This film was made in 1981 and was George Cukor's last directorial effort before his retirement from the silver screen. It stars Jacqueline Bisset and Candice Bergen as two childhood friends who meet at an exclusive girl's Ivy League college. Naturally it is the good old 1950's, a decade not renowned for its tolerance of women having careers. Jackie remains single and is allowed a career, whilst Candice marries and becomes a homemaker who envies Jackie's freedom as a single woman (who, being single, at least according to this film, is not expected to have children). Candice herself feels tied down by the one child that she has ( isn't it nice to know that they've figured all of this out for us before we get started). Anyway, Candice becomes frustrated and unhappy because she is married to a bit of a boring simp and since her daughter is growing up and doesn't need her any longer, she decides to beat Jackie at her own game by becoming a writer too, and naturally things get complicated. Well, they don't really, the movie just wants you to think that they do. In a nutshell 'Rich and Famous' charts the shifting relationship between Liz (Bisset) and Merry Noel (Bergen) in a way that is empowering. Husbands and boyfriends come and go but their sometimes rocky friendship is meant to remain.
The plot takes the usual twists and turns. There is a love scene that takes place in an aeroplane bathroom at 80,000 feet which was considered quite racy in its day and some very boring plot contrivances concerning sexual relationships and the fear of getting old, topics which were considered to be of consequence during the late 70's and early 80's. Both women are dressed well and look good, the men they are involved with aren't up to much and I would defy any man to stay awake during the proceedings. In retrospect, this movie would be best described as an eighteen year old girl's wish fulfilment: the women are smart and have careers, the men are dumb and almost laughably unthreatening, and all the characters seem to have access to an income that comes from God knows where. They live in beautiful houses in big glamorous cities like New York and Los Angeles where there is no crime or conflict and without any of the normal stresses and strains of ordinary human existence.
It's already been noted that director George Cukor was an elderly man when he made this film. As a veteran of the golden age of Hollywood it seems obvious that these were the kinds of movies he was used to making, where people are civilised and nice to each other, have plenty of disposable income and have the opportunity to live exemplary lives as an example to the rest of us. But the movie seems just too old fashioned in its sensibility to be believable. It is pretty to look at, all of the aspects of the filmmaking are performed professionally and the two leading ladies deport themselves admirably. It's just that...well, neither character seems properly rooted in any kind of realistic context, and nor does the plot.
I find 'Rich and Famous' to be a guilty pleasure. I'm almost ashamed to say that I enjoy it, but have to admit that I do. Don't expect brain surgery, just 1 hour and 40 minutes of escapism deftly presented for your visual enjoyment . Don't give it too much thought and who knows, you might have a lot of fun.
The plot takes the usual twists and turns. There is a love scene that takes place in an aeroplane bathroom at 80,000 feet which was considered quite racy in its day and some very boring plot contrivances concerning sexual relationships and the fear of getting old, topics which were considered to be of consequence during the late 70's and early 80's. Both women are dressed well and look good, the men they are involved with aren't up to much and I would defy any man to stay awake during the proceedings. In retrospect, this movie would be best described as an eighteen year old girl's wish fulfilment: the women are smart and have careers, the men are dumb and almost laughably unthreatening, and all the characters seem to have access to an income that comes from God knows where. They live in beautiful houses in big glamorous cities like New York and Los Angeles where there is no crime or conflict and without any of the normal stresses and strains of ordinary human existence.
It's already been noted that director George Cukor was an elderly man when he made this film. As a veteran of the golden age of Hollywood it seems obvious that these were the kinds of movies he was used to making, where people are civilised and nice to each other, have plenty of disposable income and have the opportunity to live exemplary lives as an example to the rest of us. But the movie seems just too old fashioned in its sensibility to be believable. It is pretty to look at, all of the aspects of the filmmaking are performed professionally and the two leading ladies deport themselves admirably. It's just that...well, neither character seems properly rooted in any kind of realistic context, and nor does the plot.
I find 'Rich and Famous' to be a guilty pleasure. I'm almost ashamed to say that I enjoy it, but have to admit that I do. Don't expect brain surgery, just 1 hour and 40 minutes of escapism deftly presented for your visual enjoyment . Don't give it too much thought and who knows, you might have a lot of fun.