Thursday, February 1, 2018

At Long Last Love (1975)

Director: Peter Bogdanovich

Writer: Peter Bogdanovich

Starring: Burt Reynolds, Cybill Shepherd, Madeline Kahn, Duilio Del Prete, Eileen Brennan, John Hillerman, Mildred Natwick, Quinn K. Redeker, M. Emmet Walsh, Burton Gilliam, Patricia O'Neal

More info: IMDb

Tagline: IT'S THE TOP!

Plot: A millionaire named Michael Oliver Pritchard III and a singer named Kitty O'Kelly meet and fall in love. Meanwhile, an indigent woman named Brooke Carter and an Italian gambler named Johnny Spanish meet and fall in love. All four people meet each other and become friends.



My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Maybe.

Would you believe me if I told you this was two hours long?  I almost didn't believe it and I was looking at the time.  But here's the thing...I really liked it.  The performers are delightful and fun.  I'm fans of most of the cast (and a super fan of Kahn & Brennan).  I'd never even heard of Duilio Del Prete before but he does OK.  Naturally I would've preferred a known star.  Some of them sing better than the others but that doesn't matter because you can tell they're all having so much fun (or at least they're that good at acting they make it look like that).  There are several throwaway gags that had me laughing.  The romance between Hillerman and Brennan is hilarious.  And Madeline Kahn!!!  Damn, I miss those two broads.  Burt's hilarious and does a much better job at singing than I would've thought.  Here's a cool bit of trivia...everyone sings on camera!  What's even more impressive is that a lot of the songs are done in ONE TAKE!!!  But jesus, did I mention it's two hours?  Well, it almost doesn't feel like it but this picture could use some trimming.  I get why Bogdonovich released it that long.  I would have a tough time cutting anything out of this, too, but you have to think about the audience on this one.  It's a lot to take in especially when some songs are repeated many times.  To quote Emperor Joseph II, "...there are simply too many notes, that's all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect."

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