Il gruppo

but this film is interesting for the cast, and the time period it depicts. Also the costumes are rather amusing. I have not yet read the book although several reviews have mentioned the time warp factor. Candice Bergen is in an early role as member of an elite group of Vassar graduates. Joan Hackett, Joanna Pettet, Larry Hagman (as her alcoholic husband), Hal Holbrook, James Broderick, Jessica Walter (as swinging single gossip in the NY publishing world), Kathleen Widdoes, Carrie Nye, Elizabeth Hartman and several other notable appearances make for an interesting cast. Some of the dialog will take you back to a different time. The controversy of breast over bottle feeding, Republican vs. FDR Democrat (there are some pretty amusing scenes between Priss (Elizabeth Hartman) and her pediatrician husband, a Republican, who says after her second miscarriage this will give him a bad reputation in the hospital (!). Obviously, the book may be more interesting, and less histrionic. Jessica Walter is very good, and amusing; wish she had done more films in the 80's and 90's (She was great in "Slums of Beverly Hills", with Alan Arkin, as well). I do not watch regular television although several have mentioned she is very good in the Ron Howard comedy "Arrested Development". At any rate, a good escapist film, which I would not completely dismiss as soap opera, since there are skilled actors and some worthwhile dialog. 8/10.

I saw this film last night and was absolutely stunned by how excellent it was. Not only did it seem to be one of the first 'chick flicks' (sorry for anyone who hates that title) but it was incredibly brave to deal with extremly contentious issues. The colours and the costumes in the film made the film seem like a true snapshot for life for seven educated women getting by in the first half in the century. It did not shy away from the issues of sex, and mental illness which is brave for a film made over thirty years ago. I started watching this film because I couldn't sleep but ended up watching it until 2.30am defintely entertaining and possibly superior to 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'??

Just watched for the second time in my life this Sidney Lumet adaptation of Mary McCarthy's novel "The Group", this time on Netflix streaming. It's about eight women who graduated from Vassar in 1933 and their trials and tribulations during that time and subsequent years through the beginning of the second World War. Among those women, the standout for me was Shirley Knight as Polly who goes from an affair with a publisher boss (Hal Holbrook) of one of her friends to falling for a doctor (James Broderick) she works for. She also willingly suffers a father (Robert Emhardt) who's eventually diagnosed as manic depressive. Emhardt's performance is perhaps the most enjoyable to me since he talks up a storm and says such inappropriately funny lines! It was also fascinating to see Larry Hagman play a role here not too different from his later iconic evil character of J.R. Ewing on both versions of "Dallas" only here, he's not such a fun person to watch. I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that the Richard Mulligan and Joan Hackett characters were awkward to each other but the actors would eventually marry in real life not long after. Oh, and Candice Bergen, for all her reputation of not being much of an actress during her early career, acquits herself nicely among her more trained co-stars in the few scenes she has here. In summary, The Group perhaps comes on a bit fast at the beginning to really get an understanding of what's going on and who these people are but eventually it slows down enough that you do get to know and mostly like these people as the film progresses. In the words of many of the characters of this film, "Who'd a thunk it?"

Glossy soap opera about 8 Vassar graduates of 1933. It follows their lives after college and deals with alcoholism, mental breakdowns, frigidity, beatings, adultery, child rearing, lesbianism and death.

I tried reading the book this was based on but I couldn't understand it. They kept throwing in 1930s slang and politics and lost me. This movie keeps out the slang, tones down the politics (but it is there) and came up with a good movie. Yes, it is a soap opera but well made with some great actresses and it deals with it's subjects seriously. Some of the story lines involve: Polly (Shirley Knight) falling in love with a married doctor (Hal Holbrook); Kay (Joanna Pettet) dealing with an alcoholic husband (Larry Hagman); Dottie (Joan Heckett) falling in love with a womanizer (Richard Mulligan) and Priss (Elizabeth Hartman) dealing with raising a child.

It's fascinating to see these actors so young and full of life. All the acting is good but Hartman and Knight stand out. Also Candace Bergman shows up at the beginning and the end as a lesbian--quite daring for 1966. The surprise is that she's dealt with in a very sensitive manner and not made evil.

This movie is long (150 minutes) and its cast is very big (it took me at least an hour to figure out who was who) but I ended up enjoying this and recommend it. I give it an 8.

Anyone who thinks that this film is anti-man is wrong; the problem is that it was adapted from a novel that is, frankly, anti-human. Mary McCarthy's novel was one long sneer at all of the women she graduated from Vasaar with and who didn't have as wonderful and fulfilling a career as she did. They're too passive or too ambitious or too flirty or, most fatally, not Mary McCarthy. At least they went to Vasaar, though, so they are better than all other human beings on earth . . .

Surprisingly, Sidney Buchman's script manages to make flawed, but sympathetic characters out of the story he had to work with. Joanna Petet is wrenching as the ambitious, well-meaning Kay, whose husband Harald would probably never live up the her standards even if he weren't already a self-pitying, alcoholic bastard. Jessica Walters is ultimately endearing as Libby, who is not quite as sophisticated as she likes to pretend she is, although smarter than she lets on, and Shirley Knight is a rock of common sense as the quiet, hard-working Polly. It was refreshing to see Candice Bergen maintain grace, poise, and femininity even while she plays a "lesbo," but that accent of her always drove me crazy. Was it supposed to be English or Scandanavian, or a relic of the Duchy of Lower Fenwick? Carrie Nye has little more than a cameo as the artist that Harald is cheating on Kay with, but she rolls her r's magnificently and plays the character with deadly comic timing. She's also one of the few characters who actually has a little fun . . .

As others have said, it takes about an hour to sort everyone out and become involved in their stories, but the time invested pays off. Considering that there are eight main characters, kudos to Buchman and director Sidney Lumet for getting things sorted out so quickly. And to Lumet for toning down his tendency towards flash in his early films to serve the characters; the resulting film is a real drama, with comic touches, not a bitchy soap-opera.