BEFORE: Continuing with the Paul Newman chain, TCM ran this one a couple months ago, right after Liz Taylor died. This also starts a chain of heat-related films (I think), good timing because it's been hot as balls this week in NY. It's not so bad outside if I wait until the sun goes down before heading home, but the subway platforms get hot this time of year and just never cool off.
THE PLOT: Brick, an alcoholic ex-football player, drinks his days away and resists the affections of his wife, Maggie. His reunion with his father, Big Daddy, jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.
AFTER: And we have the third movie in a row in which Paul Newman drinks a lot - was that a constant theme in his films, or just coincidence? I guess I bagged a (Wild) turkey.
Last night he played a Bostonian alcoholic lawyer, and tonight he's a classic Southern drunk. For added effect he breaks his leg early in the film going over (life's) hurdles and walks with a crutch (a blatant visual metaphor in case you miss the more subtle ones). He and his wife are visiting his parents, Big Daddy and Big Mamma (where do they get these clever nicknames?), and his brother's kids, who might be the most annoying kids ever seen on film, are constantly running around. I'd drink too if there were 5 obnoxious kids learning to play "Dixie" on the kazoo.
There's a reason why he drinks, of course, but the film takes the better part of the second half drawing it out of him. The first half is spent learning one simple piece of information about Big Daddy's health - does everything just work slower in the South?
I just couldn't get behind this one. If I wanted to watch a family argue in circles for a couple hours, I'd go to my aunt's house for Thanksgiving. Everyone's annoying (except maybe Paul Newman) and they're all yelling at each other to shut up, but no one ever does.
Jeez, I've got movies on my list with superheroes and dazzling special effects - big summer blockbusters. Sort of feel like I wasted my time with this one. I don't get the metaphor in the title either - she feels like a cat on a hot tin roof? What, she's jumpy? Her paws hurt? I don't see how it's a sexual (or even remotely sexy) metaphor.
Who wrote this drivel? What's that? Tennessee Williams? Oh...but a little research shows that he wasn't happy with this film version of his play. Seems a little censorship removed some key points from the play - which explains why Brick and Maggie didn't have any children, and his relationship with the mysterious Skipper. Hmm...
Also starring Liz Taylor (last seen in "Giant"), Burl Ives, Jack Carson, Madeleine Sherwood.
RATING: 2 out of 10 birthday cards
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