Le minus se rebiffe

He's a curmudgeonly mailman with a big vocabulary but no social skills or common sense. She's a bored suburban housewife with a bored husband and some children who may or may not actually exist. He hasn't yet figured out that his building was sold 6 years ago and his basement apartment is now being used for storage. She wants only to return to college to finish work on her baccalaureate.

The first half of this movie provides some wonderfully irreverent satire in its depiction of New York City as a benign dystopia. It has the feel of a 1960s beach movie turned into a sophisticated PG-rated urban sex romp. It occasionally falls flat in attempts to imitate the zaniness of Richard Lester films, but this doesn't detract from the clever humor.

The film weakens, however, after the inevitable meeting of the main characters. It's unfortunate that the writers had to resort to a plot device so ludicrous and offensive. The movie becomes mainly dialog driven beyond this point but the dialog just isn't good enough to support that and Eli Wallach's excellent Eric Von Zipper imitation eventually grows annoying. Nevertheless, the movie still has a few surprises to offer and the quick, merciful ending provides an oddly satisfying lack of conclusion.

In this era when almost everything makes it on to DVD (I'm expecting to see the My Mother the Car collection any day now) this film has been unfairly neglected. There are innumerable stupid comedies from the 60's as well as many other eras that have received at least a cursory DVD treatment. This one wasn't even released on VHS to my knowledge, despite the talents involved in the making (Arthur Hiller, Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, Murray Shisgal (notable later for co-writing Tootsie), even Dustin Hoffman in his debut). It's obviously a product of the sixties but so is just about everything else from that era. All films reflect the tastes and customs of the times in which they are made. This was released the same year as The President's Analyst, another absurd masterpiece. That film was finally released on DVD and has developed a cult following. This film has many memorable bizarre, goofy, wacky moments. Sure, it's painted in broad strokes and has silly go-go music throughout but that's part of its charm. It creates its own absurd universe. If whoever is in charge of DVD production for Columbia Pictures releases (I believe Columbia released it) takes polls for new releases this gets my vote.

It's up there with Where's Poppa, The Groove Tube, Putney Swope. It memorializes the NY city mind set of the period, a wonderfully strange man with a bizarre plan, hoist by by own petard, and at last retreating into the bed of his adoptive parents. Totally absurd, its the life one sees through the magic glasses, seeing things as they "really are"... I don't think it is ever shown anymore. If so, surely someone would Tivo the thing and put it out there. A kidnap goes awry: mixed up in a rain storm, dashing in and out or storefronts, our hero tosses a raincoat over his prey and tossing her into his bicycle powered ice cream wagon spirits her off to his basement apartment in the village. He is amazed, surprised, and incredibly disappointed when the wraps come off: instead of a luscious lady, he has captures a middle ages suburban housewife who talks and talks and talks. The film is full of vignettes of the commuters life, the suburban life, the city officials, and all the attitudes so dearly held. It pushes the limits of comedy, such as magical reality might push a drama, much as Daffy Duck is able to draw on imaginative scenes to demonstrate his plight or desires, all at the very edge of plausibility. All of it is humorous, nobody is mean.

Back in 1967, a film producer visited my family and asked if they could use our home and our neighbor's home for a new film starring Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson. After negotiations, parts of the film were filmed in our home and our neighbor's home.

Since I was in about 6th grade at the time, and since it was the biggest thing to hit our neighborhood, I was allowed to stay home the day of filming.

Being curious, I approached the coach bus parked in front of my home. I stepped inside and sat next to a very nice (handsome) gentleman. We got to talking, as he was very friendly. He explained that he had a small part, not being filmed at my house, and we sat and chatted for awhile. He told me his name, Dustin Hoffman. After ten or fifteen minutes I left the bus.

Just a few years later when watching a movie with Dustin Hoffman, my dad said... isn't that the guy from The Tiger Makes Out? It sure was... and I remembered my conversation on the bus with him. Over the years, I've followed his career.

Last night I was telling a friend about this movie. We later sat down to watch "The Holiday".... I was saying, wow... ELI WALLACH...we were just talking about him. Later in the movie, when there was a short glimpse of Dustin Hoffman, did I really get the chills... Am very curious as to why Dustin made a quick appearance in another of Eli's movies.

Just wish I could get the movie on DVD... searched the internet, and it's not to be found. Too bad... what wonderful memories that movie would bring back!!

Performed 1965-66 season. Director by Jim Leighton; Porterville, Ca The Barn Theater's production of Murray Schisgal's one act plays: The Typists (with Ann B. Davis, Jim Leighton) and The Tiger (Ann. B. Davis, Bill Striglos). Information from 4 page playbill