The Thorn

I admit to biases. I knew Peter McWilliams (credited in the film as Peter Alexander, who directed this film in the early 1970s. Even then he was a great social critic and a gentle, funny man. I was at the "world premiere" held late one night in 1971 at the Detroit Institute of Art and I loved the film, even though my girlfriend who grew up in a conservative Christian family walked out. I also think Bette Midler was a jerk for cranking up the legal system to kill the film after she consented to be in it. And any film brave enough to spoof the birth of Jesus deserves some respect! All of that said, I still think that the movie stands as a good, sort of experimental, comedy. Granted, it was made on the cheap, almost as a gag. But the script has some very funny moments. Watch Mary try to explain to Joseph how she got pregnant! It is like a 90 minute Monty Python routine. Well worth watching.