Say Hello to Yesterday

Normally I don't go in for May-December romances when the man takes the December slot, but for the sake of Jean Simmons, I decided to give Say Hello to Yesterday a shot. Really, though; does anyone really want to see Romeo seduce a woman old enough to be his mother? Leonard Whiting is supposed to be young and Romeo-ish forever. Instead, in this movie, he's weird and obnoxious, and tumbling around in a hotel room in the afternoon.

Thanks to The Happy Ending (which is thanks to Life at the Top), Jean Simmons got typecast as a bored housewife who isn't happy in the bedroom. It's a far cry from her typecast in the 1950s as Sister Sarah! So, in this movie, she goes out for the day and suddenly has the desire to cheat on her wealthy, devoted husband. There's really no reason, no intense chemistry, and no meaningful bond between them. She just sees him acting silly on the train, and she allows his inappropriate behavior to get out of control.

Most of this movie is very silly and very 1970s, but Jean does have one extremely well acted scene. It makes up for the lack of realism, but it doesn't actually turn it into a good movie.