The Sterile Cuckoo (starring Liza)

[tazber]

Posted: 10/18/12 at 7:18am

Anyone seen this? I know it only from the fact that it was Liza's other Oscar nomination. I've always wanted to see it, and it finally came out on dvd Tuesday.

I'm going to watch it this weekend, but was curious is anyone has any thoughts on it. It's also Alan Pakula's directorial debut.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/18/12 at 7:58am

Pookie Adams! I loved this movie when I was 13, but I think it might come off as cloying now.

Between Cabaret and this and Tell Me That You Love Me Junie Moon, Liza staked a strong place in the film world playing quirky, neurotic girls with highly dramatic tendencies. (There were lots of others, though. It was sort of the only kind of leading role available for most young actresses for a while.)

But of the three, I think only Cabaret would hold up.

If you buy it or rent it and watch it, I'd love to know if you think it's still enjoyable. And if you haven't seen Junie Moon, watch that one too!

[StageManager2]

Posted: 10/18/12 at 8:10am

I love this movie! Mainly because it rings very true for me. I haven't read the book, but I could give you a precise albeit concise analysis on what I think the title means (it's not really explained in the film), but that would give too much away. Suffice it to say, Liza's exquisite performance really nails it on the head. The theme song (the Oscar-nominated "Come Saturday Morning") is also bittersweet. I can't wait to hear your opinions.

[Jane2]

Posted: 10/18/12 at 8:24am

Taz, good choice! Definitely a film not to miss. LIza's acting is oscar worthy, for sure. I saw the movie a few times, but each time I say, "this is the last time" because it rings too true to my own life, when i was that age.

So, that's it for me. Too sad.

But she's AMAZING.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 10/18/12 at 11:26am

Come Saturday morning
I'm going away with my friend
We'll Saturday-spend till the end of the day
Just I and my friend
We'll travel for miles in our Saturday smiles
And then we'll move on
But we will remember long after Saturday's gone

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/18/12 at 1:36pm

I saw it for the first, and only time, maybe 12 years back when I first got TCM here in Canada. I LOVED Liza in it, an I remember the film being really sweet and sad. For some WEIRD reason in my head I remember thinking something stylistically to it was similar to Splendour in the Grass. (Maybe it was set in the same era? I have no idea why I have that connection...) I should revisit it.

[tazber]

Posted: 10/18/12 at 3:26pm

I'm very excited now! I'll definitely post my thoughts after I see it.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/18/12 at 9:37pm

Pookie Adams! I loved this movie when I was 13, but I think it might come off as cloying now.

I'm a few years older, joey, but I also loved the film when it came out. It was on cable again last year and you describe my reaction to a T.

One thing that doesn't help is that all of Minnelli's "eccentricities" that seemed so interesting in the late 1960s now seem merely mannered and predictable. Pookie=Junie Moon=Sally Bowles, and the musical version is the best.

FWIW, I read the CUCKOO novel a few years ago and enjoyed it immensely. Ditto with JUNIE MOON.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 10/19/12 at 11:08am

Bittersweet. I haven't seen it in ages and ages...

Liza's performance is heartbreakingly wonderful.

'Come Saturday Morning' has been a favorite song ever since I saw this film. I sing it to myself every weekend.

Will look forward to reading your thoughts after you view it, Taz.

[danmag]

Posted: 10/19/12 at 12:51pm

I just LOVE this movie!! I hope you like it Taz!

[morosco]

Posted: 10/19/12 at 1:01pm

That long scene with Pookie on the phone talking to Jerry is amazing. Every time I see it I feel uncomfortable because it sounds so real. Really makes you feel like you are eavesdropping on a really awkward conversation.

[Jane2]

Posted: 10/19/12 at 1:14pm

^ Exactly. This whole film was so real to me that I could barely stand it.

Can't wait to hear from you Taz!

[tazber]

Posted: 10/19/12 at 1:22pm

I'm definitely going to watch it tonight! And thanks for the recommendation of Tell Me That You Love Me Junie Moon, PJ.

Had never heard of that one before. I see that Otto Preminger was nominated for the Palm d'Or at Cannes for that one. I don't think it's available for rental or purchase, but it is up on youtube.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/21/12 at 12:53am

I wasn't really much of a Pookie Adams. But I was a total Junie Moon! And I has in love with hunky Ken Howard.

He also appeared on Broadway as the gym coach in a TERRIBLE play about demon boys at an all-boys Catholic boarding school.

I LOVED IT!

[Jane2]

Posted: 10/21/12 at 12:26pm

I guess Taz didn't watch it! Or, he did but didn't like it! aw.

[tazber]

Posted: 10/21/12 at 1:34pm

No, I did watch it! I was just taking a day to think about it before I post my thoughts.


I liked it quite a bit, and Liza's performance was truly amazing. Certain aspects of the story are dated, but the emotions it deals with are timeless.

Wendell Burton was also excellent.

The scene when they go to the cabin for the first time was a master class in total characterization. Pakula really lets the film breathe. He doesn't rush anything to the point of having some really long takes during which the camera picks up some subtle mannerisms and moments which define these characters.
You don't see a lot of that detail in most films these days.

There were a lot of homophobic comments, which I guess was not a big deal at the time. My modern PC ears picked it up though.

It was Liza's show though. And she gave a performance of boisterous energy with just enough subtlety to give us a glimpse of her bruised heart.

Updated On: 10/22/12 at 01:34 PM

[Jane2]

Posted: 10/21/12 at 1:52pm

thanks Taz!

[NYadgal]

Posted: 10/21/12 at 6:59pm

Taz, thanks for your thoughts. I loved your observation about the long takes.

I may have to revisit this film, as it's been ages since I've seen it. I'll watch it through the lens of your wonderful views.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/21/12 at 8:17pm

Time to re-watch!

Meanwhile, for anyone who remembers Liza's monologue in the middle of "Come Saturday Morning" (like I do!), here it is:

===

You know what the trouble is?

The trouble is that probably all the good things in life take place in no more than a minute.

I mean, all added up, I bet you at the end of seventy years (should you live so long) you can sit down, you can figure the whole thing out:

You spent nineteen years sleepin', you spent five years goin' to the bathroom, you spent thirty-five years doin' some kinda work you absolutely hated!

Ya spent seven thousand eight hundred and fifty-three minutes blinkin' your eyes.

And added to that, you got that one minute of good things.

Then one day you wonder whether your minute's up...

And then we'll move on,
But we will remember
Long after Saturday's gone.
Liza sings 'Come Saturday Morning'

[NYadgal]

Posted: 10/21/12 at 10:19pm

I remember!

(I guess I've been blessed with MANY minutes of good things. And try to remember that it's the small moments that truly matter... )

I do love that song.

ETA: Wonderful montage of photos in that video link, PalJoey.

Updated On: 10/21/12 at 10:19 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/21/12 at 10:24pm

It's always been my goal to end up having as many minutes of things as I spend blinking.

So I've been doing pretty well, but I figure I've got a ways to go until I reach seven thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.

[tazber]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 7:05am

Btw, can someone explain the title? I get it in general terms of the character, but it feels like it's one of those references that are fleshed out in the novel but excised in the movie?


morosco - the phone scene was indeed amazing. There is so much going on there. She's desperate, heartbreaking, selfish, fragile, and utterly human.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 7:50am

I <3 this film and I also have "Junie Moon" as well. Now I have to have a Liza double feature.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 12:34pm

I haven't read the book, so I could be way off, but to me I think Pookie's situation has parallels to the cuckoo bird. Cuckoos are brood parasites, meaning they lay their eggs in other birds' nests. The cuckoo's egg hatches earlier and oftentimes kicks out the host's eggs. But the host still feeds and raises the cuckoo as if it were its own. Similarly, Pookie's father is distant and has, for the most part, left Pookie for others to raise, and when Jerry takes her under his wing, so to speak, she tries to kick out or keep away other people from their "love nest." As for sterile, one definition is "free from bacteria," and Pookie prides herself in being clean of the malady of the so-called "weirdos." Thus, making her a sterile cuckoo.

Updated On: 10/22/12 at 12:34 PM

[Kristie-K2]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 2:35pm

The "Telephone scene" was Brilliant!!!!