Je me fais du cinéma

What's a daughter to do when she wants to get in touch with her father who she hasn't seen in 16 years and lives 3,000 miles away? Answer: watch this movie and find out. It would be easy to rag this movie, to cite all its flaws, to point out its corniness, to dwell on Dinah Manoff's incredibly loud performance; to emphasize all the schlock, dreck, schmoozing and kvetching that identifies this movie as another example of 'ethnic" humor. Yes, one could easily rag this movie, but I won't do it. Not here, not in this website, not on the pc. Why? Let me tell you: I LIKED THIS MOVIE!!!!! Yes, I admit it. THIS WAS A GOOD MOVIE!!!!. So what if the acting was a bit strained! So what if the story was as stale as a corn beef sandwich that's been sitting in the refrigerator all night! This movie is a about a father and daughter who re-establish a relationship and that's something that cannot be ragged. No way. So what if the daughter talks with a certain ethnic inflection! So what if Walter Matthau reminded me of Oscar Homolka in "I Remember Momma." So what if this movie contains what has to be Ann-Margret's most forgettable role!! So what if this movie is like a pastrami sandwich with a lot of fat!!! So what if this movie's most inspiring character is a deceased grandmother!!!! I liked this movie and you will too if you just keep an open mind and remember: IT'S JUST A MOVIE!!!

I Ought to Be In Pictures was mostly boring. It's about a teenager who goes from New York to Hollywood for acting in the film business and also to be in touch with her dad that she hasn't seen since she was three years old because of a divorce. The relationships weren't anything memorable and there were a few laughs and it kind of ended how it began where not much was accomplished. I was hoping for better because the screenplay is by Neil Simon and the director is Herbert Ross who also directed Simon's The Sunshine Boys with Walter Matthau also in it. Ann-Margret plays Walter's girlfriend and while the performances did their best, the script isn't about much.

Wonderful film with Neil Simon again showing that he is the master of writing.

Dinah Manoff is just marvelous as the precocious 19 year old who goes to California to see the dad she hasn't seen in 16 years.

The film is touching as it first shows that Matthau knows so little about his daughter (and son) but then as the film goes on, he shows all the attributes that a father shows.

As Matthau's girlfriend, Ann-Margret is very good. The picture itself provides no screaming of usual Matthau antics. He is genuine here in every sense of the word.

The film shows the strong bond that is formed and we're sorry when Libby takes the bus back to N.Y. At least, there is a commitment by the father to keep in touch.

We also have to wonder what kind of woman he was married to that drove him away years before.

This is a modest but affecting little film. Besides his gift for one-line zingers, Neil Simon has a way of giving his characters lines that are both surprising and believable. Dinah Manoff is perhaps a bit abrasively cooky at first, but she moderates the Brooklyn shtick after awhile and comes over as more complex and real. Walter Matthau as her bewildered but finally disarmed dad is consummately believable. Ann Margaret has little to do, but she does it with superb subtlety. Just watch how well she listens and understands

Neil Simon's "I Ought to Be in Pictures" is a moving family drama, peppered with the author's patented gag lines and notable for sock performances by Dinah Manoff and Walter Matthau. Affecting, amusing interpersonal relationship pic bodes broad market appeal., Nimbly opened out from the 1980 stage version by helmer Herbert Ross (who also staged the play), film concerns a 19-year-old spunky Brooklyn girl Libby (Dinah Manoff reprising her stage role), who hitchhikes to New York to break into films as an actress but more importantly see her dad who left her, a brother and mom for good 16 years earlier. Dad is Herb Tucker (Walter Matthau fitted out with a handsome beard), a once-successful feature and tv scripter now given over to gambling and drinking. Tucker's loyal g.f. Steffie (Ann-Margret) is supportive but has her own children to take care of and a new boyfriend in the wings.

With Libby gradually insinuating herself into Herb's life and gradually reforming him (while cutely refurbishing his house and Mustang car), film gains its force from the powerful interplay of the duo's personalities. When the comical putdowns are replaced by genuine emotional (and physical) contact, Simon achieves his tear-jerking goal.

Key factor in making this work is apt casting, with Manoff, Lee Grant's sprig. Outstanding in avoiding direct sentimentality in the showy central role. She's also a good listener, with her eye contact and support of Matthau key elements. For his part, Matthau makes a ne'er-do-well character immensely sympathetic in spite of his shortcomings, enough so the viewer can root for these two to eventually come together in a loving fashion. Echoing the mother-daughter reconciliation of SImon's recent "Only When I Laugh", it builds to a valid denouement of Matthau geared up to plunge seriously into his writing assignments, and Manoff returning home with her family devils exorcised.

In a much smaller role, a deglamorized Ann-Margret is effective as the selfless mistress, while Martin Ferrero, Lewis Smith and Lance Guest provide a diveting scene apiece opposite Manoff. Tech credits, particularly Albert Brenner's production design and David M. Walsh's lighting, succeed in giving the film a realistic backdrop and avoiding a stagey or studio set look.

My review was written in March 1982 after a Midtown Manhattan screening.