Cactus Flower

The plot: a dentist who is defensive of his freedom has fallen in love with a young girl who works at a local record store. The movie opens on her failed suicide attempt, a response to the dentist's claim that he cannot leave his wife and three children. The dentist, in truth, is unmarried. His story is simply to keep all of his lovers at bay. The suicide attempt convinces the dentist to marry the young girl, and then the plot unfolds as he asks his stodgy nurse to play stand in for his wife. Cactus Flower has a Breakfast At Tiffany's backdrop: a young girl about town lives next door to a young playwright who comes in and out of her window. The young man, however, is mostly a wry backdrop to Toni's machinations as she tries to be sure her fiance does right by his current wife. From the beginning it's pretty clear the four characters will eventually pair off by age--the two young neighbors together and the dentist with his nurse and assistant.


[photo: meh]

If I were to have one movie wish for this movie it would be to see this remade in the style of The Proposal, with all the roles switched. The problem is that Walter Matthau and Goldie Hawn are no where near as charming Ingrid Bergman and Rick Lenz (so fabulously named Igor!). Matthau especially is more a grumpy grandpa than a womanizing bachelor. Bergman, on the other hand, would make a wonderful independent dentist and Lenz an oh-so-charming record store clerk. Matthau is perfect for the judgmental desk attendant and Hawn was made to play the occasional jokester. In my movie dentist Bergman would, after much slap-stick hilarity, come clean to her young lover and they could run off together, leaving Matthau and Hawn to eye one another in the waiting room.


[photo: yeah!]

I am hoping this movie can kick off a new theme for me for November: women in comedy. I wanted to start by getting a sense of what Hawn did before the 80s. Cactus Flower is her first big movie. Also: Bergman in comedy--what?! That's like a grilled cheese with mayonnaise on it. Note to self: rent Indiscreet.