men should watch this so they understand why women think they're dumb...

There is a perpetual myth in our lives that happiness is out there if we let go of what we have. Brilliant. My only issues with it are that isn't as brash or bold as May's other features (apparently Simon made her jump through hoops to make any changes to the script), but she has a way of framing that sparks laughter/terror. Going through the library last week, shocking how over half the books on female directors fail to even mention Elaine May. WTF academia?

Shepherd is wonderful in what could have been a thankless, symbolic part. Kelly is guilelessly diabolical, allowing her mere presence to goad Lenny into becoming his worst self. The film’s highlight is a scene in which Lenny and Kelly are out for dinner with her parents, so that Lenny can “lay my cards on the table” with her father (a hilariously indignant Eddie Albert). Watch Kelly’s face, which May cleverly frames between the two men in the background. She’s bored at first, then increasingly amused as Lenny flails and her father fumes. When her father finally responds (and I wouldn’t dare spoil his response here), it’s all she can do to suppress a smile. (Full review here.)

My favorite directors have a masterful control of tone. Welcome to the club, Elaine May. Criminal that this is so hard to track down.

Also: midnight run's litmus configuration scene is a Grodin reprise! Amazing.

A film which seems to be overlooked in the general celebration of independent-minded American cinema of the early 1970's. Possibly because it is a comedy, and who knows maybe it is because it was directed by a woman? The comedy is extremely brittle, and no opportunity for the central characters to embarrass themselves is overlooked. The pursuit of happiness can leave you destroying your own marriage in the first week and then sitting alone, a fish out of water, mouthing nonsense on your second wedding day. Woody Allen with teeth.

A sharp comedy that shows the lie of the individualist, pursue it at all costs American dream. The comedy relies heavily on awkward moments, as May simply refuses to let her characters off the hook.

I happily revisited this second Elaine May directorial effort—and maybe her masterpiece, imo—for this feature I wrote for TheaterMania about May's films as a director. (Yes, I'm somehow managing to write about movies even for a theater website. Aren't I so clever?)

Elaine I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down

about the journey, not about the destination. 
the thrill is in the hunt.

Maybe the most I've laughed by myself. Elaine May shoots Grodin's pathetic mobiliser woth increasingly tight blocking and cramped framing as he digs himself deeper into the hole of bullshit he thinks he needs to succeed, all while affording Cybill Shepherd and Jeannie Berlin the agency and dignity to stand taller even while he tries to manipulate them. The break up scene is an all timer.

Hilarious movie with one of the most selfish shortsighted characters in the history of movies.