Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Pete 'n' Tillie (1972)


Academy Awards, USA
YearResultAwardCategory/Recipient(s)
1973 Nominated Oscar Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Geraldine Page
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
Julius J. Epstein

Universal Pictures
Directed by Martin Ritt
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Universal Vault Collection)

Walter Matthau impresses Carol Burnett on a blind date with his bad jokes, really, really bad jokes. She plays the "straight man" just as well as she did on her TV show. Afraid of becoming an old maid, she resigns herself to marrying him, despite his alcoholic tendencies and suspected infidelity even before marriage. Fast forward to married life with a 10-year-old kid, it turns into a soapy melodrama with an unexpected illness that does not work at all. Carol just does not convince in her dramatic turn, with at least two embarrassing moments: a back yard conversation with God that turns into a yelling match, and a cat fight with her best friend involving a trash can and water hose. And Matthau? The site of him sitting naked at a piano and playing ragtime may have scarred me for life.

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