While I appreciated the slice of life - pun intended - shown in the Blake Edwards drama That's Life!, I was disappointed on one aspect: Julie Andrews wasn't given much to do. The story could have been focused on her, since her conflict is extremely worrisome, but instead everyone's energy was sucked into Jack Lemmon's selfishness. If this were the first Jack Lemmon movie I'd ever seen, I'm not sure I'd be able to get over his despicable character and believe him in other, far more likable roles. Self-centered, negative, draining, critical, rude, and downright mean to those who love him - only to be sorry, cry, and feel sorry for himself later. Widely speculated to be a semi-autobiographical film (because both Julie's and Jack's children played their children on the screen, and it was filmed in the Edwards's Malibu home), I hope the rumors are merely that. If Blake Edwards had that many problems and took them out on his wife on a daily basis, poor Julie was terribly abused.
Julie's character is a famous singer worried about losing her voice. The start of the film shows her in a hospital room getting her throat scraped for a biopsy, and as she has decided not to tell anyone about her potential health problem, she's completely alone with her feelings. She and Jack go out to dinner that evening, and she's unable to eat. He notices her lack of appetite but doesn't notice her touching her throat constantly; his only reaction is that he hopes she isn't coming down with a cold so he doesn't catch it. She receives no sympathy, no attention, and continually pours herself into her husband and her adult children. As the screenplay is written, she doesn't actually have a character at all. She's just a bottle of glue, keeping everything together. Given the seriousness of her situation, the focus could (and should) have been about her, instead of tending to her husband's constant whining and spewing meanness. She certainly had the acting chops to handle a heavy health crisis, especially since it was a sensitive subject that would soon hit far too close to home.
That's Life! Contains good acting and a tough script that sheds a light on the inner turmoil of a successful man who damages those around him. It's no wonder his wife was having a throat problem, since she didn't feel like she had a voice in her marriage. You'll get to see sweet family connections, and some beautiful '80s fashions, but if you want Julie Andrews to get the spotlight, rent Duet for One.
Julie's character is a famous singer worried about losing her voice. The start of the film shows her in a hospital room getting her throat scraped for a biopsy, and as she has decided not to tell anyone about her potential health problem, she's completely alone with her feelings. She and Jack go out to dinner that evening, and she's unable to eat. He notices her lack of appetite but doesn't notice her touching her throat constantly; his only reaction is that he hopes she isn't coming down with a cold so he doesn't catch it. She receives no sympathy, no attention, and continually pours herself into her husband and her adult children. As the screenplay is written, she doesn't actually have a character at all. She's just a bottle of glue, keeping everything together. Given the seriousness of her situation, the focus could (and should) have been about her, instead of tending to her husband's constant whining and spewing meanness. She certainly had the acting chops to handle a heavy health crisis, especially since it was a sensitive subject that would soon hit far too close to home.
That's Life! Contains good acting and a tough script that sheds a light on the inner turmoil of a successful man who damages those around him. It's no wonder his wife was having a throat problem, since she didn't feel like she had a voice in her marriage. You'll get to see sweet family connections, and some beautiful '80s fashions, but if you want Julie Andrews to get the spotlight, rent Duet for One.