The Baby Maker - Je donne la vie à qui je veux

Barbara Hershey plays a hippie girl who is hired to have the baby of a middle class couple (Collin Wilcox-Horne & Sam Groom). The film deals with the clash of values between Hershey, along with her boyfriend (Scott Glenn), and the couple. It also deals honestly and surprisingly fairly with the emotional turmoil all four characters go through. Supposedly the film was dismissed upon its released because of the way it depicted hippie culture, but it is much more positive than a good amount of the films of the day (see Joe, for instance). It neither accepts nor dismisses either of the two classes, but instead deals with the four principals as individuals. The four characters are sensitively written (director Bridges, most famous for writing and directing The China Syndrome, wrote the script here, as well). Hershey, Wilcox-Horne (AKA Wilcox Paxton), Groom, and Glenn all give exceptional performances.

I admit, I ordered the DVD of this film because it starred the young Barbara Hershey. Okay, sure, she is stunningly beautiful; but as we know, she is also a stunning actress. I'd never seen this film before last night......unless I've forgotten viewing it in the theater upon its release.

Overall, what a lovely film. I'm an old softy, so a story like this would tend to get me; but as other reviewers have said, the stars made this story.

In my opinion, it would be a mistake to fault the film because of a few things that, now, seem rather dated. The characters are subdued with their emotions (for the most part); and that they can pull it off is a sign of the actor's talents.

But really, what else can I say other than: what a lovely tale, lovingly told.

An upper-class, childless couple in Southern California "hires" a comely hippie to bear the husband's baby (this being 1970, she conceives the old-fashioned way); soon, the straight-laced twosome are drawn into the young woman's world. Interesting, insightful, provocative (for its time), the movie does follow a typical by-the-numbers pattern (with an "open minded" boyfriend, jealousies and friction on all sides), but writer-director James Bridges is very tasteful and unhurried. He also gets some lovely shots of Barbara Hershey at her chestnut-haired, go-go-booted best (my favorites were her run across the street at the beginning, a stunning glimpse of her through a rain-soaked car window, and under the sheets in bed). The incredible finale refuses to compromise, and even though the medical aspects of the story are dated, the emotions are still on-target. *** from ****

A charming story, told with the right amount of delicacy, despite the topic of pregnancy on behalf of a third party being a very controversial topic, perhaps more so now than then. Furthermore, the film managed to immerse me in the vibrant 70s, with its atmospheres, events and cultural movements.

After a first unwanted pregnancy, in which she had to give up the child for adoption because she was too young, Tish Gray (Barbara Hershey) realized she had a predisposition to raise a child inside her, without having to take care of it, she comes into contact with Suzanne Wilcox (Collin Wilcox Paxton) who, after a hysterectomy, has a dream: to have a biological child from her husband Jay (Scott Glenn).

Director James Bridges demonstrates considerable sensitivity and respect for the narrative (his is also the screenplay), with delicate scenes, but also with clear and direct dialogues. In my opinion representing the hippie culture better than many more famous films, showing in the reality of its scenes the clash of two different worlds (the old traditionalist bourgeoisie and the progressive hippie movement) and their relative axioms. The acting is sublime, not only the beautiful and very good interpreter, but also the debutant Scott Glenn.

Citation of merit: soundtrack and leitmotif really wonderful, did they deserve the Oscar? Mmmh... let it be.

THE BABY MAKER is the sort of movie that today simply couldn't have been made because it discusses about women's wanting of getting pregnant and have kids, and today these sort of things aren't discussed anymore. There is one reason tho, why I decided to watch this: it's Scott Glenn's first movie he ever did and as usual, he was one of the best things of the movie.

Suzanne Wilcox (Collin Wilcox, it seems odd but they have the same surname) can't have children so her husband Sam hires a flower child named Tish Gray (Barbara Hershey) for having the baby. Most of the movie then focuses on the clashing views between Tish, her boyfriend Tad Jacks (Glenn) and the Wilcox couple, and also on the turmoil they go through.

To say that the movie is strange would be an understatement. The idea itself of a woman that has to give birth to a child and then give it away to another couple is not something you usually hear in movies, and Scott Glenn's character was 100% unlike his usual characters of men of few words... here he played a loud and fun loving boyfriend to Gray. Considering this was the first movie he ever did, he had to start some way or another.

Overall, if you are fans of 1970s counter culture it's worth a look.