Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon

This movie may not be on a list somewhere of Liza Minnelli's best films or Otto Preminger's or one of Kay Thompson(Liza's Godmom)or James Coco's best efforts. I do think it ranks high on a list of one of the best movies about introverts ever made. That it wasn't a box office or critical success doesn't matter. Nor that it did nothing to advance the careers of anyone connected to it.

But I think TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME, JUNIE MOON deserves a special place with audiences who love quirky movies that go where other movies dare not go. Think of Altman's BREWSTER McCLOUD or Hal Ashby's HAROLD AND MAUD, for instance. Movies that deal with characters most others would call misfits because they are different or eccentric.

One, for example, is a gay man. For a 1970 film, this is rare to say the least. But to make him a disabled gay man trapped in a wheel chair due to an accident is a revelation. I can't imagine another such character either before or since this film came along. Another revelation is a disfigured woman, played by Minnelli, and not seen on the screen in a leading role since Joan Crawford in Cukor's A WOMAN'S FACE. Both of these characters completely dominate JUNIE MOON. They are truly amusing in using their wit to cope with an unkind world. The third eccentric is an epileptic, played by Ken Howard. His performance is the weakest of the three and this, unfortunately, weakens the overall impact. Had this part been cast better, honors would have come its way to be sure. The scene where the handicapped guy can't negotiate the smallness of his bathroom is a gem. Another is the vacation scene where these three descend on a hapless hotel staff. Another where a naive woman is seduced by three hunky members of an art colony is captivating.

This movie sparked controversy because of a scene where two people are having sex in a cemetery. A real graveyard is used and relatives of the dead buried there balked and so a lawsuit ensued. But knowing this to be an Otto Preminger film...that is not so strange(recall THE MOON IS BLUE and MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM). Preminger ate up such controversy. No doubt such headlines added to his film's box office. JUNIE MOON is his weirdest movie, but far from his worst. None of the films after this one are even half as good. Even Saul Bass, whose title drawings are a trade mark for Preminger films, excels in it.

Judy Garland died while Liza was filming her part in this. A year later she began work on her greatest role, that of Sally Bowles in Fosse's CABARET. While both her roles in these films are about introverted and unstable vulnerable women...CABARET is the first where she gets to show her strongest suit: that of a musical performer whose star power is as good as her mother's. Her work in CABARET solidified her image as a singer and dancer the way FUNNY GIRL did it for Streisand. While TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME, JUNIE MOON may not be legendary, it still boasts having a legend in it.

Junie Moon is an interesting friendship movie. Great unusual characters that band together and help each other. Junie becomes terribly disfigured from a mean man. She finds herself relying on other people with there own special problems. The characters will grow on you. Good acting, directing, and decent sets. It has been years since I saw it at the theater. I still have never forgot it because of the types of people and how they dealt with their personal problems. I would definitely buy it if it was available on DVD. Not appropriate for young children. Some adult situations. To bad it isn't out on video of any kind. Until it is check out "The Station Manager", another great unusual friendship movie.

I never got to see the end and have been looking for this movie ever since. I am a BIG Liza fan. How can I let Paramount know that I would buy this if available on video? I recall it as sad and funny, with very quirky characters.

Three patients live together after leaving the hospital. Junie Moon (Liza Minnelli) is disfigured after her date burns her with acid. Arthur (Ken Howard) is epileptic. Warren (Robert Moore) is a gay paraplegic.

Arthur's dream/flashback sequence is too weird to be intercut with the real world. His epileptic fits look a bit fake. I don't know what he has. I get that director Otto Preminger is trying put the audience into Arthur's shoes but it could be done better. The movie meanders around and has some questionable scenes. The climax has real problems. Despite all that, I like the actors, the characters, and their friendships. To me, that's half the battle. It's a more enjoyable experience if the characters are enjoyable.

This offbeat drama uses quirkiness to offset the horrifically depressing storyline. If the audience couldn't chuckle every once in a while, they might leave the theater or turn the movie off. In Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon, three misfits rent a house together and try to get a fresh start in life. While they all have outer handicaps, their insides are even more vulnerable and need nurturing the most. Liza Minnelli used to be a confident party girl, but a one-night stand went terribly wrong and the man threw battery acid on her face. Ken Howard has debilitating epileptic fits, and Robert Moore is in a wheelchair. They all meet while recovering in the hospital, and decide that, since they probably can't make it on their own, they'll keep house together. Can anything be more depressing?

Actually, yes. As the movie continues, you'll see just how much of a downer it can be. Trust me, folks. This is a very sad movie. If you just think it's another Liza Minnelli kooky character who will end up singing "Cabaret" to wild applause, think again. It was very tough to award the Best Actress trophy to someone else that year at the Hot Toasty Rag awards, as Liza couldn't have been any better in this movie. But before you start writing angry letters to the members of the board, rent Sunflower first to see why Sophia Loren won.

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to violence, I wouldn't let my kids watch it. In fact, if you want to fast forward the battery acid scene, it might be a good idea for the adults, too.