THAT'S LIFE. Directed by Blake Edwards; written by Milton Wexler and Blake Edwards; prodcced by Tony Adams for Columbia. Starring Jack Lemmon and Julie Andrews. Rated PG-13 (mild vulgar language, some risque humor).
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That's Life is a sometimes funny, sometimes silly, occasionally touching and occasionally disturbing look at one man's midlife crisis and its effect on those around him.
Actually, "How the Other Half Lives" might be a better name for this movie. There are certain life events that all people experience—whether rich or poor, famous or unknown.
The characters in That's Life, however, are so much on the rich and famous side of the fence that it's hard to identify with their problems, much less have sympathy with them.
Because of the high quality of acting in the major roles, however, we can identify a little. And we can certainly be entertained.
Harvey (Lemmon) is a successful architect with a luxurious home on the beach at Malibu. His wife Gillian (Andrews) is a famous and successful singer. And their three adult children are off on their own and doing fairly well, although there always are some problems with children.
But Harvey is far from being satisfied with these blessings and accomplishments, which seem so extravagant to the moviegoer on the street. In fact, he's miserable.
His 60th birthday is coming up and he's not handling things very well at all. (60 may seem a bit late for a mid-life crisis, but, hey! This is California. Anything goes out here.)
Previously, we presume, Harvey was a lovable sort. But now he's become a self-centered, whining hypochondriac with no patience for anything but his own aches and pains and worries about mortality.
In other hands, such a character would be impossible to watch. And there are moments in That's Life when Harvey is almost too much to take. But Lemmon is such a terrific comic actor that he manages to make us feel for Harvey, and laugh with him, throughout most of the movie.
Andrews' role isn't as flashy. And her self-sacrifice is almost as hard to handle as Harvey's selfishness. But given that Gillian falls into the selfless saint category of mothers, Andrews does a good job with the role.
The minor performers are unremarkable except for Sally Kellerman, whose Holly is an inspired, just short of hysterical, creation.
Overall, That's Life contains the usual Blake Edwards mix of genuinely funny scenes and others that don't quite make it. At least, though, there's nothing that's just awful, as so much of his recent A Fine Mess was.
The casual attitude Harvey takes toward his infidelities is disturbing. And the pat ending of the movie is too simplistic to be as satisfying as it should be.
But Lemmon is in fine form, and that's a good enough reason to see almost any movie.
Interesting footnotes: That's Life is a real family project. Director Edwards' daughter is one of Harvey's children, while Andrews' daughter and Lemmons' son are the others. And the house where most of the action takes place is Edwards' (and his wife, Andrews') own home.
October 1, 1986