Men Don't Leave (1990)

Just perfect...

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

I saw this movie at the theater and fell in love with it on the spot. It is authentic and honest and heartfelt. It is one of the best movies about the grief journey I have seen. It manages to give background and flavor to each of the characters who spend time on the screen, a feat which is unusual in film. Kathy Bates performance is skillful, helping the audience understand an unsympathetic character. Jessica Lange, Arliss Howard and the child actors are understated. A lovely, heartfelt package. The movies' score and cinematography add to every shot and scene. To this day, I still hum some of the score and when I hear "Bella Notte", I remember Arliss Howard's serenade to Beth through the apartment door. See this film. See it and love it.

I have not seen the 1981 French film, La Vie Continue, which inspired this story, but thank goodness it did. This is one of the best cinematic hidden gems off all time. No, that is not an understatement. Seventeen years after being one of the few to see this film in a theater, I was fortunate enough to locate a VHS copy and have found that this it has aged perfectly. Bittersweet without being cloying, evenly-paced without dragging, it is the perfect antidote to the summer blockbuster season for those who don't necessarily consider "pulsating" a selling-point for a film.Jessica Lange once said in an interview that many people have told her this is their favorite film of hers. (She sums it up as "a happy movie about grief and depression.") She's great in it, as is a scene-stealing Joan Cusack and Charlie Korsmo as her younger son. But also given a chance to shine are the minor characters, some oddball musicians Lange's character meets and a then-unknown (but about to be known) Kathy Bates. (Credit also goes to screenwriter Barbara Benedek for their well crafted words.)This film has aged much better than Paul Brickman's only other directorial effort, Risky Business. One would never think the director of THAT could come up with a polar opposite like this, but fortunately he did. The fact that this is not on DVD is CRIMINAL!

Realism reigns supreme in this terrific melodrama. Despite a somewhat odd pace, Men Don't Leave manages to build into a remarkable journey for the viewer. This is in most part due to the wonderful work of an ensemble anchored by Lange. As a strong, pragmatic yet fragile widowed mother of two, Lange hits every emotional bullseye. I couldn't help but root for her-and cry with her-as she struggles to keep her small family (as well as her own sanity) intact, despite seemingly unsurmountable odds. Lange is aided by a top notch ensemble. Joan Cusack is hilariously disturbing as the no-nonsense nurse who dates Lange's teenage son, played by Chris O'Donnell. O'Donnell and Charlie Korsmo (as the younger son) both manage to astonish in their heart-tugging roles. A scene in which O'Donnell breaks down in front of Arliss Howard shows why the young actor would soon become a huge star. Props also go out to Kathy Bates, marvelous as Lange's tough-as-nails boss.

Widow with two growing sons must become her family's breadwinner, keeping everyone's spirits up while dating again for the first time in many years. It doesn't surprise me that people have to see this picture twice or more to get into the movie's grooves. The handling is very focused, the writing gets us from A to Z smoothly enough, but the tone of "Men Don't Leave" is quirky, to say the least. Sometimes I wasn't sure whether to laugh or not. At times it seems to go overboard, other times it hits a perfect note yet doesn't follow through. Still, the overall effect of this movie is genuinely pleasurable. It's not a big, chancy movie with issues, it's quiet and small and heartfelt. There are little scenes of emotion that well up into big hurts (and disappointments like the lottery family that just KILL us), and all the acting is so wonderful, particularly Jessica Lange (a shaky tower of strength). I loved it when the German woman gets Jessica to dance, or when she gets a nosebleed while kissing Arliss Howard for the first time, or throwing all her muffins out the window while feigning basketball moves. And what about Kathy Bates as the boss from Hell? It's an erratic film (with a puzzling title), yet I admired it greatly, and it has stuck with me over all these years. ***1/2 from ****