Modern Romance [DVD]

Albert Brooks is so underappreciated. Modern Romance was his second movie as a director. He’s also the writer and the star. At this point he had worked with Saturday Night Live, was on Johnny Carson a fair bit, and appeared in Taxi Driver - he was Cybill Sheppard's colleague. (He improvised most of the dialogue for the part, which was underwritten.) Real Life, his first film (co-directed with Penelope Spheeris - Wayne's World, The Boys Next Door and the three part doc: Decline of the Western Civilization) was a send-up of the landmark documentary, An American Family - the first so-called "reality show" which aired on PBS.Modern Romance is about a film editor, Robert Cole, who has an off/off relationship with his girlfriend, Mary Harvard (played by Katherine Harrold). Robert is a totally neurotic, self-absorbed narcissist who can’t figure out whether he should be with her or not. When “romantic” films work, it’s because they are based on obsession or insanity. This is something that Brooks definitely understands.Robert is in the middle of editing a science fiction film for American International Pictures(!), a bad Z-movie with George Kennedy, who appears as himself. The film is full of in-jokes about Hollywood—for example, there’s a great bit where they’re doing the Foley work for the film and on the loudspeaker you hear the announcement of the next project that’s about to come in: "we have Heaven’s Gate, the short version." His two co-workers are played by Bruno Kirby and James L. Brooks.Robert is horribly jealous, and is convinced that Mary is having affairs. Of course, he also despises himself and is constantly beating himself up. Stanley Kubrick told Brooks that he was impressed by the movie and always wanted to make a film about jealousy—and 18 years later, he did: Eyes Wide Shut. Brooks is often compared to Woody Allen, but I would say that Brooks is a much better writer. He’s also far more cynical, and nothing ever ends well in his projects. The character he always plays constantly teeters on the edge of violence.Modern Romance also includes one of the greatest ever scenes of physical comedy. Robert is given some Quaaludes to sleep off his breakup—he sleeps, but stuff happens… it definitely rivals the famous Quaalude scene from Wolf of Wall Street. Brooks has brilliant comedic timing, and the film is full of fantastic one-liners. Unlike most romantic comedies, it continuously pulls the rug out from under the audience. The last scene is a case in point. You think it’s going to have a happy ending, but with each bit of text that shows up on the screen, the story gets increasingly worse. This part is scored by the sappiest song remotely possible, “You Are So Beautiful” by Joe Cocker, which makes sure that the cynicism of the film and the text really hits home.Brooks is one of the great comedic directors and writers, far darker and more cynical than Woody Allen ever was. He does work with his cinematographer in exactly the same way that Allen works with Gordon Willis: while Brooks rehearsed with the actors on the set, and once they were ready, they left and the cinematographer and crew did the lighting and set-up for the take. Brooks’s big theme is dismantling the American dream. The rom-com ideal is a perfect vehicle, and he continues the trend in his next film, Lost in America, which is road movie. In fact, you can see the germ of the excellent Lost in America taking root in Modern Romance.Although he’s one of the great American filmmakers, Brooks’s films have been really hard to get in the U.S. on a bluray format —and that’s a real shame. Hopefully this re-release will bring new attention to his work. Unfortunately, many of his later films are owned by Warner Brothers, which doesn’t do many re-releases (in fact, his most recent film wasn’t even released abroad

This is a re-release on DVD of an old comedy starring Albert Brooks and Kathryn Harrold, with shorter appearances by George Kennedy. I think I can say why it hasn't received much attention. It starts as almost a solo performance by Brooks, who just broke up with his girlfriend yesterday. The originator and the cause of the breakup are unstated at first, but he’s alone and he’s an emotional wreck. His desperate aloneness is seen in brief chats on the phone and interactions with people in stores, all of them comedic. He seems to portray someone with personality disorder traits: the desperate emptiness of a borderline disorder and the inability to trust of a paranoid. But then, who in the media business doesn’t have some type of personality disorder, right? [His girlfriend, played by Kathryn Harrold, gives a carefully nuanced performance that could be interpreted as either harmless, or as giving him good reason to mistrust her]. Speaking of the media: another reason the average viewer might not love the film: his job involves editing for film production. Midway through we are shown a long sequence of him at work on a truly mediocre film, and the maddening demands and the insecurities of the director, that probably only those in the industry would fully relate to. But then it’s back to his relationship with Mary: SPOILER ALERT: they reconcile and he begs her to go on a weekend vacation with him. Reluctantly she agrees, but when they get to an idyllic cabin he starts questioning her about her long-distance phone calls. She becomes furious, and one SUDDENLY REALIZES this is one of those movies, most of which was all a setup for the final sequence. She flatly tells him she’s breaking off their relationship, and his immediate response is to ask her to marry him. His impassioned soliloquy of a marriage proposal makes one think perhaps this movie will end on a romantic high but no, it’s too cynical for that [hence the title, also perfectly illustrated in a very short payphone conversation by a stranger while Brooks is waiting to use the phone] Why doesn’t “modern romance” work the way we think it should? Is it because we have TOO MANY options, unlike people in earlier times? Their lives may have been hard but simple: parents told them who they would marry; they probably lived on the same street as one set of parents, they followed their parents’ career and they died in their hometown. They weren’t expected to FIND romance before marriage, but rather to DEVELOP a real bond AFTER one. Now when given the freedom to decide everything, many people can’t seem to figure out what they want. This was a comedic but serious look at modern life, still relevant today. [Did “Alien” REALLY come out when there were still black & white, rotary dial payphones on the street?] I give this a solid “B”.

Pretty much a one man show about an unlikeable, neurotic fellow, who has a girlfriend and a car he doesn’t deserve. Self indulgent acting and directing.

If you're at all familiar with Albert Brooks's work, you know exactly what you're getting into here. Another study of neuroses and how they impact (negatively) on relationships between the sexes.Brooks, as usual, plays the usual and same character, himself. with Kathryn Harrold as the love of his life. Brooks is up to his usual insecurities here wondering whether Harrold is cheating on him, obsessing over every little detail. One of the best scenes in the film is when he's depressed over one of the many breakups and is given Quaaludes to relax him. When they start to kick in he starts a rant on how great his belongings are. Loving everything he owns including his record collection, his bird "Petey", and deciding to go through his rolodex and calling old girlfriends.* (*When doing Quaaludes stay away from the phone.)Modern Romance has its best moments when it has nothing to do with the Brooks-Harrold story, but rather when Bruno Kirby as Brooks's best friend is on screen. Another highlight is the film that Brooks and Kirby are editing, an absurd, cheesy sci-fi romp starring George Kennedy. It's got nothing whatsoever to do with the main storyline, but is the most memorable part of the movie which makes the repetition and relative tameness of the primary plot seem all the more obvious. If you like Albert Brooks you'll like this movie. If you don't know his work, picture George Costanza in his own show.

Beyond all the ways this movie is funny, the real standout here is Brook's commitment to play an unlikeable character throughout, without ever betraying it, or softening it for the pleasure of the viewers. This could absolutely not be made today in the ultra PC era. He'd be labeled a stalker from the jump, and the events in the movie would be used as evidence in his trial. That's what's fascinating about this movie, is the balance needed to even make the main character tolerable, while not betraying his vain, self centered, obsessive behavior throughout. Kathryn Harrold is great here is the main female lead, and acts well as a counter balance to Brooks's character. James L Brooks pops up in a fairly sizable role for someone who's not an actor, and the late great Bob Einstein has one of the funniest scenes in the movie, in a sports goods store.The best way to describe this movie is almost like an anti-romantic comedy. Very good movie.

Unusual film. If you like Albert Brooks it’s fine, if not you’ll hate it.

Not the most profound or accomplished of Albert Brooks' films but still well worth watching. The self-indulgent character Brooks wrote for himself can be a little hard to take in large doses but is, alas, all too accurate and the movie is worth persevering with.

Classic comedy from the 70's. Not many people have heard of it, but it's great. (I need five more words for this review, why???)