Harold and Maude

Rating:
Summary: Grabbing Life By the...
Review: Harold is a strange young man. He is obssessed with death and dark things, reacting to his mother's attempts to socialize him and get him dates through a bizarre series of faked suicide attempts. He goes to funerals for fun, and he seems the original goth, dressing in black at all times and driving a hearse.

Maude is in her early 80s, a concentration camp survivor, and a woman who embraces each day as though it were her last. She has a positive philosophy about life, and one that thumbs its nose at the establishment, unoriginal thinking, and permanence.

The two are a very unlikely pair, but Harold and Maude somehow find one another and share a very real and pure romance that brings the 19 year old out of his dark shell and shows him how to live.

The soundtrack is all Cat Stevens and awesome. The scenes involving Harold and his mother are hilarious. The the looks they exchange are enough to get a person rolling on the floor. The chemistry between this young man and older woman challenges any in Hollywood before or since.

This movie is a must see for anyone that likes a more cerebral dark comedy, and Maude's life lessons can be a benefit to anyone that bothers to look deeply enough into them.

Rating:
Summary: It's the anti "The Graduate"
Review: One of the most delightfully oddball comedies you'll ever see, "Harold and Maude" features Bud Cort (an eccentric young actor best known otherwise only as a Hollywood party guest) as eccentric young Harold, son of a remarkably self-absorbed and pretentious wealthy widow who sees her son in a notably dysfunctional way. Harold responds by trying to shock her into showing some kind of sign that she cares about him at all, while the only such sign forthcoming is a hilarious scene with the mother filling out Harold's personality survey for a computer dating service by answering all the questions herself, Harold never uttering a word. So much for one's individuality.

Enter Maude, played by Ruth Gordon (forever earning her a permanent and special place in the hearts of millions), the personification of the phrase "free spirit." She sees things quite differently from anyone else in the world, and in a delicious twist of irony Harold, who has been trying to shake up his mother, gets shaken up himself by this elderly hippie. While some of the things that follow are clearly over the edge, Harold ultimately learns that one can be one's own self without being overly concerned of what others think, even his own overbearing mother. Enter a happy ending that's as unconventional as anything else in this film.

There are moral issues a-plenty to deal with here. A young man having an affair with a woman 60 years his senior, suicide, personal property issues, attitudes toward the military, etc. These things had a quite different angle when this film was made in the early 1970s, so in some ways HaM is a bit dated. But it's a very effective and very funny film that you just can't take your eyes off of. Recommended for an adult audience, even for the more thoughtful of our younger generation, but mostly this is highly recommended to anyone who likes their entertainment to make them think and reexamine their view of the world. A hearty sense of humor is a requirement as well.

Rating:
Summary: take a closer look, and take something away with you
Review: I recently watched this film again on IFC.It was not my first viewing of the tile , but for some reason this time, I saw a film that was more then just a silly romp.Harold and Maude has near perfect layering of emotions and depth of character,the director never goes over the top,leaving us drenched in honey.The emotions seem real and heart felt.As an example of this, as Harold and Maude become closer, we see that Maude has a numeric tattoo on her forearm.giving Harold and us another insight into this fascinating women's past and what has shaped her unique ideals on life.The director never has Maude or Harold even mention it,nor are we treated to any silly flash back scenes .That simple quick shot of the marking speaks volumes of the horror this women has seen and endured.I can not speak for everyone, but I took something with me when I finished this film.I love the way Maude is developed as a women not as grandma Walton.the way she tore down set in concrete social morays and stereotypes of how a women of 79 years old is suppose to behave.Bud cort does a fantastic job of developing the deeply introspective Harold character.we see Harold go from a silly self indulgent over privileged,but emotionally starved child , to a man in his own odd way.I think that if you take any ideals from this film ,they would be-- ( live every day as it were your last, for one day you are sure to be right---(And there is nothing that special in following the herd).The cat Stevens score compliments the film wonderfully and seamlessly,and suits the time perfectly.so put the disc in your DVD player and get ready for a quirky but very moving and life affirming film.

Rating:
Summary: Harold Rules! (Maude Doesn't)
Review: I happened to watch this film today, only because Bud Cort starred in it (I must be the only person who thinks Bud Cort as a young man was dreamy, but then again, I'm a bit of an oddball.)

At first, I thought the movie was very cool, and I utterly loved Harold's character; I thought he was adorable as the schizoid, introverted Harold. His many attempts to ward off any potential dates, his obsession with funerals, and his dead-pan, quirky manner were charming; however, once Maude came into the picture, I started to feel an unnerving unease, if that's the best way to put it.

I am definitely mixed in my attitude towards the old lady; I am not exactly sure if stealing cars and acting like a kook is truly a way of "loving life," in fact, I would say it's more a destructive way of life, if anything. People seem to "love" Maude because she does whatever she wants, however she wants to, but in reality, you cannot really live that way without consequences.

It also made me question why Harold's way of life should be deemed as "negative" when compared to Maude's. I actually thought Harold was much more interesting a character before he met Maude and converted into a "lover of life." I hated the ending because he became a "Maude" instead of remaining true to his own self.

What I'd like to know is, how can Maude be considered a true lover of life? The scenes where she's racing along at breakneck speed should entail her behaviours as negative and destructive, not as "life embracing." Also, if she's a true lover of life, why did she commit suicide in the end? This is highly ridiculous and hypocritical.

I also feel that Maude was manipulative from the start to the finish. Maude really shows no respect for Harold from the beginning to the end. She just babbles insanely about herself and Harold just seems to be a an object for her to manipulate up until the ending when she shows how much she really "cares" about Harold's welfare by killing herself. She also manipulated Harold in other ways, including stealing his car (what a horrible way to make a "friendship" with someone), and I expected her to be a motherly or grandmotherly figure to him in the end. Instead, they end up in bed. That's no way to show respect for a young person who looks up to you. In addition, if this movie was about a 79 year old man who slept with a 20 year old woman, you can be assured that this film would receive "0" stars from everybody; this "double standard" is alive and well here.





Rating:
Summary: the best movie I have ever seen
Review: This movie addresses the fundamental questions of life. It is direct; it is timely; it is wise.

What an incredibly simple key to what people have been searching for.

Bless you, Bud Cort, Ruth Gordon, Colin Higgins, et al.

I love you. Thank you.

Rating:
Summary: Great Black Comedy
Review: This is a classic black comedy about a teenager who enjoys faking his suicide to scare his mother, converts his sports car into a hearse and going to funerals for people he doesn't know. At one of the funerals he meets Maude, a free spirit who is about 60 years older than he is. He falls in love with her and decides he wants to marry her.

I won't say any more about the plot, because I don't want to spoil it for you. The acting is excellent and if you enjoy this type of humor you should love this movie.