susan Anspach hold up well...and actually Marsha Mason is pretty impressive, but, well, that's about it. The story is flimsy, the screenplay is mediocre...there's just not too much going on.

Thematically, the film is rich and it's interesting to see that Stanley Kubrick featured it in EYES WIDE SHUT (look close - Alice is watching it on television while she talks to Bill on the phone), especially considering the slight similarities between the protagonists of the two films...but who knows if Kubrick featured it for this reason or because he knew Mazursky from way back when (Paul appears in Stanley's first film, FEAR AND DESIRE).

BLUME IN LOVE could've been great, but Mazursky...well, it's another one of his "almost-good" films...I really think the majority of his work fails from half-assed screenplays and poor pre-planning (how else can you account for the aforementioned ALEX IN WONDERLAND)? And, oh yeah, there's that little matter of his phony art film sensibility. Stop trying so hard, Paul, you really don't need to include Fellini and Jeanne Moreau in your films (ALEX...) to show us you're above the Hollywood bulls**t. Frankly, sometimes a little Hollywood bulls**t (like a story) can work wonders.