User reviews

Hal Ashby's "Harold and Maude" neatly fits into the category of cult classic, chiefly by virtue of its subject matter. In brief, the film concerns a morbid young man who befriends a free-spirited septuagenarian. Together they make about as unlikely a pair as you'll ever see in a romantic comedy.

The stars of the film, Bud Cort & Ruth Gordon, play their parts with relish. Furthermore, the two have excellent chemistry together. Besides the stars, Vivian Pickles, as Harold's overbearing mother, and Charles Tyner, as his uncle Victor, stand out in support.

Ashby's direction is well-handled and the film sports some nice visuals. However, the film's best element on the technical side is arguably the soundtrack. The songs of Cat Stevens are heard throughout and they truly capture and enhance the spirit of the film.

In the end, "Harold and Maude" is certainly a unique little film and one that seems way ahead of its time. It's the sort of quirky movie that would be right at home next to some of today's independent films. Given it's eccentricities, I'm unsurprised that it was a commercial flop at the time of its release but, thankfully, it has gained in stature over time.

The self-destructive and needy wealthy teenager Harold (Bud Cort) is obsessed by death and spends his leisure time attending funerals, watching demolishing of buildings, visiting junkyards, simulating suicides trying to get attention of his indifferent, snobbish and egocentric mother and having sessions with his psychologist. When Harold meets the anarchist seventy nine year-old Maude (Ruth Gordon) at a funeral, they become friends and the old lady discloses others perspectives of the cycle of life for him. Meanwhile his mother enlists him in a dating service and tries to force Harold to join the army. On the day of the eightieth anniversary of Maude, Harold proposes her but he finds the truth about the end of the cycle of life.

The cult "Harold and Maude" was a huge success in Brazil for people of my generation with a refreshing and funny exposition of themes like death, love and life through the friendship and love of a teenager and a septuagenarian woman. The complex Harold is a young man that needs the attention of his indifferent mother. He found in his childhood the only moment that she really seemed to be worried about him after a serious accident in school and he uses to fake suicides trying to have the same attention back. Maude is an anarchist old woman not attached to material stuff like properties or collections that steals cars for self-locomotion. Along a few days, Maude gives a lesson of life to Harold, changing his behavior and feelings forever. The performances of Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort in this weird love story are unforgettable and the soundtrack with Cat Steven's songs is another plus. Unfortunately "Harold and Maude" has been forgotten in Brazil by the distributors and neither the VHS nor the DVD has been released in my country; I just have a tape recorded from the cable TV. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Ensina-me a Viver" ("Teach me to Live")

The most indie-esque film to come out of the '70s that I have seen, "Harold and Maude" wallows in irreverence. Suicide is played around with as a theme - never trivialised, but used frequently as a source of dark humour. The unlikely relationship between the titular characters is remarkably sweet and loving, if a little rushed, and the jaunty folk soundtrack uplifts the mood despite the heavy themes. The script is superlative, counterbalancing all the incidents of gore; the film almost comes across as a pre-emptive "Breakfast Club" for the "Fight Club" generation. Desperation and listlessness weighs Harold down, until Maude lightens his existence by showing him how to live for once. Her bubbly persona is the yang to his yin, and the film's quirky comedy cheers the audience as well as Harold with its subtlety. A true unexpected pleasure, "Harold and Maude" is surprising and charming throughout, with enough dark substance to mark it out as truly unique.

I first came to Harold and Maude from a suggestion from an eccentric friend who I thought I would humor by tracking down a 34-year-old movie. What I found, however, was one of the most amazing yet understated movies about the joys of life that I have ever seen. There are many subtle lines that take an extra amount of time and thought with a little self-reflection that can shake the very belief system of the viewer. For example,

"Zoos are full, prisons are overflowing... oh my, how the world still dearly loves a cage."

and,

"Maude: I should like to change into a sunflower most of all. They're so tall and simple. What flower would you like to be?

Harold: I don't know. One of these, maybe.

Maude: Why do you say that?

Harold: Because they're all alike.

Maude: Oooh, but they're not. Look. See, some are smaller, some are fatter, some grow to the left, some to the right, some even have lost some petals; all kinds of observable differences. You see, Harold, I feel that much of the world's sorrow comes from people who are this, (pointing to an individual daisy) yet allow themselves be treated as that (pointing to an entire field of seemingly identical daisies)"

Harold and Maude is about a young person who is full of life and obsessed with death, and an elderly person who is nearing death but is obsessed with life. What is revealed with this strange juxtaposition is that we can only learn to live life to its fullest by following the lessons of the dying. The message that I have taken from Harold and Maude is to live like you were dying!

Bud Cort appeared in two of my favorite (and two of the quirkiest) movies from the 1970s: "Harold and Maude" and "Brewster McCloud." He also appeared in a cameo at the tail-end of "Sweet Charity," another of my favorites. Given that little resume of movie roles, he has forever won a place in my heart, as has this movie.

"Harold and Maude" is a modest little masterpiece from Hal Ashby, and deserves to be viewed as more than just an eccentric little cult hit appreciated by an elite few. It's hard to think of another movie whose success relies so entirely upon its pitch-perfect tone. Ashby's film walks a tightrope between black (almost too black) comedy and sentimental (almost too sentimental) pathos, but manages to blend the two perfectly to produce something quite unlike anything else I've ever seen.

Harold is a gloomy misfit with a morbid death obsession, who likes to stage his own fake suicides in order to win the attention of his dithery and oblivious mother (Vivian Pickles, in an uproarious performance). He meets Maude (Ruth Gordon), an eccentric old lady with a taste for fast driving and an unparalleled lust for life. Maude teaches Harold how to enjoy the world around him instead of letting it slowly pass him by, while Harold gives Maude someone to share her days with. It's an achingly beautiful movie, in a low-key kind of way. Ashby is the king of understatement, and everything, both the outrageous comedy and the tender, sad moments, are delivered simply and effectively. He's got great actors in a great story, and he trusts both enough to stand back and let them work their magic.

Ruth Gordon gives one of my favorite film performances of all time as Maude. It would be easy to dismiss her role as easy, if it were not for those quiet moments when Maude lets her enthusiastic guard down and we get glimpses of some sadness in her life that she's made a willful decision not to let overcome her. There are moments in this movie that actually made me think differently about the world we live in. Just for an example, there's a scene when Harold and Maude are sitting by a pond, and Harold gives Maude a ring he won for her in a carnival. She clutches it to her chest, thanks him for it, and then throws it into the water. Harold at first looks outraged that she would throw his gift away. But she says, "Now I'll always know where it is," and Harold's hurt look transforms into a smile of understanding. If I could think about life the way the character of Maude does in this movie, I know I would be a happier person.

"Harold and Maude" is a shining gem from the 1970s, and one of those movies I just have to watch every once in a while. Along with the two leads, there's of course Pickles' off-the-wall performance, and very funny support from actors in minor roles, like Harold's therapist ("sagging buttocks") and his war-crazed uncle. Plus, there's the wonderful score comprised of Cat Stevens songs, which caps off the tone of the movie beautifully.

Grade: A+

HAROLD AND MAUDE is one of the quirkiest comedies ever made, both heartwarming and hilarious. Just recently, it made the AFI's Top 100 Funniest Movies of All Time (#45). Not that the list means anything, it didn't include DUMB & DUMBER the funniest damn movie ever made, but I agreed with this choice.

Bud Cort is Harold, a morbid teenage boy neglected by his rich mother (Vivian Pickles), who spends her time trying to match him up with blind dates. Harold delights in pretending to kill himself to get attention from his mother and pulls some gruesome tricks out of his sleeve to scare away his blind dates. He goes to funerals as a hobby and while there, he meets Maude (Ruth Gordon), a carefree elderly woman. Maude helps to teach Harold the beauty of life and the two slowly fall in love.

HAROLD AND MAUDE was ever nominated for any Oscars, but it should have been. Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon are both brilliant in their roles; unfortunately, this would be the last good film either of them made. Cort was recently reduced to a bit part in THEODORE REX and Gordon died in 1985. But both here are at shining moments in their careers. Vivian Pickles is right on-target as Harold's rich, prissy mother who tries to run Harold's life for him until he breaks free. Maude is certainly one of the most heartwarming characters in cinema history; her philosophies are so very true that I couldn't help but apply them to my life after the movie was over. Some viewers may be disgusted at the thought of a teenage boy and an elderly woman being a hot item, but the idea and execution of it is more an act of respect and love for one another as people than an act of lust and romance, making this in my opinion the most romantic film of all time. HAROLD AND MAUDE is also told very realistically, making the story unfold gracefully and the twist ending is both poignant and reassuring.

HAROLD AND MAUDE is certainly one of the funniest movies of all time, but is also one of the most important human stories as well.

When Cameron Diaz's character in the Farrelly brothers' 1998 comedy There's Something About Mary describes Harold And Maude as the 'greatest love story of our time', she's not far wrong. While it may not be a conventional love story by any means, it is engaging, passionate, and oddly believable. It was a very brave step to take to make a film about a young boy who falls in love with an old woman, and to tell it in such a dreamlike manner. In a society that generally accept older men falling for younger women, to reverse that trend was extremely daring, especially back in 1971.

Harold (Bud Cort) is a 20-something who feels isolated and disconnected with his life living with his rich mother who seems to only be concerned with finding her strange son a wife. Obsessed with death, he regularly stages fake suicides in front of his unresponsive and unimpressed mother. He seems doomed to life of morbidity until he meets 80-year old Maude (Ruth Gordon) who seems to share his passion of attending funerals. Maude has a completely different outlook on life, and indulges in her passions for art and culture, and 'making the most of her time on Earth'. The two become equally infatuated with each other, as Maude shows Harold the delights of life, and begins to teach him how to play the banjo. As Harold falls deeply in love with Maude, his mother persists with quest to find Harold a wife, and after one fake suicide too many, she decides to send him into the military.

This is the kind of nihilistic and existential that could have only be produced in the 70's, amidst the madness and folly of the Vietnam war. Harold is a child of this generation, and seems to embody the anger, loss and early loss of innocence that the children of this generation felt. Harold is born into a life lacking in meaning and direction, while Maude has lived a life full of purpose, and having been a prisoner in Auschwitz (in a moving blink-or-you'll-miss-it revelation) has endured the hardships and extremities of life. Harold, with his persistent fake suicides, seems to long for this.

All this sounds extremely heavy, but the film explores these themes with a feisty sense of humour, and an air of quirkiness found commonly these days in the films of Wes Anderson. The black comedy seems way ahead of its time. In one scene, Harold finds another potential wife at his home chatting to his mother. He greets the young lady with a very mature and pleasant manner, only to excuse himself and walk outside carrying a jug of petrol. As his mother and the young lady exchange pleasantries, Harold can be scene in the background through the window dousing himself in petrol and then seemingly set himself on wife. The young girl screams in horror as Harold's mother sits embarrassed, only for Harold to appear next to her as if nothing happened.

The relationship between Harold and Maude would probably be uncomfortable and strange in another director's hands, but with a fantastic script by Colin Higgins and a heartfelt soundtrack by Cat Stevens, the whole things is moving, profound and sweet. The film conjured up so many emotions in me as the credits rolled after the poignant final scene. Harold And Maude is in equal measures touching, intelligent, insightful, beautiful and extremely vicious.

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This art house favorite is a timeless classic and recommended viewing for all post-Catcher In the Rye teenagers. To modern viewers, the Ruth Gordon creation of Maude probably seems trite, but her Maude was fresh, original and daring in 1970 and the pre-Sophie's Choice twist in her history that Harold discovers was likewise unanticipated by early viewers. Unfortunately, Ruth Gordon went on to recreate this character in lesser films throughout that decade and the character of the eccentric old lady has become rather shopworn.

The Cat Stevens soundtrack is probably one of the most effective use of pop music in film ever.

From the opening scene to the end credits..it's excellent. Hilarious, poignant, moving, sad, happy...incredible. And the Cat Stevens soundtrack is a pure joy. A masterclass in how to make a surreal, stylised dark comedy. I'm so glad I watched it.

Somebody recommended me this film without prior knowledge about what kind of movies I usually like. I passed the suggestion thinking it's probably not my cup of tea. But later I saw it in library and thought, oh well, might as well check it out.

It's a fun little drama comedy with a little bit of dark humor about death, and a lot of anarchistic and hippie-ish attitude about doing things differently and living your life to the fullest. But most of all a warm feel to it.

I'm not going to raise it to the pedestal but I was left with a feeling that eventually I might want to see it again sometime. It's one of those films that make an impression even if you aren't really sure what to think of it.

Here is possibly the most unusual, and in my opinion, the best comedy ever made. "Harold & Maude" begins with a heavy dose of black humor, with the death-obsessed Harold performing 'suicides' as a way of rebelling against his domineering mother. His vehicle of choice is a hearse, and when he's not explaining his pitch-black fantasies to his shrink, he's crashing funerals. The film takes an unexpected turn with the introduction of Maude, a vivacious octogenarian who shares Harold's penchant for attending the funerals of strangers, but instead of being obsessed with death, she is obsessed with life. Her unique outlook and interesting activities, which include grand theft auto, endear her to Harold, and the two kindred spirits form a close relationship, which eventually blossoms into romance.

This may seem quite unbelievable (and frankly, disgusting) for a twenty-something to fall for an eighty-year-old, but through Ashby's beautiful, skilled direction and Bud Cort's and Ruth Gordon's wonderful performances, the love story is entirely convincing and quite beautifully handled.

The humor, is as I said, to begin with, very black, but there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, particularly with Harold's methods of scaring of dates picked for him by his mother, and the reaction of Harold's family and friends to the news of his infatuation with Maude. Cat Stevens' beautiful soundtrack makes this film even more beautiful. While this may be not for everyone, those who can appreciate it will enjoy it immensely.

I didn't see this until a couple of years after it's initial theatrical release as it was becoming a college cult classic. I knew a lot of people who raved about this film and I do like original quirky films but when I saw it I couldn't embrace it as others did. It's an interesting story of an 80 year old widow who gets her kicks out of looking at the obituaries and selecting funerals to attend as if she were looking for movies to see in the entertainment section of the newspaper. At one of the funerals she meets a 20 year old man who is a loser and they began a unlikely alliance. Ruth Gordon is charming and funny in her role of the elder woman. A revered stage actress she made few films and fewer still where she had a lead role. Bud Cort as a promising young actor had a few films in the 70's beginning with a small role in Robert Altman's M*A*S*H and with Altman again in the starring role in Brewster Mccloud. His career quirky tapered off to supporting cast film roles in mostly forgettable movies and some supporting television roles. Gordon is funny in this film but he is not and his character becomes irritating after a while. This was only the second film from promising director director Hal Ashby. He would fire off a series of good films after Harold And Maude including The Last Detail, Shampoo, Coming Home, Bound for Glory and Being There. Ashby then went through the 1980's making only four forgettable feature films and one documentary and destroyed his health through drug abuse and never re lit the spark he had in the 70's before his untimely death. Screenwriter Collin Higgins turned in a good story here as his career was just beginning. He would go on to write some a handful of good comedies including Silver Streak, Nine to five, Foul Play and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas before his untimely death. I've seen this a couple times since when I first saw it in about 1974 mainly for the Cat Stevens soundtrack and Ruth Gordon's performance. I would give this a 7.0 out of 10.

I'm not sure how well I can articulate the ways in which this movie disappoints me. I'll throw out some random thoughts, and see if they lead me in the direction of a coherent opinion.

There's a difference between a "free spirit" and a "loose cannon"; Maude definitely struck me as the latter. I imagine an alternate ending wherein the doctors save Maude's life after she takes the tablets, but while at the hospital she's arrested for multiple auto theft. Faced with spending years in prison (although she's 80, she's in good health), she suffers a complete loss of composure and/or a breakdown, and Harold sees how Maude's "independence" is actually a reckless disregard for the rights of others.

Everyone in the movie is a caricature rather than a character, but since that's so blatantly obvious I can't fault the movie for it. I figure it must be deliberate. Still, the scene where Harold breaks down in his shrink's office makes me suspect that there IS supposed to be some depth to Harold, but the writer didn't develop it. Harold IS more than merely "eccentric", he's truly disturbed, and it would take more than his adventures with Maude to bring him any sort of peace. If, as I assume we are expected to, we end up seeing his analyst/therapist/whatever as a buffoon on an equal footing with the mother, the uncle, and the priest, I can only say that THIS doctor may be a fool, but Harold STILL needs professional help.

Perhaps, after Harold drives his car off the cliff, he goes back home and calls Sunshine. She may be a flaky actress wannabe, but she was the one who SAW THROUGH Harold's staged suicide, and was willing to play along. From her OWN death-scene it appears that Sunshine is a very BAD actress, though, so perhaps that's why Harold shunned her.

All this being said, I personally wasn't troubled by the "ick" factor of Harold and Maude consummating their love. I wouldn't PERSONALLY have found Maude sexually appealing when I was his age, but I credit Harold with recognizing that true love and passion have very little to do with the beauty of our bodies and much to do with the beauty of our minds.

I only saw this film quite recently but it hopped straight to my number one film of all time. It is beautiful. Bud Cort is charming as Harold and Ruth Gordon - dare I say cute? As Maude. If I look like her when I'm eighty I'll be out there nicking cars and fluttering my eyelashes at policemen too! Maude wrenches Harold free from his morbid and lonely existence to show him how lush and amazing the world can be and he emerges from his experiences a happy man. This is definitely one of the films that (along with say, Fight Club, American Beauty and The Rocky Horror Picture Show) show you can be who you want to be, and you needn't let anyone oppress you. It's brilliant. Everyone should know a Maude. It has inspired me to buy a banjo and play Cat Stevens songs.

can you believe i am 21 years old and only recently saw this film. i had heard chatters about it but never followed through...until a few days ago! and wow! how can this film have been made in 1971, it makes no sense, and i know that the 70s was a particularly strong period for American cinema but this film feels like it could have come from last week! perfect performances, the music by the former cat stevens was great, and the quirk of the storyline and dialogue was likable without being alienating. there were just little hidden things that one could take for face value but if you looked further you'd see a greater substance. i loved this film. i loved this film. i loved this film.

I love this film. I saw it when it first came out and I was a teenager. I bought the VHS version and I watch it every-so-often. It is great! I have decided that I want to be like the character Ruth Gordon plays in this movie when I get older. She is eccentric. She loves life. She is in touch with herself. I LOVE HER!!! And Bud Cort...what a wonderful, dry, cool, suave young fellow. Believable. He wants to control his own life. His mama is, well... rich and determined. He is...young and confused. You won't believe this. I laugh every time I play it. And I search myself every time it ends. You can watch it one hundred times and still find something new. It's not normal, it's not predictable, and most of all, it's not a waste of time.

"Harold and Maude" is a delightful, funny, moving, off-beat black comedy with a lot of heart. It is also one of the best and unusual on-screen romances I've seen. If the opposites attract each other, there have not been perhaps more different in every possible way screen couple than 20 years old Harold (Bud Cort) and Maude(charming, clever, multi-talented Ruth Gordon, the Oscar winning actress and three times Oscar nominee for writing) who is just about to turn 80. Harold is a rich kid who is obsessed with death and likes to stage very believable and hilarious succession of suicide attempts to impress his unflappable socialite mother who got used to them and not impressed anymore. Harold's others hobbies are driving the hearse and to attend funerals where he meets one day a woman who will change his life forever, 79 years young free-spirit, rebel, and fighter for "Liberty. Rights. Justice", Maude. She also likes to attend the funerals of the strangers. We won't learn much about Maude's life story but there will be one visual flash which gives us a very good idea that Maude knew a lot about death, losses, and suffering but she chose to celebrate, worship, and enjoy life to the fullest. This short poignant moment is a stroke of genius, and there are many of them in the truly unique, one of its kind movie. Maybe Hal Ashby had brought some of memories from his own childhood that included the divorce of his parents, his father's suicide, his dropping out of high school, getting married and divorced all before he was 19, into "Harold and Maude". Hal Ashby had made a series of memorable, intelligent, well acted films in the 70s, that included The Last Detail (1973), Shampoo (1975), Bound for Glory (1976), Coming Home (1978) and Being There (1979) but it is "Harold and Maude" that has become the cult classic from the first days of its release and it more than deserves its status. The movie also benefits tremendously from the soundtrack of songs by Cat Stevens.

'Harold & Maude' is one of those 'sleeper' films that just seems to resonate that bit more with every passing year. Harold, played by the criminally under-utilized Bud Cort, is the quintessential disaffected rich kid wanting to find some meaning in a vacuous life who hooks up with the devil-may-care Maude through their mutual love of attending funerals (Joyce's word 'fun-for-all' springs readily to mind in those scenes). There is plenty to love about this film, the slower pace and the lampooning of easy targets, the 'gung-ho' military uncle and the fetishist priest for example. Here is a film that really stands up well to repeated viewings.

If you want to talk about absurd, see Harold and Maude. It is the story of the teenage boy, Harold, who is obsessed with death and all things morbid. He's very antisocial and secluded. He finally begins to break out of his shell when he meets Maude, a feisty and spirited old woman. The two eventually fall in love, making for one of the strangest and most irreverent on screen romances you've ever seen.

I can really respect Harold and Maude because even though it isn't a flawless film, it is very different and takes a lot of risks. It can be very ambiguous at times and it doesn't hold your hand all the way through. The story itself is obviously very different, but the way it is told is also interesting. It doesn't take the route of your typical storyline. It feels like more of a collection of stories that build to the ending. The overall style of the film is difficult to put into words, but it was a pleasure to watch unfold.

I honestly did have a difficult time getting into the story. It begins pretty slow and it wasn't exactly my cup of tea. By the end I can't say I loved the story, but I definitely have to respect it for what it is. The two leads are a delight to watch together. Bud Cort is pretty peculiar through out the movie and personally I had a hard time connecting with him, but Ruth Gordon as Maude is hilarious and a lot of fun. I loved them both by the end of the film.

Now my favorite thing about this film was undoubtedly the soundtrack. The music in this film is all music by Cat Stevens. There are some great tunes in the film, and in the context of the story it makes them even better. The music enhances every scene of the film and really gives it a lot of its unique spirit and life. I'm even listening to the soundtrack while writing this review I loved it so much. I'm not even sure I would have liked this film if not for its perfect soundtrack.

Harold and Maude is definitely a good movie. I can see how plenty of people would consider it to be a classic, but personally I wasn't crazy about it. I can respect it for its unique 1970's feel. It is definitely not your average film and there are plenty of good things to say about it. Overall I enjoyed it enough to where I think I will remember it down the line, and perhaps even rewatch it with a different attitude.

Ashby was Ashby from the word go. Pristine without being precious, intelligently beautiful without being french, funny, funny, funny, bitter, provoking and sad. You can mix all of that and quite simply call it Ashby. What a delight! Elizabeth Bergner was suppose to play the part, marvelously written by Colin Higgins. Hal Ashby flew to London for a meeting with her, she didn't quite get it, she said aloud she couldn't work with a director who looked like Jesus Christ. Well sorry for her, but lucky for Ruth Gordon and lucky for us. As I saw the film after Rosemary's Baby I was kind of worried for Bud Cort for a little while. Ruth Gordon made her name as Dolly Levy in Thornton Wilder's "The Matchmaker" got an Oscar for Rosemary's Baby, wrote Adam's Rib with husband Garson Kanin. She was a woman for the ages and "Harold and Maude" is her present, her own tribute to an extraordinary life. I've shown the film to kids, 10, 12 years old and they fall in love with her. Bud Cort is the perfect foil for her designs. Cat Stevens and a scrumptious performance by Vivian Pickles, the unforgettable Isadora of Ken Russell's film of Duncan's life, wrap up this exquisite Hal Ashby masterpiece.

One of the most delightful, and heartbreaking, films I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. A thoroughly human film, it will make you laugh as hard as it will make you feel for the characters.

Expertly acted, directed, and shot for the time, I can't find a single blemish on what is likely one of my favorite movies of all time.

Harold and Maude tells the love story of a rich young man obsessed with death and an older lady full of the life he lacks.

Ruth Gordon plays a 79-year-old woman who's in love with life (she's sort of a flower-grandma); 20-ish Bud Cort is a misfit obsessed with death. They meet at a stranger's funeral and forge a friendship which leads to romance. Gummy, somewhat sickly screenplay by Colin Higgins narrowly avoids the grotesque, but not for the reasons you may think. Harold and Maude's more intimate moments are not detailed, however their mawkishly "free" friendship is, and in these instances Higgins has no shame. He throws in cutesy scenes for a cheap kick, and then finishes with a question-mark that would be a lot more thoughtful if the movie itself hadn't been such a doodle. The picture looks brackish and glum, and Bud Cort is a difficult actor to get a grip on (it takes a while to become comfortable with him, which might explain why fans of the film have seen it multiple times--the initial unease has to wear off). Ruth Gordon gives just what you expect from her; she isn't shy, yet she's shrewd not to overplay her ballsy appeal. Hal Ashby directed (in wistful spirits) and the Cat Stevens songs, though repetitive, give the film a whimsically melancholy feel. **1/2 from ****

In the late 1960s, a trend in literature and film -- that of attempting to make the lives of WASPy East Coast tycoons-to-be look wretched and soul-destroying -- swept over America. Those of us in the "flyover" states, contentedly munching our cake and participating in league bowling and working for a living, were profoundly mystified by this trend, particularly since films like "Harold and Maude," "Love Story," "The Graduate," etc. tended to make the "richie" parents paragons of evil, to the point they were cartoon characters. Oh, yeah, it's so terrible that you stand to inherit more money than 20 of my relatives put together will make in their whole lives. Let me hold the hankie while you blow your nose. NOT.

It was, as another reviewer pointed out, hard for me to get past the "squick factor" of contemplating a 20-year-old guy in bed with a 79-year-old woman, but it was even harder for me to like dour Harold or annoying Maude. They both seemed utterly amoral and unsympathetic.

The only reason I watched this movie is that I love Ruth Gordon. But I did not like her character in this film.