One of the worst movies I have ever sat through. I was a student in Ann Arbor when this was released in theaters and it was shreaded by critics. It did get a lot of press because it was X-rated and starred Dreyfuss, who was apparently trying to replicate Brando doing an X-rated film a couple of years previous (Last Tango In Paris). It went to early cable (then called Pay-TV) and that's where I saw it.
It is an insufferable bore - a lot of talking with nothing really happening other than unsympathetic characters yacking on and on about stuff you could care less about. Brando got an undeserved Oscar nomination, but Dreyfuss didn't - and you can see why - his performance is obnoxious and insulting. At the time, I was trying to figure out whether he was just drunk or on some kind of drug. Veronica Carwright manages to rise above the awful script and give a good performance and it was interesting to see how this young teen from Hitchcock's The Birds grew up into a fine actress. Luckily, this film did not destroy her career, let alone that of Dreyfuss' - Jaws released that same year probably saved it for him. I can't understand some of the excellent reviews here. But, go ahead, sit through this if you can, although I suspect it will be hard to find - Dreyfuss should have had every copy of it destroyed.
It is an insufferable bore - a lot of talking with nothing really happening other than unsympathetic characters yacking on and on about stuff you could care less about. Brando got an undeserved Oscar nomination, but Dreyfuss didn't - and you can see why - his performance is obnoxious and insulting. At the time, I was trying to figure out whether he was just drunk or on some kind of drug. Veronica Carwright manages to rise above the awful script and give a good performance and it was interesting to see how this young teen from Hitchcock's The Birds grew up into a fine actress. Luckily, this film did not destroy her career, let alone that of Dreyfuss' - Jaws released that same year probably saved it for him. I can't understand some of the excellent reviews here. But, go ahead, sit through this if you can, although I suspect it will be hard to find - Dreyfuss should have had every copy of it destroyed.