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The Last Married Couple in America
Some good actors are wasted in a tired and predictable romantic comedy called The Last Married Couple in America.
The 1980 comedy stars George Segal and the late Natalie Wood as Jeff and Mari Thompson, a long married couple who have existed safely in their circle of married friends for a long time until these other marriages start falling apart, making Jeff and Mari doubt the validity of their own marriage.
John Herman Shaner's screenplay plays like a very long episode of a TV sitcom packed with all the expected scenes we would expect from such a well worn premise. We see the Thompsons actually think they're something wrong with them because they want to stay married and end up leaving the fate of their marriage to fashion. And of course, we have the people on the sidelines who have been waiting for Jeff and Mari to break up so they can make their moves on them.
The main reason I wanted to see this film was because it was one of the final feature films made by Wood. There's no denying that she has rarely looked more beautiful onscreen and Wood always had a gift for light comedy, but even she looks a little embarrassed to be involved in this debacle.
Gilbert Cates' direction is sluggish and causes the film to move at a snail's pace, but Segal and Wood do work well together and they get effective support from Bob Dishy, Richard Benjamin, Valerie Harper, Dom DeLuise, Marilyn Sokol, and Allan Arbus, but this is a comedy that just doesn't provide the laughs it should have.
Some good actors are wasted in a tired and predictable romantic comedy called The Last Married Couple in America.
The 1980 comedy stars George Segal and the late Natalie Wood as Jeff and Mari Thompson, a long married couple who have existed safely in their circle of married friends for a long time until these other marriages start falling apart, making Jeff and Mari doubt the validity of their own marriage.
John Herman Shaner's screenplay plays like a very long episode of a TV sitcom packed with all the expected scenes we would expect from such a well worn premise. We see the Thompsons actually think they're something wrong with them because they want to stay married and end up leaving the fate of their marriage to fashion. And of course, we have the people on the sidelines who have been waiting for Jeff and Mari to break up so they can make their moves on them.
The main reason I wanted to see this film was because it was one of the final feature films made by Wood. There's no denying that she has rarely looked more beautiful onscreen and Wood always had a gift for light comedy, but even she looks a little embarrassed to be involved in this debacle.
Gilbert Cates' direction is sluggish and causes the film to move at a snail's pace, but Segal and Wood do work well together and they get effective support from Bob Dishy, Richard Benjamin, Valerie Harper, Dom DeLuise, Marilyn Sokol, and Allan Arbus, but this is a comedy that just doesn't provide the laughs it should have.