Me, Natalie

The good news: Patty Duke redeems herself as an actress after her admittedly "bad work" in "Valley of the Dolls." The bad news: hardly anyone went to see this in theaters. That's a shame because there's much to commend this film. Most of that centers around Duke's performance (actually, they're all top notch performances here). She has to convince us she's unattractive, vulnerable, yet no weakling by any stretch of the imagination. Yet I never felt entirely sorry for her because she seemed well equipped to weather the putdowns that come from being an ugly girl. I ended up liking Natalie because Duke makes her likable -- yeah, she's got a heart of gold but she's got spirit, too. There are all kinds of nice moments here but I especially appreciate the scene at the Hoboken ferry landing where she goes to see if her fictional Prince Charming will actually materialize. She won a Golden Globe award for this performance and it stands as probably her best work as an adult. From here she moved into what is arguably her second best adult role, in the TV film, "My Sweet Charlie." She won an emmy for that one. About this time she also did a wonderful job in a PBS film called "Birdbath." Again, she's paired with Farentino and again, she's a plain Jane from New York City, but this time with an entirely different psychological make-up from Natalie and with a horrible secret. Duke sure showed a lot of potential for the big screen...too bad it never materialized. And it's too bad this film isn't available on VHS.

"Me, Natalie" is very much a film of two times: literally, the late 1960's (in which it takes place) and figuratively, post-adolescence, which it's heroine grapples with throughout the film. Along the literal lines, the film sensitively deals with the generation gap during the era in which it was perhaps most severe. Impressively, ageism is never cause for condescension in this film. Not so impressively, a gooey Henry Mancini soundtrack and some maudlin wanna-be-romantic photography date it pretty badly. As a coming of age story, the film is very much a contemporary of "The Sterile Cuckoo", being about a relative misfit who must find what works for her as she enters adulthood. How one feels about these eras will invariably affect how one responds to the film.

It's chief assets are it's vivid New York atmosphere and it's terrific cast. Patty Duke carries this film as effortlessly as Sandy Dennis or Natalie Wood carried earlier films of a similar nature, and she is surrounded by a terrific supporting cast. Fans of "The Sopranos" will enjoy seeing the late Nancy Marchand, who is superb as a very different type of mother than Livia Soprano. Martin Balsam and Elsa Lanchester are also memorable in brief appearances. James Farentino is effective as the artist Natalie falls in love with, and Al Pacino is charismatic in his first screen role as a cad she meets at a dance. The entire cast works beautifully, and makes a look at this film well worth while.

This is by far one of my favorite films ever. I haven't seen it since I was 9 or 10 about 12 years ago. I absolutely love Patty Duke's performance, and the film is so balanced and witty. It definitely inspired me to be a filmmaker and I would love to see it again.

This movie really shaped my adolescence. James Farentino was so dreamy in it. I cried when she left him even though I knew it was the right thing for her to do. The use of humour as a defence mechanism was truly touching. Philip Sterling and Martin Balsam's performances also stand out in my mind --- and what a creep Bob Balaban was! A well-done memory everlasting.

I finally managed to secure a 16mm transfer of ME, NATALIE on NTSC VHS cassette after searching for this film for nearly nine years. I originally found it on Japanese laserdisc in a video store in Manhattan in 1994 but the price was $75.00 and I was hardly about to spend that kind of money!

Al Pacino has a less-than 60-second role in this 1969 "people will love you for the person you are inside" drama starring Patty Duke and Martin Balsam. I always liked Balsam, and he had me giggling after he discourses on the virtues of being homely, then announces his decision to marry a stripper! He's a true male chauvanist pig. LOL

Nancy Marchand is very good as Duke's mother, but the screenplay suffers from a preachy tone that gets to be a real turn-off by the end of the film. A running time of 90 minutes would have been plenty rather than the nearly 107 minutes that it does run.

I love movies shot in New York City, and this film does an ample job of capturing the aura of city life at that time.

Worth seeing for the performances, plus seeing Livia Soprano 30 years younger is a treat...