Lily in Love

I have to admit, I don't usually find Christopher Plummer likable, but in Lily in Love, he was so cute! Playing a ham actor, he manages to show the audience exactly how self-centered he is and also extract sympathy. His wife, Maggie Smith, is a brilliant playwright and famous in her own right, and she always casts him in the lead role of her plays. While he soaks up the spotlight, she'd rather stay in a corner with her typewriter. It's the perfect arrangement; as anyone in the arts knows, a marriage can't survive with two egos competing for top billing.

When Maggie writes a screenplay and doesn't want Chris to play the lead, it wounds him. She insists he simply isn't right for the part. It's a story of an unhappily married woman on vacation who falls for a sensitive European. Chris begs, throws tantrums, auditions-but Maggie's mind is made up. Just this once, she's going to find a different leading man. Have you ever known an Actor? Do you think Chris will take the rejection lying down? No! He turns to his agent, (do you know that familiar face? It's Adolph Green!) as a co-conspirator. On goes a blonde wig, a fake nose, smooth lip to cover his mustache, and blue contacts. Adolph tells Maggie about a hot new star from Italy; she takes one look at the gorgeous headshot and casts Chris's alter ego!

You might find it odd that she doesn't recognize her own husband just because he's got a blonde wig on, but that's part of the fun of the movie. When the filming begins, and Chris puts on his Italian accent, Maggie's utterly charmed. But does she suspect anything? The entire movie will have you laughing and wondering whether she does or doesn't. Ladies, if you've ever been frustrated that your husband doesn't listen to you or only cares about himself, this movie is for you. You might find the plot of this movie familiar, and there have been other versions. I've seen My Geisha, which features a gender reversal, but Lily in Love is infinitely better. It's so funny, and Christopher Plummer is so funny - and gorgeous - in it!

Fitzroy (christopher plummer) will do anything for a role in the new play his wife Lily (the amazing maggie smith) has just written. She doesn't think he's right for the part, and lately, he's been drinking so much, she's not sure if he could even do the part. So Fitz takes measures to make sure he gets the part. Co-stars Elke Sommers as Alicia, and Adolph Greene (two writer nominations!) as Jerry, the agent. It starts as a (very) slow boil; it's listed as a comedy on imdb, but there isn't much comedy until about halfway through. The first half is just setting the scene. Showing us how things are, between husband and wife. Of course, there's a big showdown when all is revealed. But who knew what... when? Directed by hungarian Károly Makk; he has wons zillions of film festival awards. Based on a play by Ferenc Molnár. This one is rated pretty low on imdb. A shame. It's not maggie smith's funniest film, but it is a very good one.

Dreadful rubbish of only only interest is seeing Iron Curtain Hungary. The actors must have been desperate for the work. Silly and hackneyed story. Mildly racist towards Hungarians. Shows that even now iconic actors had dreadful periods and had to pay the rent somehow. Amazed we didt have sex changed too lie Tootsie and such tripe. Budapest does look fun though. The New York scenes also remind yiu that the city was once sern as smart rather than a dirty dump full of drugs and lowlife. The outdoor scenes now would have bern impossible to shoot without, well, being shot. I would delete it from my back caralogue if I was any if the actors.

I got this as a Maggie Smith nut - I've seen her on stage a number of times, and have been craving a film from her which matches the comic intensity which I've seen in the theatre.

Alas, this bizarre misfire doesn't give her a great deal to do. The other people have summed up the plot, so I'll just say that as a romantic comedy, this just doesn't cut the mustard.

The lighting (in the copy I saw, at least) looks more film noir than romcom - everything is dark and gloomy, reminiscent of Gordon Willis's cinematography for the office scenes in The Godfather.

Christopher Plummer has the kind of role John Barrymore used to play in his talkies - the cliché of the egotistical, verse-spouting actor. He does it very well, but his face is too dour to really charm as the hammy romantic lead. He does a good job with the young Italian, and is quiet funny there... but the dialogue and gags are lame.

And harking back to the old romcoms of the golden age, which often featured studio recreations of European capitals: alas, Budapest in the mid-80s looks dreadfully bleak - presumably the funding came from there, and part of the deal was to shoot it in the Hungarian capital. It looks terribly depressing and grey.

Maggie Smith looks lovely (when you can see her - that shadowy cinematography!) but even she can't weave the straw of the dialogue into gold (something she's usually able to do). California Suite, and bits of Murder by Death, seem to be the only film to really show here sophisticated comedienne stuff off on film.

Lily in Love, then, is one for total Maggie completists only (like me).

(By the way, the best 'lost' Maggie Smith film is definitely 'Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing' - seek it out, it's on DVD.)

I was expecting a shallow movie and was surprised at the cunning levels - dealing with our imperfections, the lies we won't admit to ourselves, the lies we want others to believe, our fears of getting older/being bypassed, and the engaging acting of Plummer and smith made it real and accessible.

Contrary to a couple of reviews I felt the movie got stronger as the reality of the duplicitous actions and the animated hurt are unwound into an intelligent drama.

I felt a few scenes could be cut out (e.g. The wind machine malfunction) to make the drama flow better. Plummer's character's needy behavior was a bit too much but some aged men get that way as they cope with their fears.