Middle Age Crazy

I saw this movie when it first came out and I had just turned 40. To my surprise it looked like they had copied my last 18 months on film. I had went through almost the exact same thing the previous year. It really hit home. I think all men go through this at one time or another during their life. Watched the video a dozen times.

Entertaining comedy about a man who turns 40 and begins looking at his life differently. Thinking certain events and "fun" things have crept past him, he starts looking to recapture his youth. Fast cars and younger women are suddenly more appealing than his routine life and dull wife. Even his son's girlfriend becomes an object of his lustful yearnings. Good film dealing with a very common occurrence.

Great tale that highlights the dangers of getting what you wish for and not appreciating what you have. Bruce Dern is terrific as Bobby Lee. It's strange to see him in a role where he isn't a scumbag, but his performance is brilliant and touching as a man who wrestles with latent immaturity and crushing loss. Ann-Margret was born to her role as adoring and then betrayed wife. My favorite lines will always be about being the "Daddy." I'm surprised that this movie doesn't get much play in rerun on television. It's the same coming-of-age genre as "10" except that Bo Derek didn't star as the lust interest. Both Dern and Ann-Margret pull off great performances as nouveau riche Texans who are basically down-home at heart.

Builder of fast food restaurants turns the big 4-0 and loses interest in his sexually fired-up wife and their leering, stupid relatives; he takes up with a professional cheerleader, leading his spouse to try having a fling of her own. Terrible marital comedy, suggested by the 1977 Jerry Lee Lewis song written by Sonny Throckmorton, presents its characters as prosperous but ignorant hicks--and then asks us to relate to them! Carl Kleinschmitt's witless screenplay is squeezed hard by director John Trent, however not one honest laugh emerges from these lowbrow circumstances. The attempt to turn intense character actor Bruce Dern into a commercial movie star backfires; with his hair darkened and blown dry, Dern tries loosening up, but he doesn't have a fun side to display (the rigors of a comedic performance prove too strenuous for him). No matter what he's doing on-screen, Dern is hyper-controlled to the point of snapping, while co-star Ann-Margret pretends not to notice (she's a smart lady playing it dumb for laughs). The movie is supposed to be wild and sexy and naughty, but desperation shows through like flop sweat. NO STARS from ****

This movie makes three cardinal errors of Movie making that make it destined to bomb: Bad casting, lack of chemistry and unlikely characters. I am not sure why Ann Margret agreed to act opposite a guy like Bruce Dern. She must have thought this would be a kitschy thing to add to her resume, or, maybe she was just going through a career crisis herself. The two possess not even a micron of chemistry to even make this film mildly engaging.

Of course, as this subtle title suggests, the male lead, Bruce Dern, is going through a midlife crisis. Turning 40 and looking closer to 50, he shrugs the advances of his adoring wife and looks to sow some oats elsewhere. Trying to obtain a lost sense of youth can be precarious, but there are hundreds of other films that did such a better job, were more believable and actually funny. Bruce Dern is one of those actors I never could connect with. He has played villains, weirdos and intense roles, albeit a bit over the top. Here, his role is just wrong for him. He doesn't have the leading man looks and comes across as sort of a nervous hick. His performance is hyper and bug eyed and Ann Margret's character ignores this. It's as if she was acting stupid to make this awkward pairing more palatable. Even more peculiar is that they are supposed to be a Nuovo-riche couple with humble Texas roots. Their dialogue is crude and unsophisticated and we are expected to relate with them.

1980 was a big year for movies with many a block buster as well as flops. This movie, with it's blatant title 'Middle age Crazy' would have to rely on its title alone to attract any attention.