"10"

1979
-directed by Blake Edwards
"Whenever Mrs. Kissel breaks wind, we beat the dog."
-the Reverend

-Edwards' (other) masterpiece. Aren't geniuses entitled to only one? If you have more than one, they can't technically both be a masterpiece. I'm not sure how much our younger generation is aware of Edwards, one of the top three comedy writer/directors in Hollywood history. In truth, his most famous work isn't aging so well. There's no denying Peter Sellers' genius, but to modern eyes the PINK PANTHER series comes off a little forced. That is not the case for VICTOR/VICTORIA and 10, however...one suspects that their brilliance will be forever immune to the vagaries of time and taste. On my list of the greatest comedies of all time, i sincerely hope 10 will clock in at #10 (some things are too perfect).
And how do you explain a film so perfect? How do you explain every tiniest element clicking, in a fabric of funny that seems far too evenly pure for the frankensteinian process that is film-making? Is it the vision that lifts the elements, or the other way round? The truth is probably both...one needs to be fortunate enough to have the writing and acting come together just right...but then when the audience is sitting in the theater, it's the spirit of the film that makes it all take off, tapping into the viewer's willingness that the film be the funniest thing they've ever seen. Most scenes from any masterpiece could come off as merely pedestrian, were they to be dropped into a lesser film.
10 is about the mid-life crisis of celebrated composer George Webber. His longtime collaboration with lyricist Hugh (Robert Webber - 12 ANGRY MEN, PRIVATE BENJAMIN) is both satisfying and boring...a mirror of his romantic life with singer Samantha Taylor (Julie Andrews). As he bemoans the shallowness of the songs the kids are listening to these days, his surliness annoys everyone. Then he spies a woman (Bo Derek) on the way to her wedding, and is so thoroughly enthralled by her innocence and beauty, he drops everything and rushes off to their honeymoon destination in Mexico. In a rage of pills and booze, he seduces one woman and spies on the young bride. He then saves her husband's life, and as the husband (Sam Jones, the future FLASH GORDON) lies in the hospital, he takes the bride Jenny to dinner. She invites him back to her suite...
Along the way, nothing happens as it's supposed to, and Moore's physical comedy is so deft your laughter may get wet. The verbal humor is perfect, and perfectly quotable. But balancing all the hilarity is the realness of the characters...you can feel their anger and frustration and sadness, right in your gut. This is a trick lost on the current crop of Hollywood comedy actors and writers.
It's hard to imagine any other actor playing Moore's part. George Segal quit the role after Andrews' role had been inflated. I love Segal, but his departure had to be a blessing, as was Andrew's increased screentime...the sparks, both good and bad, between she and Moore, are as good as moviemaking gets (and Julie's beautiful songs also pepper the film). Peter Sellers also turned down the role...again, for all his brilliance, a casting choice that would have been wrong. And it's not just Dudley's acting, but his musical talent, that make the film. He plays his own piano, and it's some of the most sadly beautiful music you can imagine.
Robert Webber's portrayal of a gay man of humor and intelligence (without one ounce of affectation) is one of the great supporting performances in movie history. He seems on top of the world with his boy toy, but by the end of the film is awash in heartache...and we can't help feeling that all romance in this broken society can only end so.
It's the perfection in all the supporting parts that elevates this movie. It's that rare film in which you want no part of any Oscar talk, because you couldn't bear to see anyone in the cast not get one. Dee Wallace (E.T.) is heart-rendingly poignant as the woman Dudley seduces...only to not be able to get it up. It's not the first time it's happened to her...her talk of Willis Ackerman almost makes ME want to drink. Brian Dennehy gives his best performance this side of FIRST BLOOD, as sympathetic bartender Don. Max Showalter (SIXTEEN CANDLES) is a hoot as a horribly-musical reverend whom Dudley shmoozes to get info out of. John Hancock (AIRPLANE II, THE STING II, STAR TREK: TNG) is absolute perfection as Dudley's therapist, that voice telling us everything we don't want to hear about ourselves. James Noble (AIRPLANE II, BENSON) is a silly delight as the bride's dentist father, whom Dudley also shmoozes info out of (and gets a mouth full of surgery for his trouble). And Don Calfa (WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S, THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD) is priceless as the hippie neighbor presiding over an unending orgy.
And...maybe you thought i wouldn't mention her...Bo Derek, as Jenny. She's been saddled with so much crap in her career. I'm not saying she's the second coming of Hermione Gingold, but no fair-minded person could walk away from this film thinking that she's anything other than a very capable actress. There's not one line she doesn't nail. The part was first offered to Melanie Griffith. And then Kay Lenz. Kim Basinger and Christie Brinkley were also considered. It's tempting to think about how Kay or Kim might have done, but you don't mess around with the chemistry this film had - enough to turn both Dudley and Bo into international superstars. And it's her role that is ultimately the focal point of what's so historically interesting. The characters of George and Samantha, for all we love them, are ultimately trapped in the mores of their time, and all the more miserable for it. We are satisfied and delighted when they get back together, with George ready to devote his life to just one woman. But that's the film's blind spot...for all their love and genuine caring, there's only one place they can be heading - a loving, contentious marriage in which the contentiousness will prevail. And in the middle of that, here's Jenny...saying life should be about happiness and love, and expressing it wherever and whenever it strikes, without guilt. She's happy to make love to George, but his burdens of guilt, and dream that she will want to give her life to him...she just can't understand that.
George isn't entirely wrong...perhaps Jenny's way is a bit too casual, too anonymous...
But she's a lot closer to right than he is.
A wonderful post-film topic of discussion.
To what extent Edwards was intending Jenny to be a sympathetic character, is another great question. He was married to his star, Ms. Andrews, so it's possible he meant Jenny to be entirely unsympathetic. My hunch is that he didn't. I wonder whether even Julie knows.