Not exactly maudlin...
I recently purchased the 1971 cult classic, "Harold and Maude", having seen the movie about a year or two ago.
Did I mention that a merely saw only bits and pieces of it? Nevertheless, something about the film moved me enough to take the plunge and buy the movie without ever having seen it from start to finish.
Big mistake.
"Harold and Maude" is, essentially, a May-December love story about two misfits who connect by way of funerals and a shared need to be loved. Walter Chasen (played by Bud Cort) is a 19 year old man-child of wealth whose idea of a good time is to stage repeated suicide attempts in front of his mother for attention. In contrast, Maude (played by the rascally Ruth Gordon) is a nearly 80 year old free-spirit who devours life as if it were her last day on Earth. The two meet and bond in the most unlikely of places (one of many funerals they attend; each for their own reasons), and thus begins the start of a beautiful friendship.
This all sounds well and good, except the film never exactly takes off for me. One problem is that I never found it to be as outrageously funny as all the Amazon reviews I read seemed to attest. Yes, my first introduction to the film a couple of years ago led me to believe, otherwise, but upon full viewing, I just didn't get it. I don't know. Maybe in the past couple of years I lost the sick humor gene that would have been an asset in viewing a film of this nature.
This is essentially a black comedy; the type of film that stretches the boundaries of funny and veers to the dark side. Witnessing Harold's myriad of attempts to get his mother's attention is at turns painful and amusing, but never gut-bustingly hilarious. Perhaps it was those dark undertones that did me in, in addition to the thrumming of the rain outside. I just couldn't keep my attention on the film. The wall clock seemed more interesting to me.
In all fairness, there WERE a couple of times that I actually guffawed, and the film DOES attempt to balance sentiment, comedy and drama and throw in just the right amount of weirdness to try and make it interesting..but maybe that's the problem. There is too much going on in the mix. I never knew where the film stood. Is it a flat-out comedy? A drama with comedic undertones? A sentimental romp? A lesson in how to live life? Was I not supposed to take ANYTHING seriously?..even the death of one of Harold's possible suitors (which I later discovered wasn't AT ALL what it seemed), or even the death of Maude, herself?
..which is another thing. Here was an 80 year old woman who celebrated life to the fullest and lived on the edge; a sheer contrast to Harold's obsession with death and indifference to life. Cut to Maude's death and the circumstances surrounding it and I felt cheated. There was a definite irony and contradiction in the way she died, and somehow that deflated the whole point of the story for me. Yes, in the end, Harold learns to embrace life, thanks to Maude, but given the way she died, it seemed rather implausible that he would.
Perhaps the film is to be treated as nothing more than a complete farce; something that takes you along on a darkly comedic ride while trying to impart an important message about life and love. Maybe I had to be in the mood..maybe not take it so seriously, (despite knowing that it was, indeed, a comedy). Then again maybe dark, morose themes with comedic edges just isn't my style.
Does this film deserve another chance? Sure. Sometimes upon a second or third viewing I discover things about a film that make it grow on me. Such might be the case with "Harold and Maude". But if nothing else, its message to live life to the fullest should be a mantra for us all. It's too bad, though, that this admirable point becomes somewhat convoluted in a maze of quirky and omminous circumstances.
Did I mention that a merely saw only bits and pieces of it? Nevertheless, something about the film moved me enough to take the plunge and buy the movie without ever having seen it from start to finish.
Big mistake.
"Harold and Maude" is, essentially, a May-December love story about two misfits who connect by way of funerals and a shared need to be loved. Walter Chasen (played by Bud Cort) is a 19 year old man-child of wealth whose idea of a good time is to stage repeated suicide attempts in front of his mother for attention. In contrast, Maude (played by the rascally Ruth Gordon) is a nearly 80 year old free-spirit who devours life as if it were her last day on Earth. The two meet and bond in the most unlikely of places (one of many funerals they attend; each for their own reasons), and thus begins the start of a beautiful friendship.
This all sounds well and good, except the film never exactly takes off for me. One problem is that I never found it to be as outrageously funny as all the Amazon reviews I read seemed to attest. Yes, my first introduction to the film a couple of years ago led me to believe, otherwise, but upon full viewing, I just didn't get it. I don't know. Maybe in the past couple of years I lost the sick humor gene that would have been an asset in viewing a film of this nature.
This is essentially a black comedy; the type of film that stretches the boundaries of funny and veers to the dark side. Witnessing Harold's myriad of attempts to get his mother's attention is at turns painful and amusing, but never gut-bustingly hilarious. Perhaps it was those dark undertones that did me in, in addition to the thrumming of the rain outside. I just couldn't keep my attention on the film. The wall clock seemed more interesting to me.
In all fairness, there WERE a couple of times that I actually guffawed, and the film DOES attempt to balance sentiment, comedy and drama and throw in just the right amount of weirdness to try and make it interesting..but maybe that's the problem. There is too much going on in the mix. I never knew where the film stood. Is it a flat-out comedy? A drama with comedic undertones? A sentimental romp? A lesson in how to live life? Was I not supposed to take ANYTHING seriously?..even the death of one of Harold's possible suitors (which I later discovered wasn't AT ALL what it seemed), or even the death of Maude, herself?
..which is another thing. Here was an 80 year old woman who celebrated life to the fullest and lived on the edge; a sheer contrast to Harold's obsession with death and indifference to life. Cut to Maude's death and the circumstances surrounding it and I felt cheated. There was a definite irony and contradiction in the way she died, and somehow that deflated the whole point of the story for me. Yes, in the end, Harold learns to embrace life, thanks to Maude, but given the way she died, it seemed rather implausible that he would.
Perhaps the film is to be treated as nothing more than a complete farce; something that takes you along on a darkly comedic ride while trying to impart an important message about life and love. Maybe I had to be in the mood..maybe not take it so seriously, (despite knowing that it was, indeed, a comedy). Then again maybe dark, morose themes with comedic edges just isn't my style.
Does this film deserve another chance? Sure. Sometimes upon a second or third viewing I discover things about a film that make it grow on me. Such might be the case with "Harold and Maude". But if nothing else, its message to live life to the fullest should be a mantra for us all. It's too bad, though, that this admirable point becomes somewhat convoluted in a maze of quirky and omminous circumstances.
posted by Jo @ 5:53 PM
0 comments
