The Sterile Cuckoo (1969)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Alan J. Pakula

Writers:

John Nichols (novel) and
Alvin Sargent (writer)

Release Date:

22 October 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

First love is beautiful hurt....if it happens to you once, you're lucky.

Plot:

Two students from neighboring colleges in upstate New York are swept up in a tragic romantic interlude...

Plot Keywords:

College | Break Up | Breakdown | Party | Broken Heart

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Liza Minnelli	...	'Pookie' (Mary Ann) Adams
Wendell Burton	...	Jerry Payne
Tim McIntire	...	Charlie Schumacher

Also Known As:

Pookie (UK)

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG (re-rating) (1972) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:M (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Clinton, New York, USA

Company:

Boardwalk Productions

Trivia:

In the original novel, the story takes place over three years. This was shortened to a single school year for the movie.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In Pookie's written rants against the weirdos of the world, the word is always spelled "wierdo."

Quotes:

'Pookie' Adams: [looking at the people assembled in the dorm's common area] Boy, you sure get the cream of the CRAP here on weekends.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "L.A. Law: The Unsterile Cuckoo (#4.1)" (1989)

Soundtrack:

Hey Liley, Liley Lo

Loneliness when you're with somebody, loneliness when you're apart

A friend of mine once commented that she never liked the TV series "Courtship Of Eddie's Father" because "it was such a lonely little show." I understand what she meant. It wasn't that it was underpopulated, it just exuded an atmosphere of melancholia. "The Sterile Cuckoo" is much the same way. Even though Mary Ann "Pookie" Adams has found her guy, she can't escape the loneliness within. She's desperate, clinging, and beautiful in her need--but a pain to her college boyfriend who quickly outgrows her. There are monologues by Liza Minnelli in this film that are haunting (the story of her father spraying perfume on his bed, or the one with Pookie making a recording for her father out of a love letter she swiped). Most importantly, Minnelli makes Pookie easily identifiable to us. Sure, we get angry at her, frustrated with her childish games, but she never alienates the audience (or director Alan J. Pakula, who stays right with her on the bus as the film fades out). I don't think I've ever seen a portrait of loneliness and need conveyed as well as it is done here. Liza probably deserved an Oscar for this quiet tour-de-force--hers is an amazing achievement that has not been equaled. ***1/2 from ****