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

The production shoot for this film started late October 1989 and ran through November with principal photography ending late December 1989 just prior to Christmas that year.

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Goofs

After Max leaves the bachelor party at the beginning in his Volvo he is alone in the car. But in a drive by shot there is clearly someone sitting in the front passenger seat.

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Quotes

Max: [Drunk and desperately wanting coffee] How can you be out of coffee?

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

Good Hearted Woman
Performed by The Centurian Players
Written by Willie Nelson & Waylon Jennings

User Reviews

Toe Curling Passion!

White palace has a great sexual dynamic, clearly Susan Sarandon's character (Nora Baker) is a sexually charged self confident woman who is at least 10 years or so older than James Spader's character (Max Baron). This movie shows how deep attraction and passion can change people's lives (perhaps for the better) and overcome class/personality and age differences.

The first and perhaps most noticeable aspect is one of the hottest and more believable seduction scenes in a movie, where Nora shows a raw animal passion for Max rarely shown in movies (and when it is is shown in an unfavorable light, e.g. Single White Female). Susan Sarandon pulls off this challenging scene with great passion AND dignity.

The May/December romance with the older lady is shown in a healthy light (not like say The Graduate).

But more important than the age dynamic, is the deep attraction between Nora and Max, which goes strongly across traditional cultural differences. Max is a compulsively organized widower, neat and decidedly upper-middle/upper class. Nora is more impulsive, living a less ordered existence and is lower/lower middle class. Max has conditional love for Nora, trying to change her (unintentionally acting judgemental?) by trying to help her out (e.g. buying her cleaning supplies as a "gift"). Nora teaches Max about life, and passion. This movie has a much more interesting love story than say "Pretty Woman".