A New Leaf

I have fond memories of growing up in the declining 70's. One of them was climbing up the Deskey lampposts that were so prevalent in "The City" back in those days. This motion picture is loaded with shots of them. It also is a great story with great actors.

I may have laughed three times. I can't tell if this film is dated or was just bad to begin with. The filmmaking is very rough: the editing, the coverage of scenes, the audio and more. I was excited to see the film since it's a rare instance of a studio film directed by a woman in the 60s/70s. The story has potential but the execution is lame. It's disappointing to see a main female character who is so dim-witted, clueless and dependent on a deceitful man in a film directed by a woman. Supposedly May disowned this cut of the film (the one she wanted was much longer) and I believe it. But was her version any better? I'm not sure I'd take the time to watch the director's cut if it was available.

This movie is hilarious. I laughed so hard and so often. Matthau's caddish paramour is such a cool and flawed human being. And the fact that Elaine May is directing this comic masterpiece while immersing herself into the graceless, hapless, but endearing role, is deliciously ironic.

This movie is a must see. It doesn't resort to cheap tricks for laughs, but rather a witty dialogue that makes you want to watch again and again.

Elaine May's directorial debut is in of itself a classic. Walter Matthau plays a spoiled brat and sleaze of a man who has run through his entire inheritance. He strikes a "deal" with his frustrated uncle that if the uncle loans his some money he will be married (to a wealthy woman), restore his family name and pay back the loaned sum within six weeks. There is one problem: Henrietta - the only woman with whom he stands a chance. Elaine May plays the heiress. And she plays her full-throtle. Henrietta may be an exceptional Botanist, but she fails at all other aspects of her life. Shy, awkward, klutzy and more than a little goofy. Henry hates her immediately and decides the only thing he can do is "alter" his plan and kill her after they marry. He plans a camping trip. What makes this film unusual and valid is the extreme nature of its premise. It is a fairly cruel one and Elaine May never backs away from that. Matthau plays his role well, but unlike his director and leading lady, he never seems fully committed to the cruelty of his plan. Matthau's likable screen presence refused to allow us to actually hate him. This gets in the way of the idea. But the film is saved by it's director/writer in the leading role. Elaine May's performance is so precisely comical that it is impossible not to chuckle as her character moves about the screen. Playing Henrietta in a way that only May can play a character, Henrietta is at once smart and alternatively often seems mentally-challenged. It sounds offensive, but it never reaches that point. Elaine May was smart enough to pull back on her antics and her line readings just enough to not come across full-tilt mentally retarded. But she comes close. The goofiness of her work as an actor is somehow anchored by intelligence, though I find it difficult to articulate how or why. But it is. We immediately like Henrietta and yet enjoy laughing at her. This is where the real problem of the movie comes in. We are laughing at her in almost classic Vaudevillian ways. There is a certain guilt that comes along with our laughter. This very well might have been May's intention, but it leaves an not so great taste in the mouth. There is other issue is that the film is stylized as many films of the day were. This is a dated film with an equally dated musical score. Even still, it is amazing that Elaine May managed to act, write and direct this film in an era where women seldom had the opportunity. And there is the odd sense that what might be perceived as "flaws" are actually a part of the filmmaker's design.