Così è la vita

This Blake Edwards movie is like all Blake Edwards movies. That means it's fairly lame, has no particular style by which to distinguish itself, and looks like it's been airbrushed.

This one revolves around some mid-life crisis topics afflicting a middle-aged couple played by Jack Lemmon and Julie Andrews. Andrews is diagnosed with a tumor and spends the film waiting for test results; Lemmon has the hots for Sally Kellerman (who wouldn't) and spends the movie dithering about it. Lemmon and Andrews are good actors, and they almost make the film worth watching, but only almost.

Grade: C

Many people dislike this film because of its melodramatic sentimentality, but I love it because Lemmon's performance is near perfect. I say this because as we see Harvey Fairchild suffer a mid life crisis, we see Jack Lemmon, the actor, suffer. This film was made in the years when Lemmon was going through problems of his own, with drinking and among other things. Lemmon captured numerous demons through the performance of Harvey, plus I think the film is good in general. Robert Loggia is another favorite of mine and he, along with his Oscar nod in the same year for "Jagged Edge," is simply wonderful as Harvey's friend and priest who drinks as people give their confessions. Sally Kellerman is also a delight.

... written and directed by Blake Edwards. Jack Lemmon stars as a man having a late mid-life crisis of sorts, while his stoic wife, played by Julie Andrews, waits for the results of a biopsy. The whole film takes place over one fraught weekend as their grown children come to visit for Lemmon's impending birthday celebration.

Jack Lemmon really grated on my nerves in this one, with all of his late-career mannerisms and vocal inflections ratcheted up to the top. Andrews is good in a thankless role, although I kept hoping she would kick Lemmon in the face. Upper-class malaise and fear of mortality are decent subjects better explored in other films. Lemmon himself even seems to be repeating his earlier turn in Save the Tiger, although this time with less restraint. There are a couple of humorous touches, but few enough to leave comedy off of the film's description.

This is the only Jack Lemmon movie I can think of that I have not enjoyed, and that is quite a feat.

There are some movies you just get a good feeling about, and this (for me) is one of them. In every comment I've read here, though, no one mentioned the scene between Julie Andrews and Emma Walton, who are mother and daughter in real life and in the movie. Emma's character has just broken up with her boyfriend, and she spends the whole weekend in a bad mood until she finally breaks down crying and must be comforted by Julie's character. Lifetime channel, take note: sappy mother-daughter scenes work out best when you: 1-get real-life mother-daughter pairs and 2-let the mother (regardless of whether #1 is true or not) just speak from her heart. That's what Blake Edwards had enough sense to do, and it makes for one of the most touching mother-daughter scenes ever. Granted, Blake Edwards actually lived with these two people, so he may have had a better knowledge of their relationship and what would work, but most older actresses are mothers and could probably be capable of something similar. The rest of the film is great as well, with great performances all around, and a hilarious rambling from Jack at the beginning while he describes to Julie how his day at work went. This is the first movie that made my laugh and cry simultaniously (when Jack says he wanted to "bicycle himself to death"), and for that and the scene between Julie and Emma, watch this movie. It's way better than the box office will lead you to believe.

THAT'S LIFE! is a lovely family drama from 1986 directed by Blake Edwards centering on an affluent family man named Harvey Fairchild (Jack Lemmon)who goes through an emotional roller-coaster due to his approaching 60th birthday. He is so busy wallowing in self-pity and depression that he not even aware of the fact that his wife, Gillian (Julie Andrews) is facing a life-threatening illness. This barely-seen and highly underrated film was an unexpected delight with an intelligent screenplay, sensitive direction by Edwards and a 100-megawatt star performance by Jack Lemmon in the title role. The film wreaks of nepotism with Chris Lemmon playing their oldest son, Blake Edwards' daughter Jennifer and Andrews' daughter, Emma Waltoon also appearing as siblings in the family. There is even a cameo by Lemmon's real life spouse, Felicia Farr, as a fortune teller. The home of Blake Edwards and Julie Andrews is even utilized as the Fairchild family home in the film. Edwards, Andrews, and especially Lemmon fans should definitely give this one a look if they haven't seen it...a quiet, affecting drama that effectively blends the smile and the tear.