Blume in Love (1973, Paul Mazursky)

Baby-boomers make the most interesting, and complex, film characters. Aren’t they all messed up? I should know, I was raised by two. Blume in Love centers around one of those confused, disoriented baby-boomers. George Segal plays a married man who has a fling with his secretary. His wife (played by Susan Anspach) is not amused and wants a divorce. Segal spends the entire film trying to find a way to win his wife back. Writer-director Paul Mazursky does something nearly impossible; he finds a believable way to convince me that even a jerk like Segal could find redemption. I was also impressed with the smooth way the film tackles the issue of gender equality. Segal is good but Anspach dominates with a brilliant characterization. I have long been a fan of Anspach because of her uncompromising feminist ideas but now I’m beginning to admire her acting abilities. Marsha Mason shines as Segal’s “friend with benefits.” Even the annoyingly raspy Kris Kristofferson is first-rate as Anspach’s free-spirited boyfriend. In fact, Kristofferson has the best line in the movie: “only Catholics and rapists don’t use condoms.”

~ by gelpi2008 on Saturday, October 31, 2009.