Moi Nathalie

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.

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.

It's tough to make Patty Duke into an ugly duckling. Her fierce determination, wiseass manner, and throwaway good humor are attractive qualities--and they each serve to save her "homely" character from heartbreak. Natalie is a textbook plain Jane from Brooklyn who finally makes a break from her parents and moves to the Village; she gains strength in her independence, but her self-consciousness (and keenly-honed sense of dramatics) cause her to hit a comedic bump or two. Martin Balsam has a wonderful and sensitive supporting role as an adoring uncle, and James Farentino is very fine playing an artist with whom Natalie falls in love. Their relationship is surprisingly free of the usual clichés, making this a sweet, warm, funny movie that has stood the test of time. *** from ****

I remember going into Center City Philadelphia with a friend and walking along Chestnut Street right past a line of hippies waiting to get into Easy Rider. Of course, we went to see Patty Duke as we were fans of her TV show. I enjoyed the That Girl mixed with pathos. Yes, it was a tad preachy but the golden girl attracting trouble, a little schadenfreude on Patty's part? But, all too soon, Patty became involved with the wrong man, too. There was a lot of good in the movie for us young girls to see. Natalie graduating from school, getting a job and her own place complete with the bed cut of a bathtub seemed preferable to doing the deed in a New Orleans graveyard as in Easy Rider.

"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.