Micki e Maude

Five years after the success of "10", Blake Edwards and Dudley Moore hit another bullseye with MICKI & MAUDE, a stylish and very funny romantic comedy about a newsmagazine reporter (Moore) married to a workaholic attorney named Micki (Ann Reinking) who longs to be a father and begins an affair with an attractive and funny cellist named Maude (Amy Irving) who he gets pregnant. He agrees to divorce Micki and marry Maude until Micki announces she is also pregnant. Since Micki's pregnancy is high risk, he doesn't want to stress her out so he marries Maude without divorcing Micki and that's when his life becomes complicated to no end. The three stars are absolutely wonderful in their roles. Moore won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy. Richard Mulligan, George Gaynes, and Wallace Shawn offer strong support as Moore's boss and as the ladies' doctors. Though the film is a little on the long side, it remains thoroughly entertaining from beginning to end with one of Moore's best performances.

Dudley Moore plays a TV-reporter who's married and wants to have kids. Unfortunately, his wife (Ann Reinking) is very career-focused and doesn't want to start a family yet. Moore falls in love with a girl he interviewed (Amy Irving). They meet a few times, not so much later she's pregnant. Moore says he wants her to become his wife. The day he decides to ask his wife for a divorce, she tells him she's expecting a baby. Moore doesn't know what to do, he loves both Reinking and Irving and they are both expecting his baby. He can't cancel his wedding with Irving so he ends up being married to both.

Everyone who loves the romantic-comedies of the eighties will agree: Although some moments are a little boring, "Micki and Maude" is a fun and entertaining movie with great performances of the leading actors (and a well-earned Golden Globe for Dudley Moore). The end is a bit lame, but the hospital scene makes up for that.

I watched with increasing discomfort as the premise of this film started to unfold. My moral compass kept kicking in and I never managed to suspend my disbelief sufficiently to entirely enjoy the film. Dudley Moore plays Rob Salinger very well. Ann Reinking (Micki) and Amy Irving (Maude) play their parts wonderfully too as the situation turns into a farce. I became intrigued to see how the screenwriters might resolve the plot in a socially acceptable way. The story didn't end how I might have guessed; more of a non-ending really. I hope that intrigues you enough to watch it and find out how you react to this movie. It's probably worth watching to learn something about yourself!

"Micki + Maude" is a warm, lovely little comedy, so sweet-natured and appealing that it's hard to resist. We identify completely with Dudley Moore, who honestly loves both his wives; his behavior never seems smug or calculating. He just can't choose between them, because he cares deeply for both of them. And because of that, the movie becomes emotionally involving. Warning: this isn't the kind of comedy that will make you laugh so much you won't be able to take a breath; it's the kind of comedy that will leave you, repeatedly, with a goofy grin on your face.

A television reporter, married to a lawyer, falls for another sharp lady, a lovely musician. Before he knows it, he has two wives...and both are pregnant! By 1984, Dudley Moore's film choices (mostly comedies) were starting to congeal, and with each new release came a sigh of resignation that he was never going to be Arthur again. Blake Edwards (who directed in Moore in "10") allows his star too much time to work his way into comedic fitful states, and continually dotes on Moore as the diminutive actor scurries from room to room. Still, this screenplay by Jonathan Reynolds has a witty edge (and Edwards, naturally, embraces its wild slapstick bent), resulting in some very bright, often very funny sequences. As the ladies in Dudley's life, Ann Reinking and Amy Irving are both terrific, helping Moore and Edwards turn out their best film in years. **1/2 from ****