Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1971)

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Mark Robson
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Essentially a filmed play, Kurt Vonnegut's story of a macho hunter and war hero who shows up at his wife's apartment after being presumed dead for 8 years is excruciatingly bad. His wife (Susannah York) is engaged to the doctor who lives next door. His peace and love philosophy clashes with Rod Steiger's macho facade. Poor Susannah is caught in the middle and doesn't know what to do. Their son, played by Steven Paul in a horrible performance, is torn between idolizing his father and accepting his new one. The final scene where York convinces her son that her husband's obsession with death is unhealthy is simply not convincing, even if you agree with her. Mixed in with all of the yelling are scenes in "heaven" where recently killed 10-year-old Pamelyn Ferdin plays shuffleboard with a dictator, an alcoholic and Jesus Christ himself. Even Vonnegut fans are going to be disappointed by this one.

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