In Praise of Older Women

To be very honest, I can't really disagree with some of the negative reviews out there concerning this film. But every once in a while, some movie appeals to you and deep down you know that it's really not that good. As for this one, I've seen it a few times and I always enjoy it.

The film basically covers all of Berenger's sexual adventures with women who are somewhat older than he is. While he seems to fall deeply in love with them, these relationships don't seem to work out for him.

I really don't know what point this film is trying to make. Berenger's first real intimate relationship with Karen Black ends when he's unfaithful to her, his next one when he goes to Canada to escape turmoil in his country and leaves his rebel woman behind, the third woman is simply frigid and dumps him after he finally gets her off and finally he can't make it work with Helen Shaver.

I simply enjoy the movie. Tom Berenger is my favorite actor and he's very appealing here, as always. On the whole, this film is well acted, Karen Black very good especially. The movie looks good enough, with convincing settings, but I think it was produced on a relatively low budget. It's fairly dramatic at times, especially when he has to leave one girlfriend behind in war ridden Hungary.

This movie ain't spectacular or anything, but I like it.

One quibble; what's with that poster. Seems like a porno flick, definitely not the cover for this film.

I caught this playing constantly on cable TV late at night back in the early 80s. Not much of a plot. It's just about hunky Tom Berenger (who was only 29 when he made this) seducing one older woman after another. That's all it is--nothing else...but not bad for what it is.

The woman themselves are all very beautiful, have nice bodies and (surprisingly) are good actresses--Karen Black and Helen Shaver especially. The only disappointment in the film was there were next to no full frontal nude shots of Berenger. The women show everything but not him and--let's face it--back then he WAS very handsome and had a great body. There are only flashes of his "best parts" and (for some reason) even THOSE were clumsily edited out the last time I saw the pic (in the mid 80s)! If you're gonna do a soft core pic let's see everything.

That aside it was a light, enjoyable sex film--nothing more. I give it a 7.

Like someone else on this page has already said, this movie should not be approached as a serious period piece, but as a soft-core porn flick. The vapid characters have been stripped of all human dimensions except their sex drive. You kind of wonder when exactly Tom Berenger's character found the time to become a philosophy professor, since we almost always see him in a horizontal position, if you know what I mean. But nobody can deny that the film does have some genuinely erotic moments (Susan Strasberg steals the show in that department, as the always "hungry for more" Bobbie). (**)

George Kaczender's In Praise of Older Women, from Stephen Vizinczey's novel of the same name, is an extremely controversial film. The Canadian version of the MPAA objected to the nudity and explicit simulated sex in the film and would not release it unless Kaczender removed 2 minutes of footage. Kaczender was willing to remove 10 seconds of footage. Eventually, a compromise was reached and 30 seconds were edited out of the film. IPOW was released in 1978 and won 4 "Genie" Awards.

Regardless, IPOW is nothing more than a classier version of the type of film The Asylum would produce in 2014. Tom Berenger, in his second notable film appearance, plays Andras Vayda, a young man who wants to be a professor and is looking for love. Thing is, he doesn't want to get frisky with women his own age. He seems more interested in seducing women who are 15 years his senior or older. Throughout the movie, he has affairs with a number of older women throughout a 12 year period played by the likes of Karen Black, Marilyn Lightstone, Susan Strasburg, Alexandra Stewart and Helen Shaver (who was actually 2 years younger than Berenger was) while an older voice representing him narrates at times.

Despite being nothing more than soft core pornography, there are some good scenes. Alberta Watson, another one of his conquests, plays a cabaret singer dressed in a French outfit who sings a seductive song that piques his interest. Shaver, who won a "Genie" for her character of Ann MacDonald, offers some light comic relief and Black is as solid as ever as Maya, the gateway to Andras' love of cougars. Berenger shows promise as an actor early on but despite his top billing, cedes to the established actresses. The movie also uses the 1956 Hungarian Revolution as a backdrop and then later his time as a professor in Montreal.

While not a great piece of cinema, it is a good film among 1970's erotica and it's elevated by the big names in the cast, present and future. Certainly worth a look for curiosity sake.

If you can accept this Canadian made film as light entertainment, and not expect too much, you will definitely enjoy it. Unfortunately, at the time of release,it was unfavorably compared to the novel,and received some undeservedly vicious reviews,but it was a huge hit in Canada, where Helen Shaver received a best supporting Actress award for it.

Tom Berenger is remarkably charismatic as a Hungarian lad who has romances with some of the international cinema's most accomplished(and underrated actresses) actresses, Karen Black, Susan Strasberg, and Alexandra Stewart,after striking out with a girl his age(Marianne MacIsaac, sounding quite like a young Marilyn Monroe). Is's a pleasure to watch the then novice, very handsome Berenger hold his own as an actor against this talented trio. Much was written about the film's sexuality and nudity, but it's not much, except for an extremely heated closing encounter between Tom and Helen Shaver. All in all, a memorable, unique film.