THE LAST OF SHEILA
THE LAST OF SHEILA
March 14 2008, DVD, Myrlin & Jeremy's front room, borrowed from library
Why hadn't I ever heard of this film before? It's so exactly the kind of thing I like - 1970s, full of celebrities (playing celebrities, in a very meanspirited, thinly-veiled, vicious way), involving a murder mystery or two, involving games and cons, and winkingly camp as Christmas? WTF, seriously? I wish I'd been able to grow up with this movie - why didn't HBO play it all the time? Or maybe they did, and it was just too sophisticated for my 9-year-old, explosion-loving self to grasp?
Whatever the problem, it's now been corrected. I went on a romp through the Multonomah County Library's online catalogue, seeing if I could find any Stephen Sondheim musicals to watch, SWEENEY TODD and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE being nowhere near enough. I stumbled across THE LAST OF SHEILA, which listed - wonder of wonders! - a co-screenwriting credit with Anthony Perkins. Yes, that Anthony Perkins - beloved Norman Bates, AIDS victim, and prince of homoerotic fear and tension. I didn't know if it was a musical or not, but I sure put it on hold with a quickness. When I got it home, I noted the cast - James Coburn, Dyan Cannon, Richard Benjamin, James Mason, and for God's sake, Rachel Welch! And for fuck's sake, Ian McShane!!! And then somebody named Joan Hackett who I'd never heard of, but if she was in this movie, I had the feeling that she totally rocked. And oh, boy, does she. (IMDb reports: dead in 1983, also starring in IT ONLY HURTS WHEN I LAUGH, THE TERMINAL MAN, episode of Love, American Style - your classic mostly-forgotten, wildly talented actress from days long past.)
SHEILA is a very twisted, very dark-humored whodunit that not only provides an excellent, gripping mystery full of sudden turns and startling revelations (and so, so much information provided as we go - it's the kind of movie that demands to be watched more than once) but also provides a vicious, but strangely loving portrait of the kind of psychological types abounding in Hollywood of the era. The script is brilliant (of course) and the direction by Herbert Ross manages to give the audience only what they expect to see, while constantly hiding clues and special touches throughout. And the casting just adds another of hilarious irony to the proceedings - I can't elaborate without spoiling the movie, and this is one where knowing nothing about the movie is totally the way to see it. I recommend this movie highly to absolutely everyone - and that's a rare feat. On the other hand, if you are completely unable to take a movie set in a different time and setting than your average late 90s/early 00s (and I know people like that... Jesus loves them, too), don't bother. The pleated polyester slacks alone are enough to set your eyeballs on fire.
Total genius; one to own.
March 14 2008, DVD, Myrlin & Jeremy's front room, borrowed from library
Why hadn't I ever heard of this film before? It's so exactly the kind of thing I like - 1970s, full of celebrities (playing celebrities, in a very meanspirited, thinly-veiled, vicious way), involving a murder mystery or two, involving games and cons, and winkingly camp as Christmas? WTF, seriously? I wish I'd been able to grow up with this movie - why didn't HBO play it all the time? Or maybe they did, and it was just too sophisticated for my 9-year-old, explosion-loving self to grasp?
Whatever the problem, it's now been corrected. I went on a romp through the Multonomah County Library's online catalogue, seeing if I could find any Stephen Sondheim musicals to watch, SWEENEY TODD and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE being nowhere near enough. I stumbled across THE LAST OF SHEILA, which listed - wonder of wonders! - a co-screenwriting credit with Anthony Perkins. Yes, that Anthony Perkins - beloved Norman Bates, AIDS victim, and prince of homoerotic fear and tension. I didn't know if it was a musical or not, but I sure put it on hold with a quickness. When I got it home, I noted the cast - James Coburn, Dyan Cannon, Richard Benjamin, James Mason, and for God's sake, Rachel Welch! And for fuck's sake, Ian McShane!!! And then somebody named Joan Hackett who I'd never heard of, but if she was in this movie, I had the feeling that she totally rocked. And oh, boy, does she. (IMDb reports: dead in 1983, also starring in IT ONLY HURTS WHEN I LAUGH, THE TERMINAL MAN, episode of Love, American Style - your classic mostly-forgotten, wildly talented actress from days long past.)
SHEILA is a very twisted, very dark-humored whodunit that not only provides an excellent, gripping mystery full of sudden turns and startling revelations (and so, so much information provided as we go - it's the kind of movie that demands to be watched more than once) but also provides a vicious, but strangely loving portrait of the kind of psychological types abounding in Hollywood of the era. The script is brilliant (of course) and the direction by Herbert Ross manages to give the audience only what they expect to see, while constantly hiding clues and special touches throughout. And the casting just adds another of hilarious irony to the proceedings - I can't elaborate without spoiling the movie, and this is one where knowing nothing about the movie is totally the way to see it. I recommend this movie highly to absolutely everyone - and that's a rare feat. On the other hand, if you are completely unable to take a movie set in a different time and setting than your average late 90s/early 00s (and I know people like that... Jesus loves them, too), don't bother. The pleated polyester slacks alone are enough to set your eyeballs on fire.
Total genius; one to own.