T.R. Baskin

I saw T. R. BASKIN at the cinema in Colorado when I was a college student several times. I recommended it to everyone. I thought it was on a par with FIVE EASY PIECES or THE LAST PICTURE SHOW. I don't think Candace Bergen was ever better and (the now late) Peter Boyle was great as was James Caan. Many years later in New York I had the opportunity to tell Candace Bergen how much I liked that film and she said, "Oh, they hated it. They all hated it." I thought it was very well written, with many very funny and clever lines. There is a heartbreaking misunderstanding in it that makes for fine drama. I recall it had a subtle touching depth to it and I would love to see it again all these years later to see how it holds up.

I saw this film when it first came out and was deeply moved because I identified with T.R. - I lived her story when I first left home, including making big mistakes about recognizing when I was merely being used by men I thought really liked me, and the awful places you end up living because you make barely a living wage, and the loneliness - all of it. Every thematic scene in this film could be my own life, with only the details changed. I've never seen another film that comes even close to capturing this experience.

Today when I was trying to find this film, I was shocked to discover how badly it was rated by critics at the time. I'm glad to see that people here respect the film and that most rate it very highly.

I'm going off now to see if I can get somewhere. A classic.

Having watched director Herbert Ross's "T. R. Baskin" twice now, I still have no idea why the filmmaker was drawn to the material or why Paramount gave it the green light. Written by the otherwise-astute Peter Hyams, our titular heroine is rather the antithesis of TV's Mary Richards: she's not about to turn the world on with her smile. An escapee from a small town in Ohio, T. R. arrives in Chicago and is immediately taken advantage of by her cab driver from the airport (but nothing is built upon this--it's just shrugged off). She finds a boring job and a boring apartment, she goes out on a boring blind date--the only thing missing is a boring cat. Played by Candice Bergen, T. R. Baskin isn't pithy or wise: she's deadpan nearly throughout. I assume Hyams meant her cynicism to be blunt and amusing, but Ross doesn't ask Bergen to deliver anything more than a sketch of the character (we get nothing about her background save for a phone call home to mom). The film's framing device is deadly: an ex-Army man (a young James Caan), who insulted T. R. after a roll in the hay, sets up her with a married man in Chicago on business. This plot device makes absolutely no sense, and Ross skitters over it, perhaps shamefacedly. Fortunately, the married man is played Peter Boyle, and he emerges as the star of the picture. With his pearly-pink skin, shy smile and alert eyes, it's obvious the movie should have centered on Boyle's would-be philanderer rather than on Bergen's squinting/suspicious working girl. T. R. Is disappointed by life; she finds the Windy City an alienating place, she's in danger of being swallowed up by the anonymity of city living, but will she fight her predicament or simply surrender to it? We don't know because Ross and Hyams want to keep T. R. a floating question-mark. Had T. R. been a tough little nut, we might have had something to respond to; instead, she only comes to life with a case of the giggles in bed, and even then we don't really know why she's laughing. ** from ****

This film is in some ways a guilty pleasure--it's occasionally hokey--but I like it because it reminds me of the wonder I felt on my first few visits to Chicago (I'm a small-town girl too). I eventually moved there, staying more than a decade

before moving on to L.A.; my experience was, on the whole, much more positive than T.R.'s, but I can relate to her and to what she's going through. That's a good deal of this movie's appeal--the characters and the situations all have the ring of truth. Kudos to writer Peter Hyams and director Herbert Ross. T.R. may be lonely and lacking in direction, but she's also intelligent, feisty, and nobody's fool, and it's easy to understand how she feels as she tries to build an independent life and find personal and professional satisfaction. Candice Bergen's delivery of her lines is sometimes a bit stilted, but her performance is largely praiseworthy; so are those of the supporting cast, especially Marcia Rodd, James Caan, Peter Boyle, and Howard Platt (very convincing as a real jerk). The filmmakers also make good use of the Chicago setting, with shots of Carson's State Street store, the el, and other landmarks, and the movie's full of early-'70s atmosphere--the clothes, the music, the singles bars, and the fact that the modern women's

movement had a lot of work to do.

I saw this movie when it came out in the theatres and I loved it. I haven't been able to find a copy yet. It is only listed on the IMDB. I still use many of the lines I remember from the film. Such as, "Do I have any mail?" to the mailman. He says, "What's your name?" She says, "Occupant" Not as a smart alec reply but more in saddness. She is 18 to 22 years old and applying for a job with a woman personel interviewer. The lady asks if she has been convicted of a crime. Bergan answers, "27 arrests, no convictions" The lady writes down "None"

The other characters are all equally memorable and touching. It is bittersweet and realistic, without becoming maudlin. I reccommend that you see it if you get the chance.