Happy Birthday, Wanda June

"Happy Birthday Wanda June" is out there...somewhere, because a print has just surfaced in San Francisco for a small festival showing in August of 2007. I first read about this film way back in Cinefantastique and of course it hasn't surfaced since, not on VHS or DVD.

Written probably as Vonnegut was really hitting his stride, around the time of "Slaughterhouse 5" it explores the meaning of humanity on this planet, the madness of men (the gender) and the blindness of following what we thing is valuable but isn't.

Smaller in scale than "S5" or "Sirens of Titans" this originally was a play and the film shows this provenance. It's practically one-set, and the acting is rather broad. Mark Robson seems to be making sure everyone pitches it out to the back rows. The child and the 2 male friends of Susannah York's character are particularly grating. But Rod Steiger, whose role is a bombastic man's man (somehow reminiscent of Ernest Hemingway or John Huston), manages to play his loud and obnoxious role with a graceful (if unhumble) bravado. He is perhaps more in on the joke - that he is a fool and a dinosaur embracing out-of-date ideas - than he initially proclaims.

The flashes to Heaven, mentioned in previous posts, makes this vintage absurdist Vonnegut, with the underlying message that everyone goes to Heaven, so murdering someone is actually not a bad thing - you're doing them a favor. It makes the complains down in the Manhattan apartment about whether they should kill animals, be "savage" or civilized, rather moot in retrospect.

An important work that deserves reviving. It's dated and a bit obvious in its symbolism (the violin hanging like a corpse above the fireplace) but beats "Visit to a Small Planet" anytime. And William Hickey is great as Steiger's sidekick who also returns after 8 years.

Interesting side note when Steiger reveals he was drugged on "blue soup" for 7 1/2 of the 8 years. Did he actually see what life without the "action, the killing" might be like...and recoil in horror? And the last shot - not what you would expect, also raises an ironic eyebrow that will keep this film in your mind for days.

I'll be the third person to comment on this movie; seems like like an exclusive club. Anyway, this is a very strange movie; Vonnegut does black comedy and touches on ideas he put in "Slaughterhouse Five". I saw this movie about 20 years ago, late at night on television, and it says a lot that although it's never going to be in my top 50 list, every so often I recall it and smile. Steiger is an egotistical, Iron John type adventurer and explorer who abandoned his wife to go off exploring with his friend, played by William Hickey (who was the man who dropped the atom bomb on Nagasaki, not Hiroshima, as the previous person said) and was missing, presumed dead for 7 years. Steiger thinks he can just waltz back into everyone's lives again and they'll all come running to him, but the reality is very different. Interspersed with this are cut aways to a little girl in Heaven called Wanda June who never got her big birthday party while she was living. Memory has dulled why her character and story is significant. One of the funniest scenes is where Steiger and Hickey enter their favourite bar after years away and the bartender yells out "Hey! This is the guy that dropped the bomb on Nagasaki!": A Japanese businessman looks on with contempt and backs away but a bearded hippy says "wow, I always wanted to meet you, man!"

Based on Kurt Vonnegut's off-Broadway play, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WANDA JUNE,

is essentially about Susannah York's character Penelope Ryan and the

men that dominate her life, including a phenomenal Rod Steiger as ultra-

macho big game hunter Harold. The story also occasionally jumps to

heaven (yes, really), where Wanda June, the victim of a drunk driving

incident, plays shuffleboard for all eternity. This excellent film has

sadly never been available on video or DVD. I've only seen it on a

bootleg DVD made from a TBS broadcast in the late 80's (with some of

the language censored).

I can't believe only one other person has commented on this movie! I guess it must be virtually pulled from circulation. I haven't seen it for years, but i've always remembered it and have been looking for it ever since one chance viewing on late night TV.

I just thought it was brilliant but have subsequently learned that critics thought it was horrible. oh well.

it felt like a drama by a great playwright. primal man vs. refined culture. outdoorsman vs. city folk. men vs. women.

and it's played to the hilt by Steiger and William Hickey. Hickey gives one of those most wonderful, funny, quirky, memorable performances i've ever seen in a film. and Steiger very effectively makes you hate him, playing this full-of-himself a*shole to the hilt -- but who can also appeal to any burgeoning Thoreauvian, or maybe even xtreme sports enthusiast.

there are some very funny scenes involving a violin that obviously symbolizes refined culture. There's almost something of a Simpsons in this -- an adult comedic violent film version of Homer vs. Lisa.

there's gotta be some reason this has been pulled from circulation cuz it's just too good and weird to not make more frequent appearances on the second-string movie channels. if you ever get a chance to see it, i say, email me and lemmi know when it's on! and don't miss it.

William Hickey: Thanks for being here!

What happened to this movie? I've recommended it for 3 decades as one of the finest of the surreal comedies and it seems to have vanished. Who owns the rights? Please reissue this farcical drama. Like "Where's Poppa?" Central Park represents the evils of the world. The heaven-related references are hilarious. Ms. York was never prettier. Rod Steiger delivers a (not unexpectedly) bravura performance. It's based on a Kurt Vonnegut story. What more need I say? If you enjoyed "A Boy and His Dog", you certainly will savor the sophisticated and sly humor to be found in "Happy Birthday, Wanda June."