Choose Me (1984)

Several lost-soul night-owls, including a nightclub owner, a talkback radio relationships counseller, and an itinerant stranger have encounters that expose their contradictions and ... See full summary »

Director:

Alan Rudolph

Writer:

Alan Rudolph

Stars:

Geneviève Bujold, Keith Carradine, Lesley Ann Warren

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Geneviève Bujold	...	Nancy
Keith Carradine	...	Mickey
Lesley Ann Warren	...	Eve
Patrick Bauchau	...	Zack Antoine
Rae Dawn Chong	...	Pearl Antoine
John Larroquette	...	Billy Ace
Edward Ruscha	...	Ralph Chomsky
Gailard Sartain	...	Mueller
Robert Gould	...	Lou
John Considine	...	Dr. Ernest Greene
Jodi Buss	...	Babs
Sandra Will	...	Ida
Mike Kaplan	...	Harve (as Mike E. Kaplan)
Russell Parr	...	Bradshaw
Teresa Velarde	...	Studio Secretary

Storyline

Several lost-soul night-owls, including a nightclub owner, a talkback radio relationships counseller, and an itinerant stranger have encounters that expose their contradictions and anxieties about love and acceptance.

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Plot Keywords:

love | listening to a radio | compulsive liar | cigarette smoking | absurdism | 

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Taglines:

In the middle of the night, when there's no one else...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 August 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alege-ma

Filming Locations:

KPFK Radio, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$700,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,490,233

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,490,233

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tartan Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Picked by Entertainment Weekly magazine as one of the "50 Greatest Independent Films" in a special supplement devoted to independent films that was only distributed to subscribers in November 1997.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Announcer: Stay by your phone, Doctor Nancy Love will be up on KCMY talk radio with The Love Line.
Nancy: I recommend that you examine the deeper feelings you have for your wife, Tom.

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Connections

References Whirlpool (1949)

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Soundtracks

Choose Me (You're My Choice Tonight)
Written by Luther Vandross and Marcus Miller
Performed by Teddy Pendergrass
Produced by Luther Vandross
Courtesy of Asylum Records [us] and Teddy Bear Productions [ca]

User Reviews

Romantic, intelligent, colorful, adult movie

Lesley Ann Warren owns a bar in LA. She has the habit of sleeping around with almost any man--she's just looking for love. Genevieve Bujold plays a radio relationship talker, Dr. Love. She has severe issues herself with love and sex. Keith Carradine is a drifter who enters their lives...and things go barreling out of control.

Very strange but great movie. It's shot mostly at night in beautiful film noirish settings (look at all the smoke in the bar and at a card game). It's also one of the most romantic films I've ever seen. There's a virtually nonstop score by Teddy Pendergrass--soft romantic songs that perfectly set the mood. All the dialogue is about love, sex and relationships but on a very adult, intelligent level. It's full of great lines and sharp insights. It all leads up to a happy ending (sort of).

The cast is just excellent. Warren is fascinating--sexy and beautiful but deeply damaged. She shows it through her face and expressions extremely well. Carradine plays the whole role with a blank face--but that fits his character (a compulsive lair). He is so many things to himself and everybody else that he has no identity. Best of all is Bujold in a very difficult role--she has the play a sex radio therapist who is perfectly in control and a woman who has NO control over her life and loves. Everything about her (especially her voice) changes between the characters and you always see both inside her at the same time. She also has a few monologues that are fascinating and funny at the same time. Rae Dawn Chong is pretty good in a supporting role--love her apartment (check out the posters on the wall). Patrick Bauchau is pretty bad in another supporting role--but not enough to destroy the movie.

Direction by Alan Rudolph is great. He bathes many scenes in red lights and I LOVE how the camera moves back and forth during a conversation between Bujold and Carradine. He also wrote the great script. One minor complaint--Bujold has a few short, dark fantasies which are never explained. What was all that about? This was a big art house hit back in 1984 and deservedly received a cult following. But it seems to have disappeared since then (the DVD was released with no fanfare at all). Still it's well worth seeing.