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IMDbPro

A Perfect Couple

  • 19791979
  • PGPG
  • 1h 50m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
957
YOUR RATING
A Perfect Couple (1979)
Trailer for this romantic comedy
Play trailer2:26
1 Video
16 Photos
ComedyMusicalRomance
A repressed, middle-aged divorced U.S. Greek meets a young singer through a dating service and becomes smitten.A repressed, middle-aged divorced U.S. Greek meets a young singer through a dating service and becomes smitten.A repressed, middle-aged divorced U.S. Greek meets a young singer through a dating service and becomes smitten.
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
957
YOUR RATING
    • Robert Altman
    • Robert Altman
    • Allan F. Nicholls
  • Stars
    • Paul Dooley
    • Marta Heflin
    • Titos Vandis
    • Robert Altman
    • Robert Altman
    • Allan F. Nicholls
  • Stars
    • Paul Dooley
    • Marta Heflin
    • Titos Vandis
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 16User reviews
    • 23Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    A Perfect Couple
    Trailer 2:26
    Watch A Perfect Couple

    Photos16

    A Perfect Couple (1979)
    1 sheet
    Robert Altman in M*A*S*H (1970)
    Paul Dooley and Marta Heflin in A Perfect Couple (1979)
    A Perfect Couple (1979)
    A Perfect Couple (1979)
    A Perfect Couple (1979)
    A Perfect Couple (1979)
    A Perfect Couple (1979)
    A Perfect Couple (1979)
    Paul Dooley and Marta Heflin in A Perfect Couple (1979)
    Paul Dooley and Marta Heflin in A Perfect Couple (1979)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Paul Dooley
    Paul Dooley
    • Alex Theodopoulos
    Marta Heflin
    Marta Heflin
    • Sheila Shea
    Titos Vandis
    Titos Vandis
    • Panos Theodopoulos
    Belita Moreno
    Belita Moreno
    • Eleousa
    Henry Gibson
    Henry Gibson
    • Fred Bott
    Dimitra Arliss
    Dimitra Arliss
    • Athena
    Allan F. Nicholls
    Allan F. Nicholls
    • Dana 115
    Ann Ryerson
    Ann Ryerson
    • Skye 147 Veterinarian
    Poppy Lagos
    • Melpomeni Bott
    Dennis Franz
    Dennis Franz
    • Costa
    Margery Bond
    • Wilma
    Mona Golabek
    • Mona
    Terry Wills
    • Ben
    Susan Blakeman
    • Penelope Bott
    Melanie Bishop
    • Star
    Fred Beir
    Fred Beir
    • The Perfect Couple Man
    Jette Seear
    • The Perfect Couple Lady
    Ted Neeley
    Ted Neeley
    • Teddy
      • Robert Altman
      • Robert Altman
      • Allan F. Nicholls
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The role of Sheila Shea was originally written for Sandy Dennis. Co-star Paul Dooley was seriously allergic to cats though. When cat-lover Dennis would come to the script readings with up to five cats at a time, he was briefly hospitalized. The role was then offered to Shelley Duvall, who had worked with director Robert Altman on six pictures, but she turned it down. As a result, Allan F. Nicholls then re-wrote the role of Sheila Shea from an earth mother type to the young singer-groupie played by Marta Heflin. Both stars had appeared in the director's previous film A Wedding (1978) which had premiered the previous year in 1978. Duvall and Altman would collaborate on a motion picture one more time the following year with Popeye (1980).
    • Quotes

      ER doctor: [to Alex] You've got to stay in bed for a while. Do you want somme pain killers?

      Sheila Shea: Yes.

      Alex Theodopoulos: No!

      ER doctor: Some doctors don't like to give out painkillers, but when you've seen as much pain as I have, it makes you want to kill it.

      ER doctor: [to both] I don't think you two should be kissing while I'm suturing,

    • Connections
      Featured in Sneak Previews: Hair/Murder By Decree/A Perfect Couple/The Champ/Buck Rogers in the 25th Century/Love at First Bite/In Search of Dracula (1979)
    • Soundtracks
      Romance Concerto (Adieu Mes Amis)
      Written by Tom Pierson (as Thomas Pierson) & Allan F. Nicholls (as Allan Nicholls)

    User reviews16

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    An auteur tries for mainstream popularity
    "Nashville" represented a critical and commercial high point for Altman. He followed it with a series of films that puzzled the critics and alienated his already slender audience (the critics loved his overlapping dialogue and generally unhappy endings but audiences didn't). "Buffalo Bill and the Indians", "A Wedding", and worst of all, "Quintet".

    Altman was running out of studio backing and critical support. He had never really been a money maker and by 1979 with "Jaws" and "Star Wars" Hollywood had discovered the special effects summer blockbuster. It was tired of auteurs like him and Bogdanovich and Coppola, particularly auteurs who didn't make money (auteurs who remain the darlings of the critics like Woody Allen and Scorsese and don't cost too much money are OK.). Altman needed to show Hollywood that he could make money.

    "A Perfect Couple" and "Popeye" were Altman's attempts to make movies he hoped would reach out to the general audience and be hits at the box office.
    helpful•9
    7
    • Tarasicodissa
    • Aug 30, 2004

    FAQ1

    • Why did Robert Altman decide to make a romantic comedy ?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 5, 1981 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Lion's Gate Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 50 minutes
      • Color
      • Mono

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