Nuts ... Durchgedreht

In `Nuts,' Barbra Streisand throws her weight around while pretending to play a prostitute who has lost control of her life. There's no doubt, however, who is in control of this movie. In her commentary on the newly released DVD, Barbra smugly remarks that she has often gotten into trouble by bluntly speaking the `truth' just like her character in `Nuts.' Of course, when her character, `Claudia Draper,' screams `listen to me, listen to me' as she often does in the film, who's going to argue? Streisand is also the producer. Don't be fooled. Claudia is no more nuts than you or me. In fact, she's the smartest person in the movie. The members of an impressive supporting cast are nothing more than a bunch of sitting ducks in a shooting gallery, all lined up to be shot down by a domineering superstar. They all have their turn at being told off by Claudia. Not only that, she is not just an ordinary hooker. She's self-employed and, by her own account, the best in the business, doing well enough to rake in $100,000 a year. That's right, we're expected to believe that an older man in his 50's or 60's would pay $500 an hour for a woman in her mid-40's who looks like Barbra Streisand! No sweet young blond bimbo for him. On the DVD, Streisand only mentions the name of director Martin Ritt once and that's to say that theirs was a `collaborative effort.' I'd be interested to know just exactly what he did do. He was certainly powerless to prevent the spectacle of an actress airing the dirty linen of her own childhood in public and passing it off as something universal. Streisand-watchers know that she had a nasty stepfather who abused her mentally if not physically while she was growing up, and a mother who not only stood by and did nothing, but also sought to undermine her daughter's confidence in herself. (Even as late as 1993 and the famous `60 Minutes' interview with Mike Wallace, all it took to bring her to tears was Wallace mentioning a criticism of her mother's). It's pretty obvious that Barbra is still working out her anger over all this in `Nuts,' but I'm not sure why we should be paying to watch. This movie is a slideshow presentation for her analyst.

Based on Tom Topors's off broadway play, NUTS is a highly charged drama that raises some uneasy questions. NUTS opened in late 1987 to little hype and mixed reviews.

This is a film that deserves to have a second life on video. While the court room plot devices are predictable, the film raises some important issues and questions. Questions like, "What is normal?" and "Does the law have the right to force help upon those who don't want it?"

What really makes this film worth watching though, is Barbra Strisand's bravura performance in the lead. I cannot believe she failed to receive an Oscar for her work here, it's crime that she wasn't at least nominated. Director Martin Ritt keep the film going at a perfect pace and also gets strong supporting performances from Richard Dreyfss and Maureen Stapleton.

This is a film that deserves more attention then it originally received, it is honest, though-provoking, and features a brilliant performance from Streisand.

My score for this excellent film: 9/10!

Nuts, by Barbra Streisand, is a classic showcase of this multi-talented woman's versatility as an actress. The film deals with a very weighty subject, is handled superbly by Streisand, both as an actress and as a director. Other noteworthy performances are given by Richard Dreyfuss, Maureen Stapleton, and Arthur Kirk, as her lawyer, mother, and step-father respectively. This film is an unadultered gem and should be considered as such by any worthy critic.

Nuts is an adaptation of a stage play. Aaron Levinsky (Richard Dreyfuss) a public defendant is forced to take on a defendant being tried for competency.

The District Attorney (Robert Webber) sees this as a simple case of mental incompetency. The accused in question is playful, spirited and hard to handle. Claudia Draper (Barbra Streisand) is the high class call girl who is determined to prove that she is not nuts. Her parents are bemused but as we see from flashbacks there is a terrible family secret and Levinsky will need to discredit (Eli Wallach) the psychiatrist who is convinced that Draper is nuts.

Its hard to escape the film's stage-bound origins as a lot of the film consists of interior shots. In some ways this a courtroom play. Dreyfuss is actually enjoying himself as defendant lawyer Levinsky trying to get a handle of his rich girl client and then seeing his face when he twigs what the real tragedy might be.

Streisand on the other hand never convinces me that she is a high class hooker who has been roughing it on the seamy side of life. Its not the film's fault that the murder victim turns out to be Leslie Nielsen (soon to be in the hit spoof Naked Gun films) as his scenes that we see in flashback go a little bit too near to Frank Drebin and I am sure no want wanted too see Nielsen in just his black underpants.

As a courtroom thriller in a busy New York court setting the film is enjoyable but dare I suggest that Miss Streisand was miscast.

This is the third of three great courtroom dramas from that time. "And Justice for All,"(1979) and "The Verdict," (1982) were the other two.

Because of all the courtroom dramas on television in the 1990's and 2000's, many of the things in the movie now seem as clichés. It is important to remember that it was quite original when it came out. It is only cliché today because it has been copied so much since. Women were generally terrible victims of much psychiatry in the 20th century, this film, "Francis" (1982)and "Suddenly, Last Summer" (1959) are the only three movies that really demonstrate that.

The cast is full of great actors and actresses in small rolls: Eli Wallach, James Whitmore, Maureen Stapleton, and Karl Malden know that less is more and underplay their roles smoothly. The only problem with the casting is Leslie Nielsen as a crazy client. Nielsen became so associated with spoofs like "Airplane" and "The Naked Gun" one almost laughs automatically when he's on the screen, no matter how serious the scene is. Stars Richard Dreyfus and Barbara Streisand are at the top of their form and work well off each other.

The one criticism of this movie that is valid is Streisand's age. She is a bit too old at 45 for the character who is supposed to be in her late 20's. It is a minor irritation, and we should remember that male actors in their 40's also frequently play such roles. For example, Brad Pitt was 41 when he played Achilles, and Sylvester Stallone was 60 when he played in his last "Rocky" movie.

This is Barbara Streisand's grittiest movie with rape, incest, and madness being key themes, yet it still has a lot of witty lines and funny moments. It is just well balanced and well done. The DVD contains some fascinating commentary by Ms. Streisand.