The Sterile Cuckoo

Liza Minnelli...That name conjures up so many images: Her mother, Judy, elegance, beauty, humor, and sometimes pain. Well, she sheds all of them except the last 2. In this role as the odd Pookie Adams, a girl who is afraid of "weirdos" but who in a sense really is, Liza Minnelli has to pull together a wonderful (Academy Award Nominating) part that will tug at your heart and look at the world through HER eyes. Pookie meets Jerry Payne (Wendell Burton) and goes through a couple of sly tricks to make sure that he never forgets her. Jerry falls in love with this strange but lovable girl. That is until her fear of him leaving makes her over-protective and a little pushy. It begins to drive him away. But what movie on teenage lovers is really convincing? Well, these two sure are convincing. Sometimes you just want to strangle Pookie and other times you just want to jump into the screen and hold her close and say "It's gonna be all right". I rated this a 7 because there was something missing and I felt it. But otherwise, Liza Minnelli fans, this is way worth it!

This movie touches something in all of us that i think Lizzie minnelli brought to the service so well she deserved an Oscar nom in her first performance.Most of us at some point in our lives,often when young have clung to love,or been clung to-to tightly.The result often being the other person at some point feels as though they cant breath they feel suffocated.This creates awkward moments and much introspection as we question what does love truly mean does it mean I have to be with you and know where you are 24 hours a day.Does it mean i let go my friends because you don't seem to like them. I'm a male who gets sad every time I see this movie.All of us have felt loneliness and come across some people who are plagued by it.Lizzie Minnelli ,and Wendell Burton showed the dynamics of young love and all its bittersweet ironies.This movie reminds us of being young and breaking up with someone you at one point cared deeply for.

This story of a strange girl falling in love with a boy who at first resists, then embraces her is a wonderful movie. Pookie Adams is unlike any character in any other movie I have seen. She is truly desperate for love and when she finds it she ruins it by holding on too tightly. This movie is heart- breaking because there is no way for the teenage lovers to find a happy ending. A sweet, touching look at first love that is not to be missed.

I saw The Sterile Cuckoo by accident in 1970. I went to the movie theater to see True Grit because John Wayne had been nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. The double feature that day included The Sterile Cuckoo and it changed the way I would view movies from that day on. I loved every second of this achingly beautiful story about first love for a gangly, awkward, pushy, scared girl and a shy young man. Liza Minnelli is so incredible in this role as she conveys the desperation of a woman who has probably never been loved and can't understand that it scares people away if you hold too tight and reveal too much. She has no game to play and it costs her. She is the whole movie as all the emotions of the part are captured in her beautiful, expressive eyes. Her monologue in the phone booth near the end of the film should be required viewing for anyone interested in persuing an acting career. Few before her or since have pulled off such a challenging feat with such seamless realism. She was fantastic in Cabaret because it showcased the full range of her talents but this is her best work as an actress.

I saw it in 1992 (well past puppy love age) and wrote in my diary:

A heavenly movie! What a visual and aural delight! The plot didn't matter much (love of shy college boy and girl). But then, no good movie puts plot above everything else. Good movies have great atmospheres. They are pleasing to the eye, as well as the ear. This one was blissfully free from cliches, melodrama, formulas, phony excitement. It was pure warmth, charm, prettiness, spontaneity. There were almost no close-ups. The scenery was breathtaking, the pacing calm and gentle. There were whispers! Whispering is so charming, so intimate. Liza Minelli was never better. This film gave me a great boost, making me feel connected with fellow humans.