I was really with "The Landlord," Hal Ashby's offbeat 1970 comedy, up to a point, but by the end I really disliked this movie.
Most of the responsibility for that falls on lead actor Beau Bridges, who plays a socially conscious man brought up by an oblivious rich family and decides to rehab an apartment building in a black ghetto. I didn't like his character much, but that's not really the problem. I just don't like Beau Bridges very much, so it was hard to get into the groove of the film since he's in virtually every scene. Hal Ashby's quirky fingerprints are all over this movie, but the story starts to meander and unravel the longer the movie goes on. It's a shame I didn't like it more, because it's become incredibly relevant again, what with its dissection of gentrification and misguided white liberal guilt.
Lee Grant received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for playing one of the most popular character types to be recognized in that particular award category, the overbearing mother. She plays her like a dingbat society matron from one of those 1930s screwball comedies, but her performance becomes progressively more awkward as the film around her begins to shift in tone while she doesn't modulate at all to match it.
Grade: B
Most of the responsibility for that falls on lead actor Beau Bridges, who plays a socially conscious man brought up by an oblivious rich family and decides to rehab an apartment building in a black ghetto. I didn't like his character much, but that's not really the problem. I just don't like Beau Bridges very much, so it was hard to get into the groove of the film since he's in virtually every scene. Hal Ashby's quirky fingerprints are all over this movie, but the story starts to meander and unravel the longer the movie goes on. It's a shame I didn't like it more, because it's become incredibly relevant again, what with its dissection of gentrification and misguided white liberal guilt.
Lee Grant received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for playing one of the most popular character types to be recognized in that particular award category, the overbearing mother. She plays her like a dingbat society matron from one of those 1930s screwball comedies, but her performance becomes progressively more awkward as the film around her begins to shift in tone while she doesn't modulate at all to match it.
Grade: B