A Perfect Couple (1979)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

Robert Altman (written by) &
Allan F. Nicholls (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

What do you do when everything between the two of you seems wrong? ...fall in love.

Plot Keywords:

Musician | Dating | Singer | Videotape | Dating Service

Cast

Paul Dooley	...	Alex Theodopoulos
Marta Heflin	...	Sheila Shea
Titos Vandis	...	Panos Theodopoulos
Belita Moreno	...	Eleousa
Henry Gibson	...	Fred Bott
Dimitra Arliss	...	Athena
Allan F. Nicholls	...	Dana 115
Ann Ryerson	...	Skye 147 Veterinarian
Poppy Lagos	...	Melpomeni Bott
Dennis Franz	...	Costa
Margery Bond	...	Wilma
Mona Golabek	...	Mona
Terry Wills	...	Ben
Susan Blakeman	...	Penelope Bott
Melanie Bishop	...	Star

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:PG

Company:

Lions Gate Films

Trivia:

The role of Sheila Shea was originally written for 'Sandy Dennis'. Paul Dooley was seriously allergic to cats though, and when cat-lover Dennis would come to the script readings with up to five cats at a time, he was briefly hospitalized. As a result, 'Allan Nichols' re-wrote the role of Sheila Shea from an Earth Mother type to the young singer/groupie played by Marta Heflin.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Directors: The Films of Robert Altman (#2.9)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Lonely Millionaire

One of Altman's Most Accessible Films Is Also One of His Least Interesting

Paul Dooley and Marta Heflin play a most decidedly IMperfect couple in Robert Altman's version of a romantic comedy. His claim at the time (justified) is that Hollywood had always allowed only beautiful people to fall in love, so he wanted to make a romance with a couple of ordinary folk. He succeeded when he found the paunchy Dooley and the distractingly skinny (nearly anorexic) Heflin for his leads, but the film itself is not much of a success. This came out during Altman's "experimental" period, meaning he threw together some disparate elements and hoped for the best. Actually, it's quite accessible for Altman, considering "Quintet" came out in the same year, and it's one of his least Altman-like projects. Unfortunately, it's those very qualities that also make it one of his least interesting and ugliest from a purely visual standpoint.

The film does boast some good if dated music though, performed by the real-life band Keepin' Em Off the Streets, led by Ted Neely, most known for playing the role of Jesus in the film version of "Jesus Christ Superstar" (and whom I saw perform the role on stage in a touring version).

Grade: C