Having been rising up in film since the early 60's, by the beginning of the 70's, James Caan was beginning to catch on. it's too bad that this film has some of the most unlikable and underdeveloped characters because it is a very funny view of infidelity and other amoral behaviors that were part of cultural rebellion around this time. He's an unhappily married man with a drunken pregnant wife (Carrie Snodgress) and picking up prostitute Anjanette Comer while out with his college basketball coach, Jack Albertson.
A quickie turns into an overnighter and that turns into a continued affair that begins to take a serious turn when Caan must leave her to go to the hospital where Snodgress is having her baby. There's also the Reverend Arthur Hill's wife Melanie Johnson who makes a play for him, his interaction with the various people he meets along his journey. Unfortunately, it's a one way trip from which the viewer ends up car sick.
On the plus side, the veteran cast of older actors try to instill some grace and humor into this, and while I did find myself laughing at a lot of the absurdities of the script, I felt like I needed a shower afterwards. Nydia Westman, a veteran supporting player since the 1930's, is memorable as an old lady whose garden he visits regularly, and Josephine Hutchinson and Henry Jones are Caan's supportive parents. Carmen Mathews as Snodgress's mother could have played the role as more of a harpy in her dealings with her son-in-law, but she comes off unscathed.
This does have an early 70s feel to it which gives it a sense of nostalgia and the music helps as well. But ultimately, there's no real point to it other than to get out some sexual aggression (with Erich Segal's script), and the younger women come off unfavorably stupid and Albertson and Caan aren't exactly likeable either. Since there's no one really to root for here, it's best to just view this as a period piece and for the character actors who probably ask for more money to utter such filthy dialogue.
A quickie turns into an overnighter and that turns into a continued affair that begins to take a serious turn when Caan must leave her to go to the hospital where Snodgress is having her baby. There's also the Reverend Arthur Hill's wife Melanie Johnson who makes a play for him, his interaction with the various people he meets along his journey. Unfortunately, it's a one way trip from which the viewer ends up car sick.
On the plus side, the veteran cast of older actors try to instill some grace and humor into this, and while I did find myself laughing at a lot of the absurdities of the script, I felt like I needed a shower afterwards. Nydia Westman, a veteran supporting player since the 1930's, is memorable as an old lady whose garden he visits regularly, and Josephine Hutchinson and Henry Jones are Caan's supportive parents. Carmen Mathews as Snodgress's mother could have played the role as more of a harpy in her dealings with her son-in-law, but she comes off unscathed.
This does have an early 70s feel to it which gives it a sense of nostalgia and the music helps as well. But ultimately, there's no real point to it other than to get out some sexual aggression (with Erich Segal's script), and the younger women come off unfavorably stupid and Albertson and Caan aren't exactly likeable either. Since there's no one really to root for here, it's best to just view this as a period piece and for the character actors who probably ask for more money to utter such filthy dialogue.