Portnoy's Complaint (film)

Last updated
Portnoy's Complaint
Portnoy's Complaint (film).jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ernest Lehman
Screenplay byErnest Lehman
Based on Portnoy's Complaint
by Philip Roth
Produced byErnest Lehman
Sidney Beckerman
Starring Richard Benjamin
Karen Black
Lee Grant
Jack Somack
Jeannie Berlin
Jill Clayburgh
Francesca De Sapio
Kevin Conway
Lewis J. Stadlen
Renée Lippin
Cinematography Philip Lathrop
Edited by Sam O'Steen
Gordon Scott
Music by Michel Legrand
Production
company
Chenault Productions
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
  • June 19, 1972 (1972-06-19)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Portnoy's Complaint is a 1972 American comedy film written and directed by Ernest Lehman. His screenplay is based on the bestselling 1969 novel of the same name by Philip Roth. It was Lehman's first and only directorial effort. The film starred Richard Benjamin, Karen Black and Lee Grant, with Jack Somack, Jeannie Berlin and Jill Clayburgh in supporting roles.

Contents

Plot

The film focuses on the trials and tribulations of Alexander Portnoy, a Jewish man employed as the assistant commissioner of human opportunity for New York City.

During a session with his psychoanalyst (who never speaks during the film), he explores his childhood, his relationship with his overbearing mother, his sexual fantasies and desires, his problems with women, and his obsession with his own religion. Via flashbacks, we learn about his affairs with Bubbles Girardi, the daughter of a local hoodlum; leftist Israeli Naomi, whom he attempts to rape; and gentile Mary Jane Reid, whose nickname "Monkey" reflects her remarkable agility at achieving a variety of sexual positions.

Mary Jane seemingly is the girl of Portnoy's dreams, but as their relationship deepens and she begins to pressure him into giving her a ring, he shrinks from making a permanent commitment to her. He repeatedly seems to recall, traumatically, her suicide by jumping off a building after a fight with him; but the end of the film shows him walking away from his therapist's office, and just missing, in the New York street crowd, Mary Jane, who is walking in the other direction and still alive, putting into question the entire narrative Portnoy gave his therapist.

Cast

Critical reception

In contrast to Goodbye, Columbus , which did well at the box office and was liked by critics, this second attempt at Roth bombed miserably. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film "a true fiasco" and added,

The movie has no heart and little apparent sympathy with its Jewish characters; it replaces Roth's cynical and carefully aimed satire with a bunch of offensive one-liners, and it uses the cover of a best seller to get away with ethnic libels that entirely lose their point out of Roth's specific context. And what's maybe even worse, it takes the most cherished of all Jewish stereotypes—the Jewish mother—and gets it wrong. The Sophie Portnoy of Roth's novel was at least a recognizable caricature. But the Mrs. Portnoy of the movie is simply a morass of frantic dialog, clumsily photographed. There's no person there at all. [2]

Vincent Canby of The New York Times called it "an unqualified disaster as a film, a ponderous, off-center comedy that...is almost as tasteless as many idiots—people who don't know the difference between good tastelessness and bad tastelessness—thought the novel was, wrongly." [3] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film one star out of four and wrote "Ernest Lehman, who served as script writer and director, has replaced Alex's energy with surprisingly tame and traditional Hollywood melodrama visuals, and when these visuals are matched with a soundtrack full of dirty language, the effect is depressing." [4] Variety was positive and called it "a most effective, honest in context, necessarily strong and appropriately bawdy study in ruinous self-indulgence. Besides adapting the Philip Roth novel into a lucid, balanced and moral screenplay, and producing handsomely on various locations, Ernest Lehman makes an excellent directorial debut. Richard Benjamin heads an outstanding cast." [5] Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times described the film as an "honorable failure" in part because "Lehman does not have, or couldn't devise, a cinematic style equivalent to Roth's literary style." He also thought the film failed to capture Portnoy's complex feelings about being Jewish-American, which "are central to the book." [6] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post found the film "entertaining at some level. Even when the filmmakers are messing up—missing the point of the Philip Roth novel or simply exploiting its sexual candor and comedy in an arbitrary, piecemeal fashion—they manage to be reasonably diverting." [7]

TV Guide rated the film one out of a possible four stars and wrote "Roth's novel was very funny and often shocking for its own sake, but the film, an embarrassment for everyone involved, fails miserably in adapting the book to the big screen...the production, done so slickly, does veil, to some degree, the horrible script and bad performances." [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Roth</span> American novelist (1933–2018)

Philip Milton Roth was an American novelist and short-story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophically and formally blurring the distinction between reality and fiction, for its "sensual, ingenious style" and for its provocative explorations of American identity. He first gained attention with the 1959 short story collection Goodbye, Columbus, which won the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction. Ten years later, he published the bestseller Portnoy's Complaint. Nathan Zuckerman, Roth's literary alter ego, narrates several of his books. A fictionalized Philip Roth narrates some of his others, such as the alternate history The Plot Against America.

<i>Portnoys Complaint</i> 1969 book by Philip Roth

Portnoy's Complaint is a 1969 American novel by Philip Roth. Its success turned Roth into a major celebrity, sparking a storm of controversy over its explicit and candid treatment of sexuality, including detailed depictions of masturbation using various props including a piece of liver. The novel tells the humorous monologue of "a lust-ridden, mother-addicted young Jewish bachelor," who confesses to his psychoanalyst in "intimate, shameful detail, and coarse, abusive language."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jill Clayburgh</span> American actress (1944–2010)

Jill Clayburgh was an American actress known for her work in theater, television, and cinema. She received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her breakthrough role in Paul Mazursky's comedy drama An Unmarried Woman (1978). She also received a second consecutive Academy Award nomination for Starting Over (1979) as well as four Golden Globe nominations for her film performances.

<i>Starting Over</i> (1979 film) 1979 film by Alan J. Pakula

Starting Over is a 1979 American comedy-drama film based on Dan Wakefield's 1973 novel, produced by James L. Brooks, and directed by Alan J. Pakula. Starring Burt Reynolds, Jill Clayburgh, and Candice Bergen, it follows a recently divorced man who is torn between his new girlfriend and his ex-wife.

<i>The Heartbreak Kid</i> (1972 film) 1972 film by Elaine May

The Heartbreak Kid is a 1972 American romantic black comedy film directed by Elaine May and written by Neil Simon, starring Charles Grodin, Cybill Shepherd, Jeannie Berlin, Audra Lindley, Eddie Albert, and Doris Roberts. It is based on the short story "A Change of Plan", written by Bruce Jay Friedman and first published in Esquire in 1966.

Ernest Paul Lehman was an American screenwriter and film producer. He was nominated six times for Academy Awards for his screenplays during his career, but did not win. At the 73rd Academy Awards in 2001, he received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of his achievements and his influential works for the screen. He was the first screenwriter to receive that honor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Benjamin</span> American actor and film director

Richard Samuel Benjamin is an American actor and film director. He has starred in a number of well-known films, including Goodbye, Columbus (1969), Catch-22 (1970), Portnoy's Complaint (1972), Westworld (1973), The Last of Sheila (1973), and The Sunshine Boys (1975), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. Benjamin was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his performances in He & She (1968), opposite his wife Paula Prentiss.

<i>Family Plot</i> 1976 film by Alfred Hitchcock

Family Plot is a 1976 American black comedy thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in his final directing role. It was based on Victor Canning's 1972 novel The Rainbird Pattern, which Ernest Lehman adapted for the screen. The film stars Karen Black, Bruce Dern, Barbara Harris and William Devane; it was screened at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival, but was not entered into the main competition.

<i>Willard</i> (1971 film) 1971 film by Daniel Mann

Willard is a 1971 American horror film directed by Daniel Mann and written by Gilbert Ralston, based on Stephen Gilbert's novel Ratman's Notebooks. Bruce Davison stars as social misfit Willard Stiles, who is squeezed out of the company started by his deceased father. His only friends are a couple of rats raised at home, including Ben and Socrates, and their increasing number of friends. When Socrates is killed by Willard's boss, he goes on a rampage using his rats to attack.

<i>Play It Again, Sam</i> (film) 1972 film by Herbert Ross

Play It Again, Sam is a 1972 American comedy film written by and starring Woody Allen, based on his 1969 Broadway play of the same title. The film was directed by Herbert Ross, instead of Allen, who usually directs his own written work.

<i>My Life as a Man</i> 1974 novel by Philip Roth

My Life as a Man (1974) is American writer Philip Roth's seventh novel.

The name Portnoy, sometimes spelled Portnoi, is a Jewish surname of Russian origin. The Russian word 'портной' translates as 'tailor'. The name may refer to:

<i>Hit!</i> 1973 film by Sidney J. Furie

Hit! is a 1973 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor. It is about a federal agent trying to destroy a drug zone after his daughter dies from a heroin overdose.

<i>S*P*Y*S</i> 1974 film by Irvin Kershner

S*P*Y*S is a 1974 American spy comedy film directed by Irvin Kershner and starring Elliott Gould, Donald Sutherland and Zouzou. The film was screened at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival, but it was not entered into the main competition.

<i>Rage</i> (1972 film) 1972 film by George C. Scott

Rage is a 1972 American thriller/mystery film starring George C. Scott, Richard Basehart, Martin Sheen, and Barnard Hughes. Scott also directed the film, which is about a sheep rancher who is fatally exposed to a military lab's poison gas. The plot was inspired by a true event, the Dugway sheep incident, in which a jet accidentally sprayed VX, a lethal nerve gas, in Utah's Skull Valley resulting in the deaths of 3,000–6,000 sheep. Nicolas Beauvy is featured as the rancher's son in a cast that also includes Paul Stevens and Stephen Young.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minta Durfee</span> American actress (1889–1975)

Araminta Estelle "Minta" Durfee was an American silent film actress from Los Angeles, California, possibly best known for her role in Mickey (1918).

<i>Reading Myself and Others</i> 1975 anthology of essays, interviews and criticism by Philip Roth

Reading Myself and Others (1975) is an anthology of essays, interviews and criticism by the author Philip Roth. The first half of the book is built mainly upon Roth's assessment of his own published works at the time of the anthology's publication. The second half of the volume consists of essays and introductions by Roth about other authors. Many of the essays were occasioned by the abrupt fame and scrutiny which came to Roth upon the publication of his storm-provoking fourth novel, Portnoy's Complaint (1969). In the "Author's Note", Roth writes that the selections in the book "are largely the by-products of getting started as a novelist, and then of taking stock."

<i>Childs Play</i> (1972 film) 1972 film by Sidney Lumet

Child's Play is a 1972 American drama-mystery film directed by Sidney Lumet. It stars James Mason, Robert Preston and Beau Bridges. The screenplay by Leon Prochnik is based on the 1970 play of the same title by Robert Marasco.

This is a bibliography of works by and about Philip Roth.

<i>The Seven-Per-Cent Solution</i> (film) 1976 film by Herbert Ross

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution is a 1976 Oscar-nominated British-American mystery film directed by Herbert Ross and written by Nicholas Meyer. It is based on Meyer's 1974 novel of the same name and stars Nicol Williamson, Robert Duvall, Alan Arkin, and Laurence Olivier.

References

  1. "Minta Durfee Filmography". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  2. Ebert, Roger (July 7, 1972). "Portnoy's Complaint review". Chicago Sun-Times .
  3. Canby, Vincent (June 25, 1972). "'Portnoy' Should Complain". The New York Times . p. D1.
  4. Siskel, Gene (July 7, 1972). "Portnoy's Complaint". Chicago Tribune . p. 4.
  5. "Portnoy's Complaint Review". Variety . January 1, 1972.
  6. Champlin, Charles (July 16, 1972). "'Portnoy' Travels From Page to Screen". Los Angeles Times . pp. 1, 15, 60.
  7. Arnold, Gary (June 29, 1972). "'Portnoy': But Where Is Philip Roth?". The Washington Post . p. C1.
  8. "Portnoy's Complaint review". TV Guide . 1972.