I love movies from the 1970s set in New York because I like seeing old NYC in all its sleazy pre-Times-Square-as-tourist-trap glory.
Except that "Cinderella Liberty" isn't set in New York. Except that I didn't know that until I looked up user reviews afterwards and saw other people saying so. There's a scene of James Caan wandering down a street of adult bookstores and peep shows, which I just assumed was Times Square. So now I feel like I've been duped.
It DOES show Seattle in all its grungy 1970s glory, so there's that. This is a domestic drama that grows pretty tedious by the time it's over. The scene where Caan and Marsha Mason meet over a pool table has all sorts of pizazz that had me thinking I was really going to like this one. But that energy quickly dissipates and it instead turns into a pretty depressing and pedestrian on again off again love story of no real consequence. Caan's performance is low on energy, while Mason brings a lot more chutzpah to the movie but has tired, cliche material to work with.
Mason received the first of four career Best Actress Oscar nominations for this movie. John Williams was nominated for Best Original Score, which mostly sounds like terrible lounge music when it doesn't sound like the theme from "Sanford and Son." Williams teamed up with Williams (Paul, that is) and received a second nomination for the also terrible song "Nice to Be Around."
Grade: B-
Except that "Cinderella Liberty" isn't set in New York. Except that I didn't know that until I looked up user reviews afterwards and saw other people saying so. There's a scene of James Caan wandering down a street of adult bookstores and peep shows, which I just assumed was Times Square. So now I feel like I've been duped.
It DOES show Seattle in all its grungy 1970s glory, so there's that. This is a domestic drama that grows pretty tedious by the time it's over. The scene where Caan and Marsha Mason meet over a pool table has all sorts of pizazz that had me thinking I was really going to like this one. But that energy quickly dissipates and it instead turns into a pretty depressing and pedestrian on again off again love story of no real consequence. Caan's performance is low on energy, while Mason brings a lot more chutzpah to the movie but has tired, cliche material to work with.
Mason received the first of four career Best Actress Oscar nominations for this movie. John Williams was nominated for Best Original Score, which mostly sounds like terrible lounge music when it doesn't sound like the theme from "Sanford and Son." Williams teamed up with Williams (Paul, that is) and received a second nomination for the also terrible song "Nice to Be Around."
Grade: B-