Oscar's 5 Best Actress Nominated Films of 1980
Reviews by:
Jenny Taliadoros, Eileen Rudisill (Rudy) Miller,
David Wolfe, Amanda Hallay and Sally Biondi
The year 1980 was a good one for Best Actress nominated films. Our favorite by far was Ordinary People. Can you guess which movie sparked the greatest debate? Private Benjamin! Did we all agree Sissy Spacek deserved the Oscar? Nope!
Our movie club has grown to "The Fab Five" with the addition of David's daughter, Prof. Amanda Hallay, an expert on fashion history and classic Hollywood. As soon as she learned of our Best Actress movie endeavor, she jumped right in. Please visit her Ultimate Fashion History YouTube channel for an entertaining look at fashion, Hollywood and pop culture. And be sure to watch the Be Kind Rewind spotlight on our Academy Award nominees—Sissy Spacek, Goldie Hawn, Mary Tyler Moore, Ellen Burstyn and Gena Rowlands.
In recognition of our first film, Coal Miner's Daughter, I'm happy to show a wonderful Loretta Lynn paper doll, illustrated by Ted Menten for the 2015 paper doll convention David and I hosted in Chattanooga. Loretta was included in a souvenir paper doll book, "Songbirds of the South."
Oscar's 5 Best Actress Nominated Films of 1980
Reviews by:
Jenny Taliadoros, Eileen Rudisill (Rudy) Miller,
David Wolfe, Amanda Hallay and Sally Biondi
David Wolfe, Amanda Hallay and Sally Biondi
Our movie club has grown to "The Fab Five" with the addition of David's daughter, Prof. Amanda Hallay, an expert on fashion history and classic Hollywood. As soon as she learned of our Best Actress movie endeavor, she jumped right in. Please visit her Ultimate Fashion History YouTube channel for an entertaining look at fashion, Hollywood and pop culture. And be sure to watch the Be Kind Rewind spotlight on our Academy Award nominees—Sissy Spacek, Goldie Hawn, Mary Tyler Moore, Ellen Burstyn and Gena Rowlands.
In recognition of our first film, Coal Miner's Daughter, I'm happy to show a wonderful Loretta Lynn paper doll, illustrated by Ted Menten for the 2015 paper doll convention David and I hosted in Chattanooga. Loretta was included in a souvenir paper doll book, "Songbirds of the South."
This is an especially busy time of year for Sally so we have just two reviews from her. Amanda came on board with our second movie, Private Benjamin. Would you like to watch with us? Next we're jumping to Best Actress nominated films from 1960.
BEWARE: Reviews contain spoilers.
Ted Menten's Loretta Lynn paper doll souvenir for the 2015 Paper Doll Convention in Chattanooga, TN.
COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER (1980)
Sissy Spacek WINNER for best Actress as Loretta Lynn
Co-starring: Tommy Lee Jones as Doolittle Lynn
The humble beginnings, rise to fame and troubled marriage of legendary country singer Loretta Lynn.
Biopic directed by Michael Apted.
Jenny's Review - Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. I like that this biopic doesn’t try to cover too much, keeping its focus on the relationship of Loretta and Doolittle. The film gives us a good sense of an impoverished coal mining town in 1940s Kentucky, helping us understand the dynamics that brought Loretta and Doo together. We see Loretta’s rise to success without going too far into the business aspect of her career. Her wealth is represented without the typical scenes of buying fancy cars, houses, furs, etc.
2. Tommy Lee Jones’ performance is excellent. It is interesting to see how Doo created Loretta Lynn’s career—buying her first guitar, pushing her on stage, mailing demos, driving her to radio station after radio station.
3. Loretta’s friendship with Patsy Cline—a much-needed strong female role model.
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. A grown man with a 13-year-old girl is deeply disturbing in any context. More recently, the Associated Press obtained Loretta’s birth certificate which puts her at age 15 when she got married, not 13. When questioned by the AP, Loretta’s spokeswoman said that Lynn has told her before in no uncertain terms, "If anyone asks how old I am, tell them it's none of their business!" Sooo… Loretta prefers to let people think she is younger than she really is even if makes her a 13-year-old bride. That’s just weird.
2. As awful as it is to witness Doolittle’s destructive behavior, I suspect his abuse, alcoholism and womanizing was watered down for this film.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
Beverly D’Angelo is terrific as Patsy Cline, and I was gobsmacked to read in the credits that she did her own singing. Her voice is spot-on.
WHO SHOULD HAVE WON THE OSCAR?
Sissy Spacek’s vulnerable portrayal of Loretta Lynn is Oscar worthy.
SIDE NOTES:
This film inspired me to listen to the audiobook, Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner’s Daughter, read by Sissy Spacek, which provides a more detailed account of her rise to success. For example, her first record and radio station road trip was funded by a wealthy Canadian businessman who saw Loretta on a local program. It was interesting to learn more about her family, her siblings’ involvement in the music industry, her Native American heritage and even Loretta’s psychic abilities. I recommend watching the 1980 interviews with cast members and director of Coal Miner’s Daughter on Brian Linehan’s City Lights YouTube channel.
Rudy's Review - Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. Such a great movie and an incredible story about an ordinary girl who became a powerhouse of a woman! I can't imagine being married at 13 and surviving it!! Let alone becoming such a big star to boot. I loved Doo's dedication to her and his belief in her. Obviously, it wasn't a perfect relationship, but there was a lot of good stuff goin' on there! Loved the way their story was told. (I read that they were married for 50 years until he died.)
2. Tommy Lee and Sissy Spacek were great! Sissy Spacek was perfectly cast and her singing was great, too.
3. I loved the way the early scenes with her parents and siblings were done. They were all filmed in Kentucky and were so authentic, it put you right there.
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
I pretty much liked all of it.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
I remember really liking this movie when it first came out. And I enjoyed seeing it again now.
THE OSCAR?
Sissy was great and her Oscar was well deserved. but I am going to withhold final judgement until I see the other films.
David's Review - Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
Coal Miner’s Daughter scored an Oscar for Sissy Spacek and I can’t figure out why. I was stupefied by this country-and-western cliché bio-pic. Loretta Lynn’s climb from hardscrabble poverty to burned-out superstar is a story seen too many times. Usually the setting is Broadway or Hollywood. Sissy’s instant success took place at the Grand Ole Opry but the plot played out with mind-numbing familiarity.
Adolescent Loretta wasn’t much of a mother, a housekeeper or a wife, but when her pushy husband bought her a guitar, she sat right down and wrote hit songs. No surprise that success was so great it was too much for Loretta to cope with and she went to pieces but recovered without much more than an onstage faint and a couple of painted-on tears. Bor-ring!
DID I LIKE ANYTHING about this oft-told show biz tale? No. I don’t really like yesterday’s cold mashed potatoes. A Star is Re-Born, once again, but with a twang as she sang. I found the scene played for comedy with 13-year-old Loretta as a child-bride on her wedding night to be totally tasteless. Molestation, not making love.
SURPRISES? I was pleasantly surprised to see Beverly D’Angelo as Patsy Cline doing her own vocalizing, as did Sissy Spacek.
AN OSCAR FOR SISSY? I don’t think so.
Sally's Review - Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
I saw this film when it came out, and only caught bits and pieces of it on TCM on occasion. I do recall even before the "Me Too Movement" feeling very uncomfortable about the "rape" of a 13-year-old girl at the hands of an adult. The times were different, but I was marching in Washington with others to change laws, and even being run off the road for having an ERA sticker on my car.
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. The fact they filmed on location and not a back lot gives the film a big plus.
2. The performance of Tommy Lee Jones is stellar.
3. Sissy's singing and accent is perfection.
TWO THINGS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN IMPROVED:
1. The casting of Patsy Cline. She should have been truly more demanding and the relationship between her and Loretta was really a pivotal relationship that was so important.
2. To me the script was weak and too simple, The story omitted Loretta's true soul mate, Conway Twitty. They were a real country western item, and somehow it would have made a better story if it was included.
THE OSCAR?
Did Sissy deserve the Academy Award. I don't know. She portrayed an icon of sorts and her accent and singing are dead on, but I will reserve my opinion until I see the other nominees.
PRIVATE BENJAMIN (1980)
Goldie Hawn nominated for Best Actress as Judy Benjamin
Co-starring:
Eileen Brennan as Captain Doreen Lewis
Armand Assante as Henri Alan Tremont
A newly widowed socialite who comes into her own by way of the US Army.
Comedy directed by Howard Zeiff.
Jenny's Review - Private Benjamin (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. Goldie is funny without trying to be funny. She plays her character straight—a privileged young woman unexpectedly thrust into the rigors of basic training.
2. Smart editing creates many funny moments in the film. Example: When Captain Lewis first encounters Judy in the barracks, Judy explains that she joined a “different Army,” the one with condos and a private room, and she couldn’t possible sleep with 20 women in a filthy room. Captain Lewis responds, “May I see your toothbrush?” Cut to a low angle shot of the bathroom where we see just the lower half of Judy still in her civilian dress and hose, on her knees, scrubbing the toilet with her electric toothbrush.
3. Giant 1980s eyeglasses! OMG! Judy’s mother is hilarious wearing window-pane glasses so huge that they cover part of her hairstyle.
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. I was constantly wondering what’s really allowed in basic training, suspecting women cannot wear the jewelry, makeup, lace underwear and personal pajamas shown in the film. Goldie’s mascara; however, adds enjoyable drama to her tearful episodes.
2. The war games exercise was too silly. Judy could have been the heroine of a much smarter scenario.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
This movie is less of a comedy than I remember from my viewing decades ago. Side note: The film’s screenwriter, Nancy Meyers, is also responsible for Baby Boom (1987), Father of the Bride (1991), Something’s Gotta Give (2003) and The Intern (2015).
THE OSCAR?
The only comedic performance in Oscar’s Best Actress category, Goldie was deserving of a nomination but not the win. For the Golden Globes, she was nominated in the Comedy/Musical category with Dolly Parton in 9 to 5, Irene Cara in Fame, Bette Midler in Divine Madness! and Sissy Spacek (winner) in Coal Miner’s Daughter.
Rudy's Review - Private Benjamin (1980)
I am so sorry, but I really didn't like this movie at all. It was boring and just uninteresting to me. I like Goldie Hawn. She's cute and all, but that wasn't enough to save this film for me. I found the entire cast really annoying. I guess it was supposed to be a comedy, but I didn't think it was that funny. And I guess it was a big hit at the time because it was a female empowerment movie, but pa-lease! There were other films from around that same time period that were much more effective. Working Girl comes to mind.
Thumbs down for me.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
That anyone was nominated for an Oscar for this movie.
THE OSCAR?
I’m staying with Sissy Spacek so far.
David's Review - Private Benjamin (1980)
I remember liking this movie when I saw it 39 years ago, but found my updated opinion doing a total turnabout. I found the humor to be sophomoric, the script nonsensical and the characters one-dimensional. Today I find it hard to believe that Goldie Hawn was nominated for Best Actress. Granted, she had a surprisingly successful career built on her giggly, whacky persona. Talent? Limited, but likeable and always typecast as a dizzy blonde (although she goes for a carrot-colored frizz coif for the un-funny comedic climax in Private Benjamin. )
Goldie is Goldie and she suffers through a script that’s not to be believed as her character’s groom dies on his wedding night (not funny), joins the all-gal-pals army (fights off a rapist officer before parachuting), falls in love with a super-suave Continental (a Commie who demands a prenup agreement, has sex with the maid and almost leaves now-wiser Goldie waiting at their wedding). I really wondered how this mess of a movie got made, even allowing for the changing awareness of women’s rights (better late than never).
WHAT DID I LIKE?
I found it to be a fascinating history lesson, a reminder that the Women’s Movement remains an on-going social work in progress.
I did like one thing about “Private Benjamin.” Eileen Brennan. At least she seemed to understand the movie was a comedy (at times, anyway). She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. She reprised the role in a multi-season TV series based on the film.
A SURPRISE?
Goldie Hawn’s hair! Artfully arranged boudoir bedraggled. She still sports the same scrambled blonde and on her, it works.
THE OSCAR?
Should Goldie have swiped the Oscar from Sissy? No way.
Sally's Review - Private Benjamin (1980)
WHAT I LIKED:
I liked this movie for a number of reasons. Goldie Hawn is believable in an I Love Lucy manner. Her over the top spoiled self absorbed girl is convincing and funny and Eileen Brennans performance is wonderful. The two of them play off each other perfectly.
WHAT I DISLIKED:
It is difficult to think of things I did not like. Comedy is such a strangely personal take on life. Women see funny in things men don't, and visa versa. All women, especially before the "Me Too Movement,” met way too many men that were depicted in this film. To see the "funny" outcome to these situations gave this film a sense of lightness. There is a truly an important message, that I believe Goldie Hawn wanted to invoke, and that is that women were ready to come into their own, not just Judy. Goldie Hawn is a power house in Hollywood and is breaking some of the glass ceilings there. I think this film shows women that they have the ability to perhaps one day be President of the United States!!! This message is 40 years old.
THE OSCAR?
Should Goldie have won the Academy Award, no. But it is a good and worthwhile comedy.
Amanda's Review - Private Benjamin (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. I liked the ‘idea’ of the movie; pampered and privileged poshie goes to boot camp and (in the most unlikely of settings) finds her inner strength. It was actually a fabulous concept, but (for me) it didn’t deliver.
2. Eileen Brennan! She was the only truly comic spark in an otherwise labored ‘one joke’ comedy (and those ‘jokes’ seemed dated even then; endless ‘sight gags’ involving people struggling with obstacle courses, etc., it felt like I was watching a Carry On movie from the '60s. And was I the only one who thought that Judy’s initial belief that the Army was going to be like a spa retreat unbelievable to the point of idiocy?)
3. I thought Armande Assante was both handsome and devilishly charming (and is it just me, or did he remind anyone else of today’s Diego Luna?)
THINGS I DISLIKED:
I know it’s only supposed to be two things we disliked, but please indulge me because there was just so much that I disliked about Private Benjamin!)
1. I thoroughly disliked the suggestion that if a female joins the military, there must be something intrinsically ‘wrong’ with her; Benjamin’s co-recruits were comprised young women who (in one way or another) represented the lost and disenfranchised, and I genuinely felt that this was insulting to women of our Armed Forces.
2. I was confused by the overarching ‘message’ of this movie; Judy joins the Army because her husband dies, leaving behind her life of pampered privileged financed by a man. We are taught that she has grown from her experience in the Army and has realized that she is a strong and independent woman capable of carving a glittering career for herself in the military. And then what does she do? She leaves the Army to marry a man who will give her a pampered and privileged life, essentially putting her ‘back to square one’. Certainly, she stands him up at the aisle after she realizes what a heel he is, but the whole third act of Private Benjamin struck a weird note with me. Why had we just endured all of this facile basic training stuff (endured on the promise that the experience had somehow ‘changed’ Judy), when she was then so quick to return to her pre-Army self? Furthermore, I think it was incredibly patronizing to women to suggest that to have the strength to leave a man who has cheated on you with two different women and makes you sign a prenup in a language you can’t read you, must first join the Army! (Us girlies just ain’t tough enough to walk away from even a bad relationship unless we’ve experienced six weeks with a drill sergeant. Oh, please!)
3. I know we are living in a time of heightened (and welcomed) awareness regarding sexual assault, but really? A scene where an attempted rape is used to ‘comic effect’ (I refer to the parachuting scene) is ‘cheap’ at best, and at worst, incredibly offensive to victims of sexual assault who couldn’t escape it by cutely jumping out of an airplane.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
I was surprised that this movie was so popular that it spawned a TV spinoff, and I’m even more surprised that it remains so beloved (by so many!) today. I guess I’m missing something…
THE OSCAR?
Goldie Hawn was charming and delightful, but this was not the stuff of Oscars. For now, I’m sticking with Mary Tyler Moore as the most deserving nominee.
ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980)
Mary Tyler Moore nominated for Best Actress as Beth Jarrett
Co-starring:
Donald Sutherland as Calvin Jarrett
Timothy Hutton as Conrad Jarrett
Judd Hirsch as Dr. Berger
A family unravels following the death of their eldest son.
Drama directed by Robert Redford.
Jennys Review - Ordinary People (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. Smart. Smart. Smart. After our two previous viewings, I especially appreciate this intelligent film. The script, direction, casting, acting—all top notch.
2. I love how the story and characters developed in small bits, making us consider and question things along the way. Is there anything behind the cold facade of Mary Tyler Moore’s character? You’ll have to watch and find out for yourself!
3. Stellar performances from Timothy Hutton, Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore and Judd Hirsch. I also enjoyed Conrad’s friends played by Elizabeth McGovern and Diana Manoff.
WHAT I DISLIKED: Nothing!
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
I’m surprised how much I liked this movie. I hadn’t seen it before, and I’m glad I had this opportunity to watch. It doesn’t get the buzz like other films of the era which is too bad. I now consider it one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. This was Robert Redford’s directorial debut and he deservedly won the Oscar.
THE OSCAR?
Move over Sissy Spacek, Mary Tyler Moore gets my vote.
David’s Review - Ordinary People (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. Ordinary People is far from an ordinary movie. In fact, I think it is extraordinary, a sensitive story of a family suffering to survive the gut-wrenching pain of losing their eldest son in a boating accident. The surviving son attempted suicide and the family dynamics are painful to observe. Director Robert Redford did a splendid job balancing what could have become melodrama.
2. Mary Tyler Moore’s performance is superb, as is Timothy Hutton who plays her tortured son. Watching this artistic motion picture after the brainless Private Benjamin was a reminder that cinema can be art or gross garbage.
3. I became totally immersed in the family’s emotional dilemma and thought the entire cast was perfectly cast. On the lighter side, I enjoyed observing the luxe '80s lifestyle depicted… hardly “ordinary.” Hey! What happened to Mary Tyler Moore’s eyebrows that were plucked to nothingness? Ah, the whims of Fashion.
WHAT SURPRISED ME:
Surprise! Yes that adorable teen with the face of a living doll is Elizabeth McGovern long before she married into the Downton Abbey gang. She’s aging gracefully and I was delighted to see her early work. She was charming then and is every bit as charming now.
THE OSCAR?
Mary Tyler Moore’s portrayal of the dysfunctional mother ran rings around Sissy Spacek ‘s country biopic. Her character’s mortal wound was a difficult role and MTM stepped out of her usual sweet role to deliver this brilliant performance. I think she should have taken home the Oscar.
Rudy’s Review - Ordinary People (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. Timothy Hutton!!! His performance was nothing short of miraculous!!! He blew me away and very much deserved the best Supporting actor Oscar that he received for this. He was 20!!!
2. Great acting, great cast, great writing and directing.
3. It was a brilliant and affecting portrait of this family struck by tragedy. I especially loved its portrayal of the troubled, sweet teen-aged boy and his relationship with his psychiatrist. I could also really relate to the dad who loved his son so much and struggled hard to try and help him, not knowing if his efforts were going to do any good.
WHAT I DISLIKED:
I didn't get how MTM's character could be so distant with her son who was so lovable. That scene where he hugged her and she couldn't hug him back was pivotal. When Donald Sutherland said to her that he didn't know if she had buried her love with their son, or if she had ever been capable of loving at al—that was the question. What was her deal??? MTM played the part of this enigmatic character well. Ironically the same year as the movie, her only child, Richie, died at the age of 24 of an accidental gunshot to the head while cleaning a small .410 shotgun. Just heartbreaking.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
The young Elizabeth McGovern. How much fun is it to see her sweet young face and tender performance after watching her for years as Cora on Downton Abbey!
THE OSCAR?
Mary Tyler Moore was very good as the uptight and constipated mom, but I'm still going with Sissy Spacek.
Amanda’s Review - Ordinary People (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. The performances, all of which were extraordinary. I particularly liked Donald Sutherland as the tragically cheerful ‘pleaser’, and young Timothy Hutton was particularly sympathetic as the troubled teenage son. But of course, it was Mary Tyler Moore who stole the movie, her portrayal of a bereaved and emotionally inhibited control freak such a dramatic departure from her warm and likeable role as ‘Mary Richards’.
2. The palette; all those browns, greys, beiges, and mustards that not only spoke to the era, but to the emotional tone of the movie. This extends to wardrobe, which (as a fashion history professor) I particularly liked, as it depicted so perfectly that subtle move from style of the Seventies to that of the Eighties.
3. The recurring motif of water; Bucky drowns, much of the surviving son’s plotline revolves around his success (or lack of it) on the swim team, and whenever Beth feels she’s losing ‘control’ (of a conversation or situation), she drinks from a glass of water. Water becomes a signifier for both stress and sadness; I thought this was subtle and clever.
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. The therapy scenes. Although Judd Hirsch was terrific in the role of Dr. Berger, I felt the dialogue was somewhat clunky and cliché, and I could have lived without a few of those encounters.
2. The overuse of Pachelbel’s Canon (and I love Pachelbel’s Canon!).
3. I didn’t like how much it upset me! I first saw it in 1980 when I was 15 and haven’t seen it since. I remember enjoying it, but it didn’t rip my heart out. It did this time!
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
I was surprised at how ‘contemporary’ it felt in theme; forty years later, teen suicide is higher than ever, and I couldn’t help but feel that the dynamics we see at play in this family are being played out in middle-class homes with troubled teens today. This could be updated so readily as a Netflix Original, with an SUV-driving ‘Alpha Female’, uber feminist ‘soccer mom’ in the Beth role (I would love to see Julia Louis Dreyfus breaking away from comedy and showing her acting chops in this role, just as Mary Tyler Moore did), her depressed teenage son addicted to gaming and escaping into an online world. I can see Paul Rudd taking on the Donald Sutherland role, and who better to play the ‘tough love’ psychiatrist than Oprah Winfrey?? Damn, this casting is so genius I wish this remake existed!
WHO SHOULD HAVE WON THE OSCAR?
Mary Tyler Moore, of course! I remember at the time I felt she should have won; her fellow nominees had ‘flashier’ roles, and to play such an emotionally closed-off and cold character and still garner audience sympathy is quite a feat.
RESURRECTION (1980)
Ellen Burstyn nominated for Best Actress as Edna Mae McCauley
Co-starring:
Sam Shepard as Cal Carpenter, Richard Farnsworth as Esco,
Roberts Blossom as Edna’s father, Eva Le Gallienne as Edna’s grandmother.
A woman attains healing powers after a near-death experience.
Drama directed by Daniel Petrie.
Jenny’s review - Resurrection (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. Ellen Burstyn’s honest performance. I believed her.
2. The ring of truth in the story threads: the father wants her in his life only if she behaves on his terms, the boyfriend’s grappling with his religious beliefs, Edna’s conviction to stay true to herself.
3. Ellen’s bad teeth. In today’s landscape of facially corrected stars, it’s honestly refreshing to see a leading lady with yellow, crooked teeth and an overbite to boot.
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. Lack of chemistry between Ellen Burstyn and Sam Shepard.
2. Edna’s aging bothered me. Her long, grey hair somehow made her face look younger.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
The story unfolded exactly as expected so no surprises other than Cal’s reaction at the end was more extreme than I anticipated. And where was the press? You’d think a miraculous healer would be bombarded by the media.
Here’s another surprise: Eva Le Gallienne received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her tiny on-screen role as Edna’s grandmother. Better known for her stage work, Eva’s Broadway career started in 1916!
THE OSCAR?
If I’m just comparing Ellen vs. Sissy two, I prefer the more vulnerable performance of Sissy Spacek.
Rudy’s review - Resurrection (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. It was interesting in a quirky way. A bit uneven, but engrossing.
2. Ellen Burstyn did a good job of not going over the top in the role. It could have been really camp given the nature of the subject matter, but I found her to be very convincing. It was nice to see a film from that time where the woman obviously liked sex. I think it was part of her holistic nature that touching and loving and healing were all interconnected in a lovely way that made her character so warm and caring. It drew you to her.
3. I loved the scene where she and her father stopped at The last Chance Gas and she meets Richard Farnsworth (Esco). It was so tender. I just knew she would end up there. the scenes between her and her grandmother were also very sweet.
THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. The worst soundtrack in the history of movies!!!! The music when Sam Shepard goes ballistic with the shot gun is really cheesy.
2. Low budget quality.
3. The costumes! What were those outfits she was wearing???? And the way she looked at the end with the crazy white unkempt hair!! Wacko!
4. I didn't really like the Sam Shepard character. It wasn't clear to me what was going on with him. And then, suddenly, he's loading a shot gun. What? What was she doing with him anyway??
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
Interesting that, like Ordinary People, there was a situation where the child is yearning for love from the unloving parent.
THE OSCAR? Sissy Spacek.
David’s review - Resurrection (1980)
I am surprised that I was so engrossed in this somewhat poorly executed mystical/ spiritual movie. Ellen Burstyn is an actress I very much like and I think she was disadvantaged by an overwrought story line. Her character underwent a dramatic transformation into a miraculously effective healer, but she took it all in her stride somewhat nonchalantly. A near-death experience, self-healing her paralyzed legs, casual sex with the gun totin’ rebel son of a crazed holy roller, being introduced to a two-headed snake—nothing fazed her or disturbed a lock in her dazzling orange coiffure.
I LIKED the fact that there was no “action” in this movie—no car chase through a big city, no comic book hero or heroine, ‘nary an explosion, no drug addiction, no provocative sex scenes and best of all, no f..king f-word dialogue. I liked seeing some interesting faces in the small country crowd scenes instead of Beverly Hills beauties with Hollywood dentistry and copious Botox.
I DISLIKED the location, supposedly rural Kansas that looked too much like the Dustbowl of the ‘30s Depression. I also did not buy into the not-so-special effect depiction of The After-Life (which I guess is a lot like Studio 54 in the '70s.)
THE OSCAR?
Although I usually find Ellen Burstyn interesting, it seemed to me that she didn’t deliver her usual performance. I blame the script that did not explore her character’s motivation. I wanted to know more about her troubled relationship to her taciturn father. And where was her mother? I’m sticking with Mary Tyler Moore as the most deserving of the Best ActressAward.
Amanda’s Review - Resurrection (1980)
I ultimately found myself quite absorbed by this movie, but it took a while to get there.
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. The scene with the always underused Richard Farnsworth as the gas station owner with the two-headed snake. One of our greatest actors, the late Farnsworth’s appearance in the movie was a high point for me, and I wish his work hadn’t been limited to just one scene. (I recommend the movie, The Straight Story, for those of you who may not have seen it. Farnsworth's last—and greatest—role).
2. Ellen Burstyn’s performance, which was sensitive and exuded warmth, even though there was very little character development.
3. A movie with a message of Love (with a capital ‘L’) is always a good idea.
WHAT I DISLIKED
1. I hated the way that 1970s Kansas was depicted as if it were the Dustbowl of the Great Depression. I don’t know if this was a stylistic choice (and if so, I thought it was not only a poor one, but poorly rendered) or based on a Hollywood ignorance of what the ‘flyover states’ are actually like, but those who inhabited the prairie states in the late 1970s did not dress as if they were in a Dorothea Lange photo! I Googled ‘Kansas families 1970s’, and everyone was dressed in typical (and sometimes rather groovy!) '70s attire. I felt that this portrayal of farming folk was both insulting to them and confusing to the viewer.
2. The ‘flash forward’ didn’t work for me; how old was she have supposed to have aged? Clearly, she’s a young woman at the start of the movie and an old lady at the end, so at least thirty years must have passed, yet there is no attempt to make the family who stop at the gas station look anything other than a '70s family. I then thought that perhaps I’d read the earlier scenes incorrectly and that it WAS supposed to be set in the '30s, but then I remembered the digital clocks, the cars, etc., so clearly, the movie was set contemporaneously (late ‘70s), and so the '30 years in the future' ending was badly done, in my opinion. How hard would it have been to dress the family with the sick child in ‘slightly’ futuristic clothing? Or give them a vehicle that was NOT a Seventies’ issue RV?
3. I didn’t understand why, once she learned that she had this incredible gift of healing power, she was just instantly accepting and almost blasé about it. We know from an early scene that she was a successful working woman (she states she can pay off over $200 a month on the car she bought for her husband, which correlates to over $300 today), so clearly, she was an intelligent woman with a high paying job, and yet she displayed no curiosity as to why she suddenly had this gift. Certainly, she ‘saw the light’ (literally), but she later says that she isn’t a follower of a particular faith, so this experience didn’t covert her. If it had, I would have been more accepting of her lack of curiosity as to why this was happening to her; it would be a matter of faith.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME
I was surprised to learn that the actress who played her grandmother was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, as she was in no more than five minutes of the movie, and although her performance was good, there was nothing about it that struck me as particularly ‘Oscar Worthy’.
WHO SHOULD HAVE WON THE OSCAR?
I am (for now) sticking with Mary Tyler Moore for Ordinary People. Ellen Burstyn’s performance in Resurrection was warm and touching, but the role did not offer the same challenges that Ms. Moore was faced with, and that she conquered with such aplomb.
CONCLUSION
It took a while for me to feel emotionally engaged with Resurrection; I think the ‘idea’ of a woman having a near-death experience and (consequently) having remarkable healing powers is a good one, but I don’t think the themes were developed in a particularly interesting way. Although Burstyn’s performance was strong, the script didn’t allow for much character development, and as a result, she didn’t read as a ‘real’ person to me. I enjoyed watching it, but (for me) I think it is one of those movies that looked better “on paper” than on the screen.
GLORIA (1980)
Gena Rowlands nominated for Best Actress as Gloria Swenson
Co-starring:
John Adames as Phil Dawn (the kid)
Julie Carmen as Jeri Dawn, Buck Henry as Jack Dawn
A mobster's former girlfriend is on the run with the neighbor's boy.
Crime drama directed by John Cassavetes.
Jenny’s review - Gloria (1980)
Why? Why? Why? That’s the crux of my experience watching this film. Maybe I'm too unfamiliar with the mob movie genre to grasp what was going on. Or maybe this was a bad screenplay. I’d like to do nothing but complain, but I’ll try to come up with some pluses.
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. I liked having the opportunity to see a younger Gena Rowlands in a lead role. Previously, I enjoyed her more mature roles in Hope Floats (1998) and The Notebook (2004).
2. The violence was toned down.
3. I liked the single uninterrupted shots. Example: In the restaurant scene, Gloria gets up from her table with Phil, walks away from camera to the table of mobsters and begins a conversation with them. The camera stays on Phil while this sequence plays out in the background.
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. I hated the opening music. The moaning vocals and sad sax said to me, “you’re not going to like this movie.”
2. Why?
Why did Phil’s family open the door when they knew they’d be murdered? Why not hide? Or run away? Or get protective custody from the Feds?
Why did Gloria have two apartments?
Why couldn’t Gloria wear something other than a skirt and high heels? With all that running from the mob, slacks and sneakers would have been super.
Why didn’t Gloria and Phil immediately don disguises and get out of town?
When Gloria couldn’t get a room at a high end hotel, why did they go to such a seedy place? Surely there were options in between.
Why not turn the book over to the mob and be done with it?
Why did the mobsters succumb to Gloria’s demands? Oh yes, we’ll empty the bullets from our guns and leave the restaurant. Yes, we’ll walk right into this closet for you. Yes, you may leave the mob boss’s home with your life intact.
Why was the kid essentially unfazed by the murder of his entire family? Although, I have to admit I found it fascinating to observe the kid’s poor, one-note performance. Side note: John Adames received a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor, tied with Laurence Olivier in The Jazz Singer.
WHAT SURPRISDE ME:
I’m surprised this was a critically praised movie.
THE OSCAR?
Jenna had a strong performance in a weak film, but my vote goes to Mary Tyler Moore.
David’s review - Gloria (1980)
Gloria is a little film from the husband/wife team of John Cassavetes (writer/director/actor) and Gena Rowlands (blonde glam star/gifted dramatic actress). They are famous for their collaboration on ten interesting, artistic films with an Indie feeling. If it had been filmed in black-and-white instead of Technicolor, Gloria would qualify as a truly classic Film Noir. The plot line is simple. The mob rubs out a young family whose father is an FBI informant/dishonest accountant. Gena’s character happens to be present when the bad guys arrive and despite her dislike of children, she escapes the massacre with the six-year-old son (a quirky little Latino). They race through unsavory parts of Manhattan, lost and ignored by the crowds, hiding out in a shabby flophouse and a borrowed apartment. The city in '70s urban decay is an authentic setting, gritty and dangerous. We learn that Gena was the mistress of the top mobster and more importantly she packs a rod and frequently uses it, a cold-blooded sharpshooter. She is forced to abandon the boy whom she has grown to love, justifying a few murders along the way to Newark with a brief stop in a cemetery en route. Spoiler alert! The film has a far-fetched happy ending. Yes, really.
WHAT I LIKED:
The look of the film has a definite Indie aura, rough cut that reveals the nerve-wrecking underbelly of the over-populated, graffiti-defaced '70s city that never sleeps. I was pleased that the script did not stoop to introducing a strong male presence in order to add a cliché romantic subplot.
WHAT I DISLIKED:
Being a fashion pro for so many years means that I sometimes become distracted by a character’s wardrobe. I was troubled to see Gloria race through this action-packed movie wearing a single pair of delicate, high-heeled sandals that could not have possibly withstood the wear and tear of the violent chase.
AN OSCAR FOR GENA?
In my opinion, Gena Rowlands missed the opportunity to maximize the emotional impact of her character’s growing sensitivity from self-centered career woman to a brave and responsible mother-figure for an endangered child. Mary Tyler Moore continues to get my vote for Ordinary People.
Rudy’s review - Gloria (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
I enjoyed the film overall in a low key way, but it wasn't a stand out film.
1. Gena Rowlands is a marvel! A great performance in an underwhelming film.
2. That little boy's face grabbed my heart.
3. Gloria's Emanuel Ungaro wardrobe!!
THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. Stupid title.
2. Watching Gloria running all over town in those heels!!!
3. I had trouble seeing mousy Buck Henry as a man married to such a beautiful young woman. He didn't seem to fit in with his family and I had trouble believing they were a unit.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
Those paintings in the opening credits and the crazy music were very unique and interesting and set the tone for an off beat film experience.
THE OSCAR?
Now that we've seen all the films, I think that except for Goldie Hawn's average and adequate performance, all the women in the running were powerful and compelling. My vote still goes to Sissy Spacek for channeling Loretta Lynn so beautifully in a film that I liked very much.
Amanda’s review - Gloria (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1) I was surprised how much I enjoyed the story, as I tend to shun plot-lines involving The Mob, 'gangland', organized crime, vendettas, and all that Godfather/Goodfellas stuff. I tend not to like 'gritty' movies, either. That understood, I thought the story was really engaging, and the dynamic between tough-as-nails Gloria and the adorable little boy she's protecting elevated this movie enormously for me. I never imagined I'd cry at the end, because I never imagined I'd get the ending I wanted, which I'm sure is the ending we all wanted, and so I'm happy that John Cassavetes "played to the cheap seats" with the sweet conclusion to this harrowing story.
2. In anyone else's hands, Gloria would have been played by a twenty-something 'hottie', and I loved that Cassavetes cast his 50-year-old wife in the title role. It made for a far more believable story, and showed Hollywood that you don't have to be young to be beautiful and badass!
3. Gena Rowland's hair! It was MAGNIFICENT!
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. I though the soundtrack was cheesy and cliche; it was almost like a 'spoof' soundtrack for a 'gritty' crime parody.
2. Apart from Gina Rowlands, there wasn't much glamour in 'Gloria', and (because I am extremely superficial) I need more glamour to be truly happy with a movie.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
I was surprised that Emmanuel Ungaro costumed Gina Rowlands; no wonder she looked so great!
THE OSCAR?
I adored Gena Rowland's performance in Gloria, but this was a 'flashy' role that gave her lots to work with. That understood, I'm sticking with Mary Tyler Moore's underplayed unpleasantness in Ordinary People.
 |
| Ted Menten's Loretta Lynn paper doll souvenir for the 2015 Paper Doll Convention in Chattanooga, TN. |
 |
| COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER (1980) Sissy Spacek WINNER for best Actress as Loretta Lynn Co-starring: Tommy Lee Jones as Doolittle Lynn The humble beginnings, rise to fame and troubled marriage of legendary country singer Loretta Lynn. Biopic directed by Michael Apted. |
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. I like that this biopic doesn’t try to cover too much, keeping its focus on the relationship of Loretta and Doolittle. The film gives us a good sense of an impoverished coal mining town in 1940s Kentucky, helping us understand the dynamics that brought Loretta and Doo together. We see Loretta’s rise to success without going too far into the business aspect of her career. Her wealth is represented without the typical scenes of buying fancy cars, houses, furs, etc.
2. Tommy Lee Jones’ performance is excellent. It is interesting to see how Doo created Loretta Lynn’s career—buying her first guitar, pushing her on stage, mailing demos, driving her to radio station after radio station.
3. Loretta’s friendship with Patsy Cline—a much-needed strong female role model.
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. A grown man with a 13-year-old girl is deeply disturbing in any context. More recently, the Associated Press obtained Loretta’s birth certificate which puts her at age 15 when she got married, not 13. When questioned by the AP, Loretta’s spokeswoman said that Lynn has told her before in no uncertain terms, "If anyone asks how old I am, tell them it's none of their business!" Sooo… Loretta prefers to let people think she is younger than she really is even if makes her a 13-year-old bride. That’s just weird.
2. As awful as it is to witness Doolittle’s destructive behavior, I suspect his abuse, alcoholism and womanizing was watered down for this film.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
Beverly D’Angelo is terrific as Patsy Cline, and I was gobsmacked to read in the credits that she did her own singing. Her voice is spot-on.
WHO SHOULD HAVE WON THE OSCAR?
Sissy Spacek’s vulnerable portrayal of Loretta Lynn is Oscar worthy.
SIDE NOTES:
This film inspired me to listen to the audiobook, Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner’s Daughter, read by Sissy Spacek, which provides a more detailed account of her rise to success. For example, her first record and radio station road trip was funded by a wealthy Canadian businessman who saw Loretta on a local program. It was interesting to learn more about her family, her siblings’ involvement in the music industry, her Native American heritage and even Loretta’s psychic abilities. I recommend watching the 1980 interviews with cast members and director of Coal Miner’s Daughter on Brian Linehan’s City Lights YouTube channel.
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. Such a great movie and an incredible story about an ordinary girl who became a powerhouse of a woman! I can't imagine being married at 13 and surviving it!! Let alone becoming such a big star to boot. I loved Doo's dedication to her and his belief in her. Obviously, it wasn't a perfect relationship, but there was a lot of good stuff goin' on there! Loved the way their story was told. (I read that they were married for 50 years until he died.)
1. Such a great movie and an incredible story about an ordinary girl who became a powerhouse of a woman! I can't imagine being married at 13 and surviving it!! Let alone becoming such a big star to boot. I loved Doo's dedication to her and his belief in her. Obviously, it wasn't a perfect relationship, but there was a lot of good stuff goin' on there! Loved the way their story was told. (I read that they were married for 50 years until he died.)
2. Tommy Lee and Sissy Spacek were great! Sissy Spacek was perfectly cast and her singing was great, too.
3. I loved the way the early scenes with her parents and siblings were done. They were all filmed in Kentucky and were so authentic, it put you right there.
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
THE OSCAR?
Sissy was great and her Oscar was well deserved. but I am going to withhold final judgement until I see the other films.
Coal Miner’s Daughter scored an Oscar for Sissy Spacek and I can’t figure out why. I was stupefied by this country-and-western cliché bio-pic. Loretta Lynn’s climb from hardscrabble poverty to burned-out superstar is a story seen too many times. Usually the setting is Broadway or Hollywood. Sissy’s instant success took place at the Grand Ole Opry but the plot played out with mind-numbing familiarity.
Adolescent Loretta wasn’t much of a mother, a housekeeper or a wife, but when her pushy husband bought her a guitar, she sat right down and wrote hit songs. No surprise that success was so great it was too much for Loretta to cope with and she went to pieces but recovered without much more than an onstage faint and a couple of painted-on tears. Bor-ring!
DID I LIKE ANYTHING about this oft-told show biz tale? No. I don’t really like yesterday’s cold mashed potatoes. A Star is Re-Born, once again, but with a twang as she sang. I found the scene played for comedy with 13-year-old Loretta as a child-bride on her wedding night to be totally tasteless. Molestation, not making love.
SURPRISES? I was pleasantly surprised to see Beverly D’Angelo as Patsy Cline doing her own vocalizing, as did Sissy Spacek.
SURPRISES? I was pleasantly surprised to see Beverly D’Angelo as Patsy Cline doing her own vocalizing, as did Sissy Spacek.
AN OSCAR FOR SISSY? I don’t think so.
I saw this film when it came out, and only caught bits and pieces of it on TCM on occasion. I do recall even before the "Me Too Movement" feeling very uncomfortable about the "rape" of a 13-year-old girl at the hands of an adult. The times were different, but I was marching in Washington with others to change laws, and even being run off the road for having an ERA sticker on my car.
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. The fact they filmed on location and not a back lot gives the film a big plus.
1. The fact they filmed on location and not a back lot gives the film a big plus.
2. The performance of Tommy Lee Jones is stellar.
3. Sissy's singing and accent is perfection.
TWO THINGS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN IMPROVED:
1. The casting of Patsy Cline. She should have been truly more demanding and the relationship between her and Loretta was really a pivotal relationship that was so important.
2. To me the script was weak and too simple, The story omitted Loretta's true soul mate, Conway Twitty. They were a real country western item, and somehow it would have made a better story if it was included.
THE OSCAR?
Did Sissy deserve the Academy Award. I don't know. She portrayed an icon of sorts and her accent and singing are dead on, but I will reserve my opinion until I see the other nominees.
 |
| PRIVATE BENJAMIN (1980) Goldie Hawn nominated for Best Actress as Judy Benjamin Co-starring: Eileen Brennan as Captain Doreen Lewis Armand Assante as Henri Alan Tremont A newly widowed socialite who comes into her own by way of the US Army. Comedy directed by Howard Zeiff. |
Jenny's Review - Private Benjamin (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. Goldie is funny without trying to be funny. She plays her character straight—a privileged young woman unexpectedly thrust into the rigors of basic training.
1. Goldie is funny without trying to be funny. She plays her character straight—a privileged young woman unexpectedly thrust into the rigors of basic training.
2. Smart editing creates many funny moments in the film. Example: When Captain Lewis first encounters Judy in the barracks, Judy explains that she joined a “different Army,” the one with condos and a private room, and she couldn’t possible sleep with 20 women in a filthy room. Captain Lewis responds, “May I see your toothbrush?” Cut to a low angle shot of the bathroom where we see just the lower half of Judy still in her civilian dress and hose, on her knees, scrubbing the toilet with her electric toothbrush.
3. Giant 1980s eyeglasses! OMG! Judy’s mother is hilarious wearing window-pane glasses so huge that they cover part of her hairstyle.
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
2. The war games exercise was too silly. Judy could have been the heroine of a much smarter scenario.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
THE OSCAR?
The only comedic performance in Oscar’s Best Actress category, Goldie was deserving of a nomination but not the win. For the Golden Globes, she was nominated in the Comedy/Musical category with Dolly Parton in 9 to 5, Irene Cara in Fame, Bette Midler in Divine Madness! and Sissy Spacek (winner) in Coal Miner’s Daughter.
I am so sorry, but I really didn't like this movie at all. It was boring and just uninteresting to me. I like Goldie Hawn. She's cute and all, but that wasn't enough to save this film for me. I found the entire cast really annoying. I guess it was supposed to be a comedy, but I didn't think it was that funny. And I guess it was a big hit at the time because it was a female empowerment movie, but pa-lease! There were other films from around that same time period that were much more effective. Working Girl comes to mind.
Thumbs down for me.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
THE OSCAR?
I’m staying with Sissy Spacek so far.
I remember liking this movie when I saw it 39 years ago, but found my updated opinion doing a total turnabout. I found the humor to be sophomoric, the script nonsensical and the characters one-dimensional. Today I find it hard to believe that Goldie Hawn was nominated for Best Actress. Granted, she had a surprisingly successful career built on her giggly, whacky persona. Talent? Limited, but likeable and always typecast as a dizzy blonde (although she goes for a carrot-colored frizz coif for the un-funny comedic climax in Private Benjamin. )
Goldie is Goldie and she suffers through a script that’s not to be believed as her character’s groom dies on his wedding night (not funny), joins the all-gal-pals army (fights off a rapist officer before parachuting), falls in love with a super-suave Continental (a Commie who demands a prenup agreement, has sex with the maid and almost leaves now-wiser Goldie waiting at their wedding). I really wondered how this mess of a movie got made, even allowing for the changing awareness of women’s rights (better late than never).
WHAT DID I LIKE?
I found it to be a fascinating history lesson, a reminder that the Women’s Movement remains an on-going social work in progress.
I did like one thing about “Private Benjamin.” Eileen Brennan. At least she seemed to understand the movie was a comedy (at times, anyway). She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. She reprised the role in a multi-season TV series based on the film.
A SURPRISE?
Goldie Hawn’s hair! Artfully arranged boudoir bedraggled. She still sports the same scrambled blonde and on her, it works.
THE OSCAR?
Should Goldie have swiped the Oscar from Sissy? No way.
WHAT I LIKED:
I liked this movie for a number of reasons. Goldie Hawn is believable in an I Love Lucy manner. Her over the top spoiled self absorbed girl is convincing and funny and Eileen Brennans performance is wonderful. The two of them play off each other perfectly.
WHAT I DISLIKED:
It is difficult to think of things I did not like. Comedy is such a strangely personal take on life. Women see funny in things men don't, and visa versa. All women, especially before the "Me Too Movement,” met way too many men that were depicted in this film. To see the "funny" outcome to these situations gave this film a sense of lightness. There is a truly an important message, that I believe Goldie Hawn wanted to invoke, and that is that women were ready to come into their own, not just Judy. Goldie Hawn is a power house in Hollywood and is breaking some of the glass ceilings there. I think this film shows women that they have the ability to perhaps one day be President of the United States!!! This message is 40 years old.
THE OSCAR?
Should Goldie have won the Academy Award, no. But it is a good and worthwhile comedy.
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. I liked the ‘idea’ of the movie; pampered and privileged poshie goes to boot camp and (in the most unlikely of settings) finds her inner strength. It was actually a fabulous concept, but (for me) it didn’t deliver.
2. Eileen Brennan! She was the only truly comic spark in an otherwise labored ‘one joke’ comedy (and those ‘jokes’ seemed dated even then; endless ‘sight gags’ involving people struggling with obstacle courses, etc., it felt like I was watching a Carry On movie from the '60s. And was I the only one who thought that Judy’s initial belief that the Army was going to be like a spa retreat unbelievable to the point of idiocy?)
3. I thought Armande Assante was both handsome and devilishly charming (and is it just me, or did he remind anyone else of today’s Diego Luna?)
THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. I thoroughly disliked the suggestion that if a female joins the military, there must be something intrinsically ‘wrong’ with her; Benjamin’s co-recruits were comprised young women who (in one way or another) represented the lost and disenfranchised, and I genuinely felt that this was insulting to women of our Armed Forces.
2. I was confused by the overarching ‘message’ of this movie; Judy joins the Army because her husband dies, leaving behind her life of pampered privileged financed by a man. We are taught that she has grown from her experience in the Army and has realized that she is a strong and independent woman capable of carving a glittering career for herself in the military. And then what does she do? She leaves the Army to marry a man who will give her a pampered and privileged life, essentially putting her ‘back to square one’. Certainly, she stands him up at the aisle after she realizes what a heel he is, but the whole third act of Private Benjamin struck a weird note with me. Why had we just endured all of this facile basic training stuff (endured on the promise that the experience had somehow ‘changed’ Judy), when she was then so quick to return to her pre-Army self? Furthermore, I think it was incredibly patronizing to women to suggest that to have the strength to leave a man who has cheated on you with two different women and makes you sign a prenup in a language you can’t read you, must first join the Army! (Us girlies just ain’t tough enough to walk away from even a bad relationship unless we’ve experienced six weeks with a drill sergeant. Oh, please!)
3. I know we are living in a time of heightened (and welcomed) awareness regarding sexual assault, but really? A scene where an attempted rape is used to ‘comic effect’ (I refer to the parachuting scene) is ‘cheap’ at best, and at worst, incredibly offensive to victims of sexual assault who couldn’t escape it by cutely jumping out of an airplane.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
I was surprised that this movie was so popular that it spawned a TV spinoff, and I’m even more surprised that it remains so beloved (by so many!) today. I guess I’m missing something…
THE OSCAR?
Goldie Hawn was charming and delightful, but this was not the stuff of Oscars. For now, I’m sticking with Mary Tyler Moore as the most deserving nominee.
Goldie Hawn was charming and delightful, but this was not the stuff of Oscars. For now, I’m sticking with Mary Tyler Moore as the most deserving nominee.
 |
| ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980) Mary Tyler Moore nominated for Best Actress as Beth Jarrett Co-starring: Donald Sutherland as Calvin Jarrett Timothy Hutton as Conrad Jarrett Judd Hirsch as Dr. Berger A family unravels following the death of their eldest son. Drama directed by Robert Redford. |
Jennys Review - Ordinary People (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. Smart. Smart. Smart. After our two previous viewings, I especially appreciate this intelligent film. The script, direction, casting, acting—all top notch.
2. I love how the story and characters developed in small bits, making us consider and question things along the way. Is there anything behind the cold facade of Mary Tyler Moore’s character? You’ll have to watch and find out for yourself!
3. Stellar performances from Timothy Hutton, Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore and Judd Hirsch. I also enjoyed Conrad’s friends played by Elizabeth McGovern and Diana Manoff.
I’m surprised how much I liked this movie. I hadn’t seen it before, and I’m glad I had this opportunity to watch. It doesn’t get the buzz like other films of the era which is too bad. I now consider it one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. This was Robert Redford’s directorial debut and he deservedly won the Oscar.
THE OSCAR?
Move over Sissy Spacek, Mary Tyler Moore gets my vote.
David’s Review - Ordinary People (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. Ordinary People is far from an ordinary movie. In fact, I think it is extraordinary, a sensitive story of a family suffering to survive the gut-wrenching pain of losing their eldest son in a boating accident. The surviving son attempted suicide and the family dynamics are painful to observe. Director Robert Redford did a splendid job balancing what could have become melodrama.
2. Mary Tyler Moore’s performance is superb, as is Timothy Hutton who plays her tortured son. Watching this artistic motion picture after the brainless Private Benjamin was a reminder that cinema can be art or gross garbage.
3. I became totally immersed in the family’s emotional dilemma and thought the entire cast was perfectly cast. On the lighter side, I enjoyed observing the luxe '80s lifestyle depicted… hardly “ordinary.” Hey! What happened to Mary Tyler Moore’s eyebrows that were plucked to nothingness? Ah, the whims of Fashion.
WHAT SURPRISED ME:
Surprise! Yes that adorable teen with the face of a living doll is Elizabeth McGovern long before she married into the Downton Abbey gang. She’s aging gracefully and I was delighted to see her early work. She was charming then and is every bit as charming now.
THE OSCAR?
Mary Tyler Moore’s portrayal of the dysfunctional mother ran rings around Sissy Spacek ‘s country biopic. Her character’s mortal wound was a difficult role and MTM stepped out of her usual sweet role to deliver this brilliant performance. I think she should have taken home the Oscar.
Rudy’s Review - Ordinary People (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. Timothy Hutton!!! His performance was nothing short of miraculous!!! He blew me away and very much deserved the best Supporting actor Oscar that he received for this. He was 20!!!
2. Great acting, great cast, great writing and directing.
3. It was a brilliant and affecting portrait of this family struck by tragedy. I especially loved its portrayal of the troubled, sweet teen-aged boy and his relationship with his psychiatrist. I could also really relate to the dad who loved his son so much and struggled hard to try and help him, not knowing if his efforts were going to do any good.
WHAT I DISLIKED:
I didn't get how MTM's character could be so distant with her son who was so lovable. That scene where he hugged her and she couldn't hug him back was pivotal. When Donald Sutherland said to her that he didn't know if she had buried her love with their son, or if she had ever been capable of loving at al—that was the question. What was her deal??? MTM played the part of this enigmatic character well. Ironically the same year as the movie, her only child, Richie, died at the age of 24 of an accidental gunshot to the head while cleaning a small .410 shotgun. Just heartbreaking.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
The young Elizabeth McGovern. How much fun is it to see her sweet young face and tender performance after watching her for years as Cora on Downton Abbey!
THE OSCAR?
Mary Tyler Moore was very good as the uptight and constipated mom, but I'm still going with Sissy Spacek.
Amanda’s Review - Ordinary People (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. The performances, all of which were extraordinary. I particularly liked Donald Sutherland as the tragically cheerful ‘pleaser’, and young Timothy Hutton was particularly sympathetic as the troubled teenage son. But of course, it was Mary Tyler Moore who stole the movie, her portrayal of a bereaved and emotionally inhibited control freak such a dramatic departure from her warm and likeable role as ‘Mary Richards’.
2. The palette; all those browns, greys, beiges, and mustards that not only spoke to the era, but to the emotional tone of the movie. This extends to wardrobe, which (as a fashion history professor) I particularly liked, as it depicted so perfectly that subtle move from style of the Seventies to that of the Eighties.
3. The recurring motif of water; Bucky drowns, much of the surviving son’s plotline revolves around his success (or lack of it) on the swim team, and whenever Beth feels she’s losing ‘control’ (of a conversation or situation), she drinks from a glass of water. Water becomes a signifier for both stress and sadness; I thought this was subtle and clever.
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. The therapy scenes. Although Judd Hirsch was terrific in the role of Dr. Berger, I felt the dialogue was somewhat clunky and cliché, and I could have lived without a few of those encounters.
2. The overuse of Pachelbel’s Canon (and I love Pachelbel’s Canon!).
3. I didn’t like how much it upset me! I first saw it in 1980 when I was 15 and haven’t seen it since. I remember enjoying it, but it didn’t rip my heart out. It did this time!
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
I was surprised at how ‘contemporary’ it felt in theme; forty years later, teen suicide is higher than ever, and I couldn’t help but feel that the dynamics we see at play in this family are being played out in middle-class homes with troubled teens today. This could be updated so readily as a Netflix Original, with an SUV-driving ‘Alpha Female’, uber feminist ‘soccer mom’ in the Beth role (I would love to see Julia Louis Dreyfus breaking away from comedy and showing her acting chops in this role, just as Mary Tyler Moore did), her depressed teenage son addicted to gaming and escaping into an online world. I can see Paul Rudd taking on the Donald Sutherland role, and who better to play the ‘tough love’ psychiatrist than Oprah Winfrey?? Damn, this casting is so genius I wish this remake existed!
WHO SHOULD HAVE WON THE OSCAR?
Mary Tyler Moore, of course! I remember at the time I felt she should have won; her fellow nominees had ‘flashier’ roles, and to play such an emotionally closed-off and cold character and still garner audience sympathy is quite a feat.
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. Smart. Smart. Smart. After our two previous viewings, I especially appreciate this intelligent film. The script, direction, casting, acting—all top notch.
2. I love how the story and characters developed in small bits, making us consider and question things along the way. Is there anything behind the cold facade of Mary Tyler Moore’s character? You’ll have to watch and find out for yourself!
3. Stellar performances from Timothy Hutton, Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore and Judd Hirsch. I also enjoyed Conrad’s friends played by Elizabeth McGovern and Diana Manoff.
WHAT I DISLIKED: Nothing!
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
THE OSCAR?
Move over Sissy Spacek, Mary Tyler Moore gets my vote.
David’s Review - Ordinary People (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. Ordinary People is far from an ordinary movie. In fact, I think it is extraordinary, a sensitive story of a family suffering to survive the gut-wrenching pain of losing their eldest son in a boating accident. The surviving son attempted suicide and the family dynamics are painful to observe. Director Robert Redford did a splendid job balancing what could have become melodrama.
2. Mary Tyler Moore’s performance is superb, as is Timothy Hutton who plays her tortured son. Watching this artistic motion picture after the brainless Private Benjamin was a reminder that cinema can be art or gross garbage.
3. I became totally immersed in the family’s emotional dilemma and thought the entire cast was perfectly cast. On the lighter side, I enjoyed observing the luxe '80s lifestyle depicted… hardly “ordinary.” Hey! What happened to Mary Tyler Moore’s eyebrows that were plucked to nothingness? Ah, the whims of Fashion.
WHAT SURPRISED ME:
Surprise! Yes that adorable teen with the face of a living doll is Elizabeth McGovern long before she married into the Downton Abbey gang. She’s aging gracefully and I was delighted to see her early work. She was charming then and is every bit as charming now.
THE OSCAR?
Mary Tyler Moore’s portrayal of the dysfunctional mother ran rings around Sissy Spacek ‘s country biopic. Her character’s mortal wound was a difficult role and MTM stepped out of her usual sweet role to deliver this brilliant performance. I think she should have taken home the Oscar.
Rudy’s Review - Ordinary People (1980)
1. Timothy Hutton!!! His performance was nothing short of miraculous!!! He blew me away and very much deserved the best Supporting actor Oscar that he received for this. He was 20!!!
2. Great acting, great cast, great writing and directing.
3. It was a brilliant and affecting portrait of this family struck by tragedy. I especially loved its portrayal of the troubled, sweet teen-aged boy and his relationship with his psychiatrist. I could also really relate to the dad who loved his son so much and struggled hard to try and help him, not knowing if his efforts were going to do any good.
WHAT I DISLIKED:
I didn't get how MTM's character could be so distant with her son who was so lovable. That scene where he hugged her and she couldn't hug him back was pivotal. When Donald Sutherland said to her that he didn't know if she had buried her love with their son, or if she had ever been capable of loving at al—that was the question. What was her deal??? MTM played the part of this enigmatic character well. Ironically the same year as the movie, her only child, Richie, died at the age of 24 of an accidental gunshot to the head while cleaning a small .410 shotgun. Just heartbreaking.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
The young Elizabeth McGovern. How much fun is it to see her sweet young face and tender performance after watching her for years as Cora on Downton Abbey!
THE OSCAR?
Mary Tyler Moore was very good as the uptight and constipated mom, but I'm still going with Sissy Spacek.
Amanda’s Review - Ordinary People (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. The performances, all of which were extraordinary. I particularly liked Donald Sutherland as the tragically cheerful ‘pleaser’, and young Timothy Hutton was particularly sympathetic as the troubled teenage son. But of course, it was Mary Tyler Moore who stole the movie, her portrayal of a bereaved and emotionally inhibited control freak such a dramatic departure from her warm and likeable role as ‘Mary Richards’.
2. The palette; all those browns, greys, beiges, and mustards that not only spoke to the era, but to the emotional tone of the movie. This extends to wardrobe, which (as a fashion history professor) I particularly liked, as it depicted so perfectly that subtle move from style of the Seventies to that of the Eighties.
3. The recurring motif of water; Bucky drowns, much of the surviving son’s plotline revolves around his success (or lack of it) on the swim team, and whenever Beth feels she’s losing ‘control’ (of a conversation or situation), she drinks from a glass of water. Water becomes a signifier for both stress and sadness; I thought this was subtle and clever.
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. The therapy scenes. Although Judd Hirsch was terrific in the role of Dr. Berger, I felt the dialogue was somewhat clunky and cliché, and I could have lived without a few of those encounters.
2. The overuse of Pachelbel’s Canon (and I love Pachelbel’s Canon!).
3. I didn’t like how much it upset me! I first saw it in 1980 when I was 15 and haven’t seen it since. I remember enjoying it, but it didn’t rip my heart out. It did this time!
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
I was surprised at how ‘contemporary’ it felt in theme; forty years later, teen suicide is higher than ever, and I couldn’t help but feel that the dynamics we see at play in this family are being played out in middle-class homes with troubled teens today. This could be updated so readily as a Netflix Original, with an SUV-driving ‘Alpha Female’, uber feminist ‘soccer mom’ in the Beth role (I would love to see Julia Louis Dreyfus breaking away from comedy and showing her acting chops in this role, just as Mary Tyler Moore did), her depressed teenage son addicted to gaming and escaping into an online world. I can see Paul Rudd taking on the Donald Sutherland role, and who better to play the ‘tough love’ psychiatrist than Oprah Winfrey?? Damn, this casting is so genius I wish this remake existed!
WHO SHOULD HAVE WON THE OSCAR?
Mary Tyler Moore, of course! I remember at the time I felt she should have won; her fellow nominees had ‘flashier’ roles, and to play such an emotionally closed-off and cold character and still garner audience sympathy is quite a feat.
 |
| RESURRECTION (1980) Ellen Burstyn nominated for Best Actress as Edna Mae McCauley Co-starring: Sam Shepard as Cal Carpenter, Richard Farnsworth as Esco, Roberts Blossom as Edna’s father, Eva Le Gallienne as Edna’s grandmother. A woman attains healing powers after a near-death experience. Drama directed by Daniel Petrie. |
Jenny’s review - Resurrection (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. Ellen Burstyn’s honest performance. I believed her.
2. The ring of truth in the story threads: the father wants her in his life only if she behaves on his terms, the boyfriend’s grappling with his religious beliefs, Edna’s conviction to stay true to herself.
3. Ellen’s bad teeth. In today’s landscape of facially corrected stars, it’s honestly refreshing to see a leading lady with yellow, crooked teeth and an overbite to boot.
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. Lack of chemistry between Ellen Burstyn and Sam Shepard.
2. Edna’s aging bothered me. Her long, grey hair somehow made her face look younger.
The story unfolded exactly as expected so no surprises other than Cal’s reaction at the end was more extreme than I anticipated. And where was the press? You’d think a miraculous healer would be bombarded by the media.
Here’s another surprise: Eva Le Gallienne received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her tiny on-screen role as Edna’s grandmother. Better known for her stage work, Eva’s Broadway career started in 1916!
THE OSCAR?
If I’m just comparing Ellen vs. Sissy two, I prefer the more vulnerable performance of Sissy Spacek.
Rudy’s review - Resurrection (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. It was interesting in a quirky way. A bit uneven, but engrossing.
2. Ellen Burstyn did a good job of not going over the top in the role. It could have been really camp given the nature of the subject matter, but I found her to be very convincing. It was nice to see a film from that time where the woman obviously liked sex. I think it was part of her holistic nature that touching and loving and healing were all interconnected in a lovely way that made her character so warm and caring. It drew you to her.
3. I loved the scene where she and her father stopped at The last Chance Gas and she meets Richard Farnsworth (Esco). It was so tender. I just knew she would end up there. the scenes between her and her grandmother were also very sweet.
THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. The worst soundtrack in the history of movies!!!! The music when Sam Shepard goes ballistic with the shot gun is really cheesy.
2. Low budget quality.
3. The costumes! What were those outfits she was wearing???? And the way she looked at the end with the crazy white unkempt hair!! Wacko!
4. I didn't really like the Sam Shepard character. It wasn't clear to me what was going on with him. And then, suddenly, he's loading a shot gun. What? What was she doing with him anyway??
Interesting that, like Ordinary People, there was a situation where the child is yearning for love from the unloving parent.
THE OSCAR? Sissy Spacek.
David’s review - Resurrection (1980)
I am surprised that I was so engrossed in this somewhat poorly executed mystical/ spiritual movie. Ellen Burstyn is an actress I very much like and I think she was disadvantaged by an overwrought story line. Her character underwent a dramatic transformation into a miraculously effective healer, but she took it all in her stride somewhat nonchalantly. A near-death experience, self-healing her paralyzed legs, casual sex with the gun totin’ rebel son of a crazed holy roller, being introduced to a two-headed snake—nothing fazed her or disturbed a lock in her dazzling orange coiffure.
I LIKED the fact that there was no “action” in this movie—no car chase through a big city, no comic book hero or heroine, ‘nary an explosion, no drug addiction, no provocative sex scenes and best of all, no f..king f-word dialogue. I liked seeing some interesting faces in the small country crowd scenes instead of Beverly Hills beauties with Hollywood dentistry and copious Botox.
I DISLIKED the location, supposedly rural Kansas that looked too much like the Dustbowl of the ‘30s Depression. I also did not buy into the not-so-special effect depiction of The After-Life (which I guess is a lot like Studio 54 in the '70s.)
THE OSCAR?
Although I usually find Ellen Burstyn interesting, it seemed to me that she didn’t deliver her usual performance. I blame the script that did not explore her character’s motivation. I wanted to know more about her troubled relationship to her taciturn father. And where was her mother? I’m sticking with Mary Tyler Moore as the most deserving of the Best ActressAward.
Amanda’s Review - Resurrection (1980)
I ultimately found myself quite absorbed by this movie, but it took a while to get there.
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. The scene with the always underused Richard Farnsworth as the gas station owner with the two-headed snake. One of our greatest actors, the late Farnsworth’s appearance in the movie was a high point for me, and I wish his work hadn’t been limited to just one scene. (I recommend the movie, The Straight Story, for those of you who may not have seen it. Farnsworth's last—and greatest—role).
2. Ellen Burstyn’s performance, which was sensitive and exuded warmth, even though there was very little character development.
3. A movie with a message of Love (with a capital ‘L’) is always a good idea.
WHAT I DISLIKED
1. I hated the way that 1970s Kansas was depicted as if it were the Dustbowl of the Great Depression. I don’t know if this was a stylistic choice (and if so, I thought it was not only a poor one, but poorly rendered) or based on a Hollywood ignorance of what the ‘flyover states’ are actually like, but those who inhabited the prairie states in the late 1970s did not dress as if they were in a Dorothea Lange photo! I Googled ‘Kansas families 1970s’, and everyone was dressed in typical (and sometimes rather groovy!) '70s attire. I felt that this portrayal of farming folk was both insulting to them and confusing to the viewer.
2. The ‘flash forward’ didn’t work for me; how old was she have supposed to have aged? Clearly, she’s a young woman at the start of the movie and an old lady at the end, so at least thirty years must have passed, yet there is no attempt to make the family who stop at the gas station look anything other than a '70s family. I then thought that perhaps I’d read the earlier scenes incorrectly and that it WAS supposed to be set in the '30s, but then I remembered the digital clocks, the cars, etc., so clearly, the movie was set contemporaneously (late ‘70s), and so the '30 years in the future' ending was badly done, in my opinion. How hard would it have been to dress the family with the sick child in ‘slightly’ futuristic clothing? Or give them a vehicle that was NOT a Seventies’ issue RV?
3. I didn’t understand why, once she learned that she had this incredible gift of healing power, she was just instantly accepting and almost blasé about it. We know from an early scene that she was a successful working woman (she states she can pay off over $200 a month on the car she bought for her husband, which correlates to over $300 today), so clearly, she was an intelligent woman with a high paying job, and yet she displayed no curiosity as to why she suddenly had this gift. Certainly, she ‘saw the light’ (literally), but she later says that she isn’t a follower of a particular faith, so this experience didn’t covert her. If it had, I would have been more accepting of her lack of curiosity as to why this was happening to her; it would be a matter of faith.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME
I was surprised to learn that the actress who played her grandmother was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, as she was in no more than five minutes of the movie, and although her performance was good, there was nothing about it that struck me as particularly ‘Oscar Worthy’.
WHO SHOULD HAVE WON THE OSCAR?
I am (for now) sticking with Mary Tyler Moore for Ordinary People. Ellen Burstyn’s performance in Resurrection was warm and touching, but the role did not offer the same challenges that Ms. Moore was faced with, and that she conquered with such aplomb.
CONCLUSION
It took a while for me to feel emotionally engaged with Resurrection; I think the ‘idea’ of a woman having a near-death experience and (consequently) having remarkable healing powers is a good one, but I don’t think the themes were developed in a particularly interesting way. Although Burstyn’s performance was strong, the script didn’t allow for much character development, and as a result, she didn’t read as a ‘real’ person to me. I enjoyed watching it, but (for me) I think it is one of those movies that looked better “on paper” than on the screen.
Jenny’s review - Gloria (1980)
Why? Why? Why? That’s the crux of my experience watching this film. Maybe I'm too unfamiliar with the mob movie genre to grasp what was going on. Or maybe this was a bad screenplay. I’d like to do nothing but complain, but I’ll try to come up with some pluses.
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. I liked having the opportunity to see a younger Gena Rowlands in a lead role. Previously, I enjoyed her more mature roles in Hope Floats (1998) and The Notebook (2004).
2. The violence was toned down.
3. I liked the single uninterrupted shots. Example: In the restaurant scene, Gloria gets up from her table with Phil, walks away from camera to the table of mobsters and begins a conversation with them. The camera stays on Phil while this sequence plays out in the background.
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. I hated the opening music. The moaning vocals and sad sax said to me, “you’re not going to like this movie.”
2. Why?
Why did Phil’s family open the door when they knew they’d be murdered? Why not hide? Or run away? Or get protective custody from the Feds?
Why did Gloria have two apartments?
Why couldn’t Gloria wear something other than a skirt and high heels? With all that running from the mob, slacks and sneakers would have been super.
Why didn’t Gloria and Phil immediately don disguises and get out of town?
When Gloria couldn’t get a room at a high end hotel, why did they go to such a seedy place? Surely there were options in between.
Why not turn the book over to the mob and be done with it?
Why did the mobsters succumb to Gloria’s demands? Oh yes, we’ll empty the bullets from our guns and leave the restaurant. Yes, we’ll walk right into this closet for you. Yes, you may leave the mob boss’s home with your life intact.
Why was the kid essentially unfazed by the murder of his entire family? Although, I have to admit I found it fascinating to observe the kid’s poor, one-note performance. Side note: John Adames received a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor, tied with Laurence Olivier in The Jazz Singer.
WHAT SURPRISDE ME:
I’m surprised this was a critically praised movie.
THE OSCAR?
Jenna had a strong performance in a weak film, but my vote goes to Mary Tyler Moore.
David’s review - Gloria (1980)
Gloria is a little film from the husband/wife team of John Cassavetes (writer/director/actor) and Gena Rowlands (blonde glam star/gifted dramatic actress). They are famous for their collaboration on ten interesting, artistic films with an Indie feeling. If it had been filmed in black-and-white instead of Technicolor, Gloria would qualify as a truly classic Film Noir. The plot line is simple. The mob rubs out a young family whose father is an FBI informant/dishonest accountant. Gena’s character happens to be present when the bad guys arrive and despite her dislike of children, she escapes the massacre with the six-year-old son (a quirky little Latino). They race through unsavory parts of Manhattan, lost and ignored by the crowds, hiding out in a shabby flophouse and a borrowed apartment. The city in '70s urban decay is an authentic setting, gritty and dangerous. We learn that Gena was the mistress of the top mobster and more importantly she packs a rod and frequently uses it, a cold-blooded sharpshooter. She is forced to abandon the boy whom she has grown to love, justifying a few murders along the way to Newark with a brief stop in a cemetery en route. Spoiler alert! The film has a far-fetched happy ending. Yes, really.
WHAT I LIKED:
The look of the film has a definite Indie aura, rough cut that reveals the nerve-wrecking underbelly of the over-populated, graffiti-defaced '70s city that never sleeps. I was pleased that the script did not stoop to introducing a strong male presence in order to add a cliché romantic subplot.
WHAT I DISLIKED:
Being a fashion pro for so many years means that I sometimes become distracted by a character’s wardrobe. I was troubled to see Gloria race through this action-packed movie wearing a single pair of delicate, high-heeled sandals that could not have possibly withstood the wear and tear of the violent chase.
AN OSCAR FOR GENA?
In my opinion, Gena Rowlands missed the opportunity to maximize the emotional impact of her character’s growing sensitivity from self-centered career woman to a brave and responsible mother-figure for an endangered child. Mary Tyler Moore continues to get my vote for Ordinary People.
Rudy’s review - Gloria (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
I enjoyed the film overall in a low key way, but it wasn't a stand out film.
1. Gena Rowlands is a marvel! A great performance in an underwhelming film.
2. That little boy's face grabbed my heart.
3. Gloria's Emanuel Ungaro wardrobe!!
THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. Stupid title.
2. Watching Gloria running all over town in those heels!!!
3. I had trouble seeing mousy Buck Henry as a man married to such a beautiful young woman. He didn't seem to fit in with his family and I had trouble believing they were a unit.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
Those paintings in the opening credits and the crazy music were very unique and interesting and set the tone for an off beat film experience.
THE OSCAR?
Now that we've seen all the films, I think that except for Goldie Hawn's average and adequate performance, all the women in the running were powerful and compelling. My vote still goes to Sissy Spacek for channeling Loretta Lynn so beautifully in a film that I liked very much.
Amanda’s review - Gloria (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1) I was surprised how much I enjoyed the story, as I tend to shun plot-lines involving The Mob, 'gangland', organized crime, vendettas, and all that Godfather/Goodfellas stuff. I tend not to like 'gritty' movies, either. That understood, I thought the story was really engaging, and the dynamic between tough-as-nails Gloria and the adorable little boy she's protecting elevated this movie enormously for me. I never imagined I'd cry at the end, because I never imagined I'd get the ending I wanted, which I'm sure is the ending we all wanted, and so I'm happy that John Cassavetes "played to the cheap seats" with the sweet conclusion to this harrowing story.
2. In anyone else's hands, Gloria would have been played by a twenty-something 'hottie', and I loved that Cassavetes cast his 50-year-old wife in the title role. It made for a far more believable story, and showed Hollywood that you don't have to be young to be beautiful and badass!
3. Gena Rowland's hair! It was MAGNIFICENT!
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. I though the soundtrack was cheesy and cliche; it was almost like a 'spoof' soundtrack for a 'gritty' crime parody.
2. Apart from Gina Rowlands, there wasn't much glamour in 'Gloria', and (because I am extremely superficial) I need more glamour to be truly happy with a movie.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
I was surprised that Emmanuel Ungaro costumed Gina Rowlands; no wonder she looked so great!
THE OSCAR?
I adored Gena Rowland's performance in Gloria, but this was a 'flashy' role that gave her lots to work with. That understood, I'm sticking with Mary Tyler Moore's underplayed unpleasantness in Ordinary People.
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. Ellen Burstyn’s honest performance. I believed her.
2. The ring of truth in the story threads: the father wants her in his life only if she behaves on his terms, the boyfriend’s grappling with his religious beliefs, Edna’s conviction to stay true to herself.
3. Ellen’s bad teeth. In today’s landscape of facially corrected stars, it’s honestly refreshing to see a leading lady with yellow, crooked teeth and an overbite to boot.
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. Lack of chemistry between Ellen Burstyn and Sam Shepard.
2. Edna’s aging bothered me. Her long, grey hair somehow made her face look younger.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
Here’s another surprise: Eva Le Gallienne received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her tiny on-screen role as Edna’s grandmother. Better known for her stage work, Eva’s Broadway career started in 1916!
THE OSCAR?
If I’m just comparing Ellen vs. Sissy two, I prefer the more vulnerable performance of Sissy Spacek.
Rudy’s review - Resurrection (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. It was interesting in a quirky way. A bit uneven, but engrossing.
2. Ellen Burstyn did a good job of not going over the top in the role. It could have been really camp given the nature of the subject matter, but I found her to be very convincing. It was nice to see a film from that time where the woman obviously liked sex. I think it was part of her holistic nature that touching and loving and healing were all interconnected in a lovely way that made her character so warm and caring. It drew you to her.
3. I loved the scene where she and her father stopped at The last Chance Gas and she meets Richard Farnsworth (Esco). It was so tender. I just knew she would end up there. the scenes between her and her grandmother were also very sweet.
THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. The worst soundtrack in the history of movies!!!! The music when Sam Shepard goes ballistic with the shot gun is really cheesy.
2. Low budget quality.
3. The costumes! What were those outfits she was wearing???? And the way she looked at the end with the crazy white unkempt hair!! Wacko!
4. I didn't really like the Sam Shepard character. It wasn't clear to me what was going on with him. And then, suddenly, he's loading a shot gun. What? What was she doing with him anyway??
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
THE OSCAR? Sissy Spacek.
David’s review - Resurrection (1980)
I am surprised that I was so engrossed in this somewhat poorly executed mystical/ spiritual movie. Ellen Burstyn is an actress I very much like and I think she was disadvantaged by an overwrought story line. Her character underwent a dramatic transformation into a miraculously effective healer, but she took it all in her stride somewhat nonchalantly. A near-death experience, self-healing her paralyzed legs, casual sex with the gun totin’ rebel son of a crazed holy roller, being introduced to a two-headed snake—nothing fazed her or disturbed a lock in her dazzling orange coiffure.
I LIKED the fact that there was no “action” in this movie—no car chase through a big city, no comic book hero or heroine, ‘nary an explosion, no drug addiction, no provocative sex scenes and best of all, no f..king f-word dialogue. I liked seeing some interesting faces in the small country crowd scenes instead of Beverly Hills beauties with Hollywood dentistry and copious Botox.
I DISLIKED the location, supposedly rural Kansas that looked too much like the Dustbowl of the ‘30s Depression. I also did not buy into the not-so-special effect depiction of The After-Life (which I guess is a lot like Studio 54 in the '70s.)
THE OSCAR?
Although I usually find Ellen Burstyn interesting, it seemed to me that she didn’t deliver her usual performance. I blame the script that did not explore her character’s motivation. I wanted to know more about her troubled relationship to her taciturn father. And where was her mother? I’m sticking with Mary Tyler Moore as the most deserving of the Best ActressAward.
Amanda’s Review - Resurrection (1980)
I ultimately found myself quite absorbed by this movie, but it took a while to get there.
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. The scene with the always underused Richard Farnsworth as the gas station owner with the two-headed snake. One of our greatest actors, the late Farnsworth’s appearance in the movie was a high point for me, and I wish his work hadn’t been limited to just one scene. (I recommend the movie, The Straight Story, for those of you who may not have seen it. Farnsworth's last—and greatest—role).
2. Ellen Burstyn’s performance, which was sensitive and exuded warmth, even though there was very little character development.
3. A movie with a message of Love (with a capital ‘L’) is always a good idea.
WHAT I DISLIKED
1. I hated the way that 1970s Kansas was depicted as if it were the Dustbowl of the Great Depression. I don’t know if this was a stylistic choice (and if so, I thought it was not only a poor one, but poorly rendered) or based on a Hollywood ignorance of what the ‘flyover states’ are actually like, but those who inhabited the prairie states in the late 1970s did not dress as if they were in a Dorothea Lange photo! I Googled ‘Kansas families 1970s’, and everyone was dressed in typical (and sometimes rather groovy!) '70s attire. I felt that this portrayal of farming folk was both insulting to them and confusing to the viewer.
2. The ‘flash forward’ didn’t work for me; how old was she have supposed to have aged? Clearly, she’s a young woman at the start of the movie and an old lady at the end, so at least thirty years must have passed, yet there is no attempt to make the family who stop at the gas station look anything other than a '70s family. I then thought that perhaps I’d read the earlier scenes incorrectly and that it WAS supposed to be set in the '30s, but then I remembered the digital clocks, the cars, etc., so clearly, the movie was set contemporaneously (late ‘70s), and so the '30 years in the future' ending was badly done, in my opinion. How hard would it have been to dress the family with the sick child in ‘slightly’ futuristic clothing? Or give them a vehicle that was NOT a Seventies’ issue RV?
3. I didn’t understand why, once she learned that she had this incredible gift of healing power, she was just instantly accepting and almost blasé about it. We know from an early scene that she was a successful working woman (she states she can pay off over $200 a month on the car she bought for her husband, which correlates to over $300 today), so clearly, she was an intelligent woman with a high paying job, and yet she displayed no curiosity as to why she suddenly had this gift. Certainly, she ‘saw the light’ (literally), but she later says that she isn’t a follower of a particular faith, so this experience didn’t covert her. If it had, I would have been more accepting of her lack of curiosity as to why this was happening to her; it would be a matter of faith.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME
I was surprised to learn that the actress who played her grandmother was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, as she was in no more than five minutes of the movie, and although her performance was good, there was nothing about it that struck me as particularly ‘Oscar Worthy’.
WHO SHOULD HAVE WON THE OSCAR?
I am (for now) sticking with Mary Tyler Moore for Ordinary People. Ellen Burstyn’s performance in Resurrection was warm and touching, but the role did not offer the same challenges that Ms. Moore was faced with, and that she conquered with such aplomb.
CONCLUSION
It took a while for me to feel emotionally engaged with Resurrection; I think the ‘idea’ of a woman having a near-death experience and (consequently) having remarkable healing powers is a good one, but I don’t think the themes were developed in a particularly interesting way. Although Burstyn’s performance was strong, the script didn’t allow for much character development, and as a result, she didn’t read as a ‘real’ person to me. I enjoyed watching it, but (for me) I think it is one of those movies that looked better “on paper” than on the screen.
 |
| GLORIA (1980) Gena Rowlands nominated for Best Actress as Gloria Swenson Co-starring: John Adames as Phil Dawn (the kid) Julie Carmen as Jeri Dawn, Buck Henry as Jack Dawn A mobster's former girlfriend is on the run with the neighbor's boy. Crime drama directed by John Cassavetes. |
Why? Why? Why? That’s the crux of my experience watching this film. Maybe I'm too unfamiliar with the mob movie genre to grasp what was going on. Or maybe this was a bad screenplay. I’d like to do nothing but complain, but I’ll try to come up with some pluses.
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1. I liked having the opportunity to see a younger Gena Rowlands in a lead role. Previously, I enjoyed her more mature roles in Hope Floats (1998) and The Notebook (2004).
2. The violence was toned down.
3. I liked the single uninterrupted shots. Example: In the restaurant scene, Gloria gets up from her table with Phil, walks away from camera to the table of mobsters and begins a conversation with them. The camera stays on Phil while this sequence plays out in the background.
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. I hated the opening music. The moaning vocals and sad sax said to me, “you’re not going to like this movie.”
2. Why?
Why did Phil’s family open the door when they knew they’d be murdered? Why not hide? Or run away? Or get protective custody from the Feds?
Why did Gloria have two apartments?
Why couldn’t Gloria wear something other than a skirt and high heels? With all that running from the mob, slacks and sneakers would have been super.
Why didn’t Gloria and Phil immediately don disguises and get out of town?
When Gloria couldn’t get a room at a high end hotel, why did they go to such a seedy place? Surely there were options in between.
Why not turn the book over to the mob and be done with it?
Why did the mobsters succumb to Gloria’s demands? Oh yes, we’ll empty the bullets from our guns and leave the restaurant. Yes, we’ll walk right into this closet for you. Yes, you may leave the mob boss’s home with your life intact.
Why was the kid essentially unfazed by the murder of his entire family? Although, I have to admit I found it fascinating to observe the kid’s poor, one-note performance. Side note: John Adames received a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor, tied with Laurence Olivier in The Jazz Singer.
WHAT SURPRISDE ME:
I’m surprised this was a critically praised movie.
THE OSCAR?
Jenna had a strong performance in a weak film, but my vote goes to Mary Tyler Moore.
David’s review - Gloria (1980)
Gloria is a little film from the husband/wife team of John Cassavetes (writer/director/actor) and Gena Rowlands (blonde glam star/gifted dramatic actress). They are famous for their collaboration on ten interesting, artistic films with an Indie feeling. If it had been filmed in black-and-white instead of Technicolor, Gloria would qualify as a truly classic Film Noir. The plot line is simple. The mob rubs out a young family whose father is an FBI informant/dishonest accountant. Gena’s character happens to be present when the bad guys arrive and despite her dislike of children, she escapes the massacre with the six-year-old son (a quirky little Latino). They race through unsavory parts of Manhattan, lost and ignored by the crowds, hiding out in a shabby flophouse and a borrowed apartment. The city in '70s urban decay is an authentic setting, gritty and dangerous. We learn that Gena was the mistress of the top mobster and more importantly she packs a rod and frequently uses it, a cold-blooded sharpshooter. She is forced to abandon the boy whom she has grown to love, justifying a few murders along the way to Newark with a brief stop in a cemetery en route. Spoiler alert! The film has a far-fetched happy ending. Yes, really.
WHAT I LIKED:
The look of the film has a definite Indie aura, rough cut that reveals the nerve-wrecking underbelly of the over-populated, graffiti-defaced '70s city that never sleeps. I was pleased that the script did not stoop to introducing a strong male presence in order to add a cliché romantic subplot.
WHAT I DISLIKED:
Being a fashion pro for so many years means that I sometimes become distracted by a character’s wardrobe. I was troubled to see Gloria race through this action-packed movie wearing a single pair of delicate, high-heeled sandals that could not have possibly withstood the wear and tear of the violent chase.
AN OSCAR FOR GENA?
In my opinion, Gena Rowlands missed the opportunity to maximize the emotional impact of her character’s growing sensitivity from self-centered career woman to a brave and responsible mother-figure for an endangered child. Mary Tyler Moore continues to get my vote for Ordinary People.
Rudy’s review - Gloria (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
I enjoyed the film overall in a low key way, but it wasn't a stand out film.
1. Gena Rowlands is a marvel! A great performance in an underwhelming film.
2. That little boy's face grabbed my heart.
3. Gloria's Emanuel Ungaro wardrobe!!
THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. Stupid title.
2. Watching Gloria running all over town in those heels!!!
3. I had trouble seeing mousy Buck Henry as a man married to such a beautiful young woman. He didn't seem to fit in with his family and I had trouble believing they were a unit.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
Those paintings in the opening credits and the crazy music were very unique and interesting and set the tone for an off beat film experience.
THE OSCAR?
Now that we've seen all the films, I think that except for Goldie Hawn's average and adequate performance, all the women in the running were powerful and compelling. My vote still goes to Sissy Spacek for channeling Loretta Lynn so beautifully in a film that I liked very much.
Amanda’s review - Gloria (1980)
THREE THINGS I LIKED:
1) I was surprised how much I enjoyed the story, as I tend to shun plot-lines involving The Mob, 'gangland', organized crime, vendettas, and all that Godfather/Goodfellas stuff. I tend not to like 'gritty' movies, either. That understood, I thought the story was really engaging, and the dynamic between tough-as-nails Gloria and the adorable little boy she's protecting elevated this movie enormously for me. I never imagined I'd cry at the end, because I never imagined I'd get the ending I wanted, which I'm sure is the ending we all wanted, and so I'm happy that John Cassavetes "played to the cheap seats" with the sweet conclusion to this harrowing story.
2. In anyone else's hands, Gloria would have been played by a twenty-something 'hottie', and I loved that Cassavetes cast his 50-year-old wife in the title role. It made for a far more believable story, and showed Hollywood that you don't have to be young to be beautiful and badass!
3. Gena Rowland's hair! It was MAGNIFICENT!
TWO THINGS I DISLIKED:
1. I though the soundtrack was cheesy and cliche; it was almost like a 'spoof' soundtrack for a 'gritty' crime parody.
2. Apart from Gina Rowlands, there wasn't much glamour in 'Gloria', and (because I am extremely superficial) I need more glamour to be truly happy with a movie.
ONE THING THAT SURPRISED ME:
I was surprised that Emmanuel Ungaro costumed Gina Rowlands; no wonder she looked so great!
THE OSCAR?
I adored Gena Rowland's performance in Gloria, but this was a 'flashy' role that gave her lots to work with. That understood, I'm sticking with Mary Tyler Moore's underplayed unpleasantness in Ordinary People.
