When I saw this film in Washington DC in 1976 - at the tender age of 16! - I was flabbergasted by the finale, where the two male leads get onto a bed, kissing, completely naked. Fast forward three decades later - when I saw this was available for rental, I sat through the whole thing, and remembered bits and pieces of it. While the very handsome male lead (the bi guy) does get shown nude with his wife, the last scene with the two guys naked got replaced by a scene of them, fully clothed, on the roof of a building talking and kissing. Kind of a letdown! Still it was pretty cool to relive that amazing moment from the seventies when I witnessed gay film-making for the first time.
Reviews
3 Reviews
Is a film ever as good as the book?
8 June 2002
Although I really, really loved the book and the film was quite different and left out some key moments, I did like this movie. Kudos to the "Divine Miss M" (Bette Midler), who executive-produced, for bringing this to the screen with such a fabulous cast. Ellen Burstyn is so gorgeous and is great in the lead role. Ashley Judd does a beautiful job as the younger version of the same character. One itsy bitsy observation: while I never caught too much of Maggie Smith's British accent, I did catch Fionnula Flanagan in a couple of betrayals of her Irish accent, (e.g. "troast," instead of "trust," which in Louisiana would be more like "truuuust"!!)... No big deal, of course. Shirley Knight, as Necie, seemed just as unimportant a character as she did in the book. The only important point she seemed to serve was in being the only one not to go to Atlanta, so Vivi would have someone to write to. Maybe she is there to illustrate the old adage, "They also serve who sit and wait," (or something close to that!). For those of you who read the book, maybe you were (or will be) as disappointed as I was that the film omits key elements of the book such as Vivi being shipped off to convent school and the toll it takes on her young life, and the climactic wedding scene amongst the sunflowers. The storyline was rearranged to have Sidda kidnapped and taken to Louisiana, rather than going from NY to Seattle, then having the Ya-Yas go to Seattle, and Sidda and Connor finally making their way in a storm (and so late they almost miss Vivi's birthday party) to Louisiana. I suppose this was done to make the story fit a 2-hour time frame. Personally I would have gladly sat through another half hour to make it flow a little better...it seemed to weaken the whole idea of the Ya-Yas' mission to reveal the past to Sidda when Shep (James Garner) mosied out to the cabin and muttered a few words of support. Still, it's fantastic to see strong female characters played by outstanding actresses. This kind of thing is, after all, a fairly new ballgame.
The Anniversary Party
(2001)
Self-Absorbed Creeps Can Be Interesting
27 June 2001
I was interested in these characters and this story for the same reasons I love "All About Eve"...yes, their lives are nothing like mine, yes they are spoiled rotten and totally self-involved. Yet I was thoroughly entertained by their antics and really liked the film. Of course "Eve" is a classic and "Party" will doubtless never achieve that status. A film like "Eve" wouldn't ever go over today, though. The oh-so-cynical denizens of the warp speed fast lane of today's Hollywood (or its adjunct on Broadway) would never buy the wide-eyed act of an Eve Harrington. Paltrow's character in "Party" is an interesting parallel to Eve. She moves in on Sally's turf, albeit without quite so much covert manipulation as Eve brought to bear. Her very presence reminds Sally she's getting on in years. Sally's flickering talent doesn't compare in the slightest to Margo Channing's, and the disparities between the two are myriad. All in all, though, I had a great time watching these characters do their thing.
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