Awesome Movie

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

A wonderful, albeit very melancholy, movie starring Candice Bergen as a recent transplant to Chicago who finds the big city beyond daunting. THAT GIRL this isn't. From her cryptic name (T.R., but mistaken as P.R., D.R., etc) and creepy dates to her absurdly dirty apartment, Bergen gets hit with all that urban America has to offer. Bergen executes herself nicely in her most substantial film role (up to this time). She was fine in her small role in CARNAL KNOWLEDGE, but here carries a film for the first time. Director Herbert Ross wisely surrounds her with a first-rate supporting cast including Peter Boyle, Marcia Rodd (excellent as Bergen's acerbic co-worker and friend) and, in a very strange role, James Caan. Perhaps not as ironic as planned,Peter Hyams wrote the witty script and hasn't produced anything as good since (either as writer or director). Somehow this movie's been buried for years.

. . . to get this movie released on DVD? I too am among those who saw it on television years ago and who remember bits and pieces of the dialog (like, to paraphrase, "It's like admiring someone from a distance and when you get up close to him you notice he has bad skin." If I recall correctly Candace Bergman speaks this line while looking down on Michigan Avenue from a high-rise apartment, perhaps in the John Hancock building, and it served as a metaphor for what she found out about life in the big city). Its soundtrack was also liable to turn up frequently in the 98 cent bargain bins and this is how I happened to recognize it when it showed up on the CBS late movie in the late 1970s. The Chicago location was unusual for a 1971 film -- well before pictures like "The Blues Brothers," "Ordinary People," and "Risky Business." Candace Bergman's performance, and way of delivering lines, was indeed mesmerizing, and this film's unavailability and obscurity makes unavailable and obscure a certain moment in 20th century American history that we don't think too much about; it is rather like the dark side of the Mary Tyler Moore show, a snapshot of a lost generation. Please, someone bring it back.

I caught this movie one Sunday afternoon on TV at least 15 years ago and never forgot it (and have not been able to find it). I have searched for it on e-bay, amazon, here -- and can't find it. Candace Bergen gives an amazing performance as a young woman starting her life alone. I would love to see it again ... as I recall, the scenes are very 70s and may look dated, but the story is timeless.As I recall, it had shades of "Looking for Mr. Goodbar," but not as dark. I would say the movie has a sardonic feeling. Candace Bergen's character, T.R. Baskin, is smart, cynical and searching for her place in the world.

When people speak of Candice Bergen's acting triumphs pre-"Murphy Brown", they cite "Carnal Knowledge" and "Starting Over", yet this is her best performance. "T.R. Baskin" is a young woman from the sticks who relocates to Chicago and finds the Windy City an alienating place. This is one of the very few movies I've seen that shows the curious spectacle of someone living alone in a small apartment and not knowing what to do with themselves. Bergen walks around, looking at the walls. She's truly alone, and is not sure how to free herself from herself. James Caan and Peter Boyle have smaller roles as would-be suitors, and by the second-half the story has become more conventional--with a feminist slant. Still, for an hour or so, it showcases an appealing, somewhat naive and somewhat bitter female character trying to find her niche. There are sharp and funny observations here, and director Herbert Ross does some subtle work. An underrated little film. **1/2 from ****