White Palace (1990)

Still getting over the death of his wife, a young advertising executive meets an older waitress, a woman that might set him free.

Director:

Luis Mandoki

Writers:

Glenn Savan (novel), Ted Tally (screenplay)

Stars:

Susan Sarandon, James Spader, Jason Alexander

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Susan Sarandon	...	Nora Baker
James Spader	...	Max Baron
Jason Alexander	...	Neil
Kathy Bates	...	Rosemary
Eileen Brennan	...	Judy
Steven Hill	...	Sol Horowitz
Rachel Chagall	...	Rachel (as Rachel Levin)
Corey Parker	...	Larry Klugman
Renée Taylor	...	Edith Baron (as Renee Taylor)
Jonathan Penner	...	Marv Miller
Barbara Howard	...	Sherri Klugman
Kim Myers	...	Heidi Solomon (as Kim Meyers)
Hildy Brooks	...	Ella Horowitz
Mitzi McCall	...	Sophie Rosen
K.C. Carr	...	Stripper

Storyline

Max Baron (James Spader) is a 27-year-old high-flying advertising executive still recovering from the death of his wife. One night he is in a bar when he meets Nora Baker (Susan Sarandon), a 43-year-old waitress with a fixation on Marilyn Monroe. The couple gradually fall in love, though age and social differences mean that the path of true love is strewn with problems.

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Plot Keywords:

older woman younger man relationship | love | advertising executive | waitress | sex scene | 

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Taglines:

The story of a younger man, and a bolder woman.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 October 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

The White Castle

Filming Locations:

1521 West Billon Avenue, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$17,487,531

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Mirage Enterprises, Double Play

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jason Alexander (Neil) & James Spader (Max Baron) appear alongside each other in the Seinfeld (1989) episode Seinfeld: The Apology (1997).

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Goofs

In the final scene where Max and Nora are talking at the restaurant, their hairstyles change mid-conversation.

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Quotes

Judy: Come on, I wanna know how you two met.
Nora: I picked him up in a bar. How's that?
Max: I was drunk, and she was drunk, and I liked her looks so I convinced her to let me bring her home, and I seduced her on the sofa bed, and it was magic, and I keep coming back for more.

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Connections

Referenced in Inside the Labyrinth: The Making of 'The Silence of the Lambs' (2001)

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Soundtracks

Boogie Woogie Baby
Performed by The Centurian Players
Written by Ken Wesley & J. Remington Wilde

User Reviews

Sarandon's look???

"White Palace" is one of my favorite movies, and I am amazed at the negative comments about Susan Sarandon's armpits. They clearly are part of her character, and she is to be commended for going to the extra effort to fit herself into the part (exactly as Demi Moore did in "We're No Angels"). Gillette created the woman-shaving fad in the 1930's as a successful effort to double their razor sales. Then in the late 60's, young women stopped wearing makeup and stopped shaving as part of "the natural look." In the early 1970's, the cosmetic companies unleashed a media blitz to get women away from this natural look.

They were successful, and heavy makeup (even cartoonish) and shaving became a fad again. The current advertising in the U.S. is designed to make women feel insecure and unattractive. Then it tells them they can be acceptable and beautiful if they wear the latest (and most expensive) gunk, and scrape off every bit of body hair below their eyebrows. Women have completely bought into it. Personally, I like women to look natural and not wear thick makeup (or any, in fact); I feel that they are much prettier without it.