Francis Ford Coppola got a lot of breaks early on in his carer... he was young when he signed a deal with Seven Arts who let him right and direct this swinging sixties comedy with Peter Kastner, an actor who I recognise from nothing, starring as a young man who moves to New York City. Dad is Rip Torn and mum is Geraldine Page. Kastner has a crush on Elizabeth Hartman not noticing Karen Black. Julie Harris is a landlady.
To be honest a lot of this was annoying - quirk like black men playing bagpipers, visits to Times Square, witty banter, wacky support characters (albino hypnotherapist), manic pixie dream girl (Hartman), a dwarf, chapter headings.
There's clips from Dementia 13 and The Pit and the Pendulum which is cute. Like The Rain People this felt like an Australian movie at times - Kastner can't get it up for Hartman. But it's also American with its possessive mother (Page) and dad.
It was hard to care. Kastner had people who loved him, dad who supported him, mum who was possessive yes but he had his own pace, he could've scored Hartman if he could've satisfied her, Karen Black there was to pick up the pieces.
I can see why people like this. And there were things I enjoyed like Hartman. But not for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment