Such good friends
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Such good friends |
| Original title | Find good friends |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1971 |
| length | 102 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 18 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Otto Preminger |
| script | Esther Dale |
| production | Otto Preminger |
| music | Thomas Z. Shepard |
| camera | Gayne Rescher |
| cut | Harry Howard |
| occupation | |
| |
Such Gute Freunde is an American ensemble feature film with satirical undertones from 1971. Directed by Otto Preminger . The story is based on the novel of the same name by Lois Gould .
action
The action takes place in the upper-middle class among well-off Manhattan apartment dwellers . Julie Messinger is at the center of the action. The New York housewife is married to Richard Messinger, a rather complacent macho who works as the art director of a respected photo magazine. Both have two loud and boisterous sons. The Messingers' circle of friends includes the not too skilled doctor Dr. Timothy "Timmy" Spector, as well as the photographer Cal Whiting and his friend Miranda, who lives in the same house. One day when Richard has to go to the hospital to have a small mole removed on his neck that turns out to be benign, a complication unexpectedly arises that necessitates a blood transfusion. As a result of an allergic reaction, Richard's liver starts to fail, then all other organs begin to fail bit by bit, and the patient falls into a coma. The title-giving "so good friends" appear quickly and some unpleasant truths are revealed.
So it turns out that Cal's friend Miranda has had an affair with Richard for a long time and they are both very much in love. Julie desperately confronts Miranda with this bad news, who then admits that she and Richard had even discussed the possibility of marriage, but that she, Miranda, was currently not ready for this decisive step. Miranda's turn to Richard also has to do with Cal's impotence, which in turn is the reason why Cal's attempt at seduction against Julie - the pathetic intention to take revenge on the unfaithful friend Miranda - fails. Even Julie's mother, who day in and day out only indulges in banalities such as pedicures, manicures and facial beautification, is of no help to her daughter in this emergency situation. Julie goes to Richard's bedside and makes it clear to the comatose, unfaithful husband that she will never get a divorce and that if necessary it will ruin his reputation. The doctor Timmy Spector invites Miranda into his apartment and explains to the astonished Julie that he too knows about Richard's affairs and that Miranda is not the unfaithful Richard's only lover. But out of old friendship he did not want to be disloyal and betray him.
Julie thinks she can't believe her ears and hits Timmy. She is incredibly angry, but immediately afterwards tries to seduce him, but this time, unlike Cal, with success. In order to make the disaster day “perfect”, Julie discovered a small black notebook in Richard's files in which her husband had neatly listed the coded names of all his lovers, including numerous mutual friends. She hands the "Black Book" to Cal so that he can make it clear to Miranda that she was just one of many in Richard's life and bed. The next day, Richard goes into cardiac arrest, and Julie amazes herself at the thought that she hopes her husband can get through this crisis because she doesn't want him to slip out of her life in such a convenient way without both of them once talked about his behavior. When Timmy brings Julie the news that Richard has now died, she takes her sons by the hand and takes them for a walk in Central Park to think about the future.
Production notes
Such Good Friends premiered on December 21, 1971. The German premiere took place on March 23, 1973.
The screenwriter, actress and director Elaine May , who is generally considered to be very difficult, wrote the screenplay under the pseudonym Esther Dale, because she did not want to be named for some unknown reason.
Rouben Ter-Arutunian designed the film structures.
Leading actress Dyan Cannon received a 1972 Golden Globe nomination .
Reviews
Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times on January 17, 1972 : “Otto Preminger's Such Good Friends is a harsh, unsentimental, deeply cynical comedy about life - unfortunately - in New York City. It is Preminger's best film in a long time, probably since Anatomy of a Murder from 1959. "
"Sharp black comedy (...) Good ensemble acting keeps sour-comic script going."
“Mixture of satire and tragic comedy; technically perfect, but psychologically not convincing, fashionably dressed up with sex scenes. "
“A satirical parable vacillates between sex comedy and medical exposé; all in all stiff, but with good moments. "
Web links
- Such good friends in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Review on rogerebert.com
- ↑ Such good friends. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed December 1, 2018 .