Quelle famille!

After seeing this film, still not available on DVD, one wants to say, "How did this movie ever get made?" It is funny, intelligent, sensitive, and perceptive. No exploding cars. No teens making out. No monsters from outer space. Used People is just excellent and thoughtful entertainment of a sort that makes one want to cheer. The script is unusually good, and the acting is outstanding. The leads, Marcello Mastronini and Shirley McLaine, could not have been selected and directed with greater care. Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, and Marcia Gay Harden are terrific. The photography is outstanding, and the sets recreate the 1940s and late 1960s very believably. The contrast between Jewish and Italian families in New York is most amusing. Why were no academy awards lavished on this film? Perhaps because it is out of step with contemporary cultural norms and deals essentially with seniors, i.e. people who have lived through much and have a measure of wisdom. Don't miss it.