Up the Sandbox

Thanks to Irvin Kershner's assured surreal direction, Streisand gives a fine performance in a very unusual 1972 film. Filled with verite style dialogues and intense emotional confrontations amid bizarre fantasy sequences, UP THE SANDBOX is a treat for unaware viewers. Though the film actually espouses a rather conservative agenda, the characters don't go to extremes; they're rather real.

It's easy to see how confused audiences must have been back in the day as the film subtly segues into Sttreisand's dream life. The fertility scene in Kenya actually is one of the worst while the guerilla attack on the Statue of Liberty with the WTC in the background will give you chills.

Overall, a fascinating film with gorgeous cinematography by Gordon Willis. Non-Streisand fans can enjoy this just for the 70's style direction.

This is a top 70's flick and highly underrated. I can imagine that it caused a stir in its release and still puts some viewers off. If David E. Kelley didn't get ideas for Ally McBeal from this, I'll go hee! Wonderful performance by Babs and hits the mark nicely.

This film is one of those 70's efforts that doesn't get any great credence. Any fan of Ally McBeal would surely tip their hats to the blend of imagination and reality. This has some very prophetic moments and still stands up today. It is testament to a time when risks were taken in film making rather than today's option of remakes and rewrites. Top marks for originality and Streisand. Give it a chance. May all your films be winners - AP

This is One of Barbra's finest movies and, ironicly, did the poorest at the box office. After playing larger than life characters in her last 5 films, here Barbra plays a "normal", regular human being. A bored New York housewife who uses daydreams to escape from her unfullfulling life. There are many touching and heartfelt moments in this film, as well as very funny ones. It is a comedy/drama with depth and dimmensions. In one scene Barbra stands up to Fidel Castro with her views on womanhood and war.Yet, a little later the two have a hystericly funny scene where he reveals a "secret" to her. Barbra stands up to her domineering mother,unexpectedly, at her parents anniversary party, and...lets just say that someone ends up with something other than egg, on their face! The moments where Barbra is washing and lovingly taking care of her children, as well as the moments where she is in an abortion clinic pondering her thoughts, are heartfelt indeed. A wonderfully different and heartfelt, funny movie. I highly recommend it.

"Up the Sandbox" could be a bigger classic if it had a better development of its ideas while telling the near-crazed ramblings of a neurotic housewife (Barbra Streisand) who has an emotional breakdown that shelters her from reality, shifting from delusional grandiosity to the real chaos of dealing with husband (David Selby), kids, a dominating mother (Jane Hoffman), and helpless friends. Irvin Kershner's film doesn't have a fine balance between comedy and drama, and we depend so much on an unreliable and frustrated lead character that there are times it's difficult to know what exactly does she want from life and relationships, what's real and what's not. I'd like to imagine what Woody Allen would turn if having the chance to direct this material (pity he only deals with his own material).

It's not a total mess since there are noble messages intertwined through it all, and there are moments of true brilliance (the exchange between Barbra and her husband's lover was hilarious as both women accept the fact of one another), wild mayhem (Fidel Castro becoming a female with a world domination where women rule the world), and pure outrageous fun (her parents anniversary being ruined because she refused to give the only thing her mother wanted in order to be truly happy).

If the lady's wildest dreams are fun to watch despite some nightmarish bits, the reality of it all is unappealing and nothing gets solved.

The film's idea seems to defend that once a woman gets married her dreams and wishes are inexistent as she needs to accomodate her family before herself, and to fight such notion are pointless and selfish acts. Her only comfort comes from dreams where she rejects the possibility of having a third kid, or finding solutions to improve the female cause, or commit a random terrorist attack on the Statue of Liberty. We keep waiting, with anxious hopes, that one day she'll wake up and finally act, do something different. But at the end of it all, there's no pay-off to her situation and it's frustrating - sure it can be said it was a realistic portrayal of its period and that audiences of then should know how to change such scenario.

By itself, I tried to like it but couldn't. If comparing a key scenario, the theme was better presented in "Diary of a Mad Housewife" (to Kerhsner's film disadvantage, I saw the other film a few days earlier and it stayed in my head). A few points from that film: worst husband, worst kids and the woman's little relief was having an affair with a careless chauvinist lover. Here, Barbra's dream of another man in her life comes with the presence of a charming university teacher and even that slight chance of affair is ruined because his date invitation for both was attending the Castro political meeting where she cried against his revolution. Had not seen "Diary of..." it might impact less the difficulties I had with this one, and it'd become something manageable.

Fine performances all around, but nothing so outstanding that requires new viewers to it. You won't be missing much, except for the really funny sequences. 5/10.