Making Love
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Movie Reviews of Making Love
Movie Review: My how times have changed
Summary: 3 Stars
I will never forget when I saw this movie at the Montreal Film Festival. Nobody was there and a couple of American tourists in their 40's sat in front of my (then) "domestic partner" and me. When the kiss came, I thought Mr. was going to get sick. He let out a grunt heard round the theater! And we had never seen that before and thought, "Yes, it's about time"!
Seeing this movie again shows just how far things really haven't changed in America except the hair styles and clothes. It's been over 20 years and the issues today are still the same as back then, perhaps just fewer men are unaware of their sexuality at such a late age.
I always thought Michael Ontkean would have a great career after this movie, he played his part so well. Alas, it was not to be. Kate Jackson was so perfect and Harry Hamlin made you realize gay men were shallow to protect themselves from the potential ravages of depth.
I think this is a classic gay-themed movie and am glad it is back on the market.
Movie Review: Great movie...mediocre product
Summary: 3 Stars
Probably the best movie about gay subject matter before Brokeback Mountain. It deals with the issue in a very rational, non-stereotypical, and realistic way. You wont find any lisping queens in drag, though most of the gay characters are quite promiscuous. This was the pre-AIDs era after all.
The DVD itself is very bargain-basement. My case arrived with a warped and cheap feeling cover. No booklet. No features other than the theatrical trailer (complete with the "OMG this movie might freak you out, so be careful!" warning message in red right before it plays). While the video and sound are not great quality (this is a pretty old movie), they are acceptable and it is in widescreen format.
Personally, I am happy to have a DVD version finally, so I'm not complaining. But this is definitely not a deluxe edition.
Movie Review: The actors delivered a decent performance, particularly Jackson and Hamlin
Summary: 3 Stars
If this movie were to be released this day in age, I doubt it would get much attention. But it very well may have been considered cutting-edge and enlightening for its time (early 80's). I felt that it could have focused more on the development of the struggle between the husband and wife after she finds out he is involved with another man. It seemed as though that revelation was rather late in the movie-- and the emotional recovery time for them was a little impractical under the circumstances. That being said, the actors delivered very decent performances in light of what they had to work with. Kate Jackson always delivers well and Harry Hamlin did a particularly fine job with what was probably a very difficult and controversial role for him to take on at the time.
Movie Review: Stilted, Antiseptic Romantic Triangle Tale Disguised as a Groundbreaking Gay-Themed Film
Summary: 2 Stars
I have to admit there is a certain time-capsule fascination with seeing a mainstream Hollywood movie deal with the then-forbidden subject of unfulfilled gay love without the specter of AIDS. Unfortunately, this 1982 film is so emotionally self-contained and overly tasteful that the soap opera storyline has no chance to breathe with real life. Unsurprisingly, it was directed by Arthur Hiller, who made the similarly antiseptic "Love Story" a dozen years earlier. This time around, working from a script by openly gay screenwriter Barry Sandler from a story by biographer A. Scott Berg, Hiller maneuvers around a romantic triangle in which the idyllic marriage of upcoming TV executive Claire and successful doctor Zack is shattered by the sudden presence of Bart, a writer of the Fitzgerald school of emotional nihilism.
The set-up is so calculated not to offend that it becomes offensive in its dishonesty, first in the external factors such as the couple's overly romanticized view of their life together and their homogenized existence and then in the hollow emotional responses that each character conveys once the illusions dissipate. The film tracks the marital disintegration and Zack's concurrent sexual awakening in excruciating detail, and the dialogue fortifies the by-the-numbers story with a condescending TV-movie tone, especially in the overly convenient use of talking-to-the-camera monologues. The acting doesn't help much, though I have to give credit to the three leads for having the courage to accept parts in a movie that must have been diagnosed with a pre-Brokeback sense of cinematic leprosy.
Everyone is sincere but transparent with nary a hint of human complexity. Just finished with her stint on "Charlie's Angels", Kate Jackson tries hard to inhabit Claire, but there is frankly little to the character beyond her adoration of Zack. The very bland Michael Ontkean is hardly detectable as Zack, which is a shame since he is the vortex of the triangle and the one going through the identity evolution. As the predatory and soulless Bart, Harry Hamlin fares somewhat better probably because his character provides some palpable friction to the proceedings. It's not too surprising that none of the three leads went on to successful big-screen careers, though they all thrived back on TV again.
Arthur Hill and especially Wendy Hiller are wasted in plot devices disguised as supporting characters. It all ends predictably with a scene pilfered from the end of "The Way We Were". While the DVD release is much delayed, the print transfer is decent although there are no extras except for a handful of film trailers. There could have been some mention of the film's role in the evolution of gay-themed films but it's probably just as well since the movie is so singularly unmemorable no matter how well intentioned.
Movie Review: Controversial then.........Tame now
Summary: 2 Stars
Finally, "Making Love" is released on DVD. For those of you questioning my rating, let me explain. The ratings are supposed to be for the product (the DVD) not the film itself. I give the DVD a 2-star rating simply because it contains no extras. No commentary track, no "making of" featurette, no deleted scenes, no bloopers, no nothing (unless you count the trailer......and I don't count the trailer). The film I give a 3 1/2 to 4 star rating or a 5 star rating simply because Kate Jackson is in it.
Considered controversial and ground breaking for its time, today (as another reviewer mentioned) in the days of "Will and Grace" and "Queer as Folk" it seems rather mild by comparison. Still, that doesn't mean it isn't a good film. Yes, it is riddled with cliches and yes, it goes out of it's way to be as unoffensive as possible, yet "Making Love" tackles it's subject in a fairly honest, forthright manner (especially when you consider it was filmed in 1982).
Although it's nice to see Jackson on Ontkean together again (since their days on the television series "The Rookies"), I never really bought Ontkean's performance. Even when I watch it today I feel he's too stiff and reserved, never really willing to open up and fully explore his character's conflicts and emotions. Jackson does some of her best work here (okay, so you know I'm a fan and somewhat biased but....hey, whatever). She has some genuinely touching moments, such as when she confesses her crush on her teacher to the camera ("Crepe paper is a [..] to tear"), when she talks on the phone with her father, or her final meeting with Zach. As he walks down the driveway and out of her life, the expression on her face breaks your heart. It's moments like these that make me very curious to see what Jackson could have done with the role of Joanna, the ex-wife of Dustin Hoffman's character in "Kramer Vs. Kramer". (She was originally offered the role but the producers of Charlie's Angels would not give her the time off). Harry Hamlin deserves kudos for taking a basically unlikable character and portraying him as such while showing the audience why he has built up this wall around himself. One reviewer noted that Zach unexplainably falls for Bart. I think it's perfectly understandable why Zach falls for him. Zach is in the middle of an identity crisis. Bart is the ONE gay man he actually knows on a personal level. It's only natural that he'd be drawn to him to learn more about himself, no matter how cocky or flippant Bart is.
So yes, the film has it's flaws (as most do) but I think it holds up pretty well after all these years. I just wish the DVD had some extras darn it!!