Product: Last Tango in Paris (1973)
Rating: 4.0
I'LL SKIP THE BUTTER ON MY POPCORN THIS TIME
I hadn't seen this movie since it came out in the early 70's, and I'm wondering how I sat through the thing back then. I guess it was Maria Schneider's bod that got me through the thing. Things like that matter a lot more when your hormones are gushing like some Parisian fountain instead of like a fine wine being decanted. Yes, I'm aware that that's some pretty hokey mixing of metaphors. I'm just trying to say that Mlle. Schneider was hot then, and is hot now, but it takes more than that to get a viewer through this movie these days.The good news for my fellow geezers is that, after 30 years, my memories of the movie were almost gone. It was like watching a new movie, so there's an upside to those senior moments. I stopped saying, "I don't remember this!" after a while.There's a lot wrong with this flick, but the core of the plot is not without interest. The main characters test each others love to the max. Timing of their actions also comes into play, and has a great deal to do with the outcome of these lover's fates. I see what the director/writer was trying to do, and if Brando had been controlled a bit more, the film wouldn't have come off as being a bit silly in so many scenes.I'm giving this movie 4 stars instead of the 2 it deserves because it's fun to watch Brando any place in the world, and Marlon Does Paris is much more fun if he wasn't in this one. I think a lot of his dialogue must have been improvised, and his choice of words gives an insight into the mind and upbringing of this Nebraska boy. I can't imagine that the Europeans came up with some of the earthy language that sounds like it came from a feed store in the good old USA rather than a Paris bistro. The soundtrack also adds another dimension. There's too much icing and not enough cake. Rent it and buy the soundtrack.Butter Flavored Popcorn ToppingThe Art of Decanting: Bringing Wine to Life1871 HOUSE THIERS PLACE GEORGES PARIS FRANCE FOUNTAINIcing the Cake: 66 Fast and Fabulous Frostings, Icings, Glazes, Toppings, and Fillings for Every Kind of Cake