Younger Chewers may only know Walter Matthau from his later, less challenging roles. Heaven forbid he's remembered as Mr Wilson in the unnecessary Dennis the Menace or his turns in the Grumpy Old Men movies. Better people keep in mind his more serious roles in Charade or Fail-Safe or the light comedy found in his appearances in the Neil Simon film adaptations.
In my book, Matthau doesn't get any better than his performance in A New Leaf. As a man too used to living off of his depleting trust fund, his debts have risen to the point where he's losing his possessions and his man-servant. Horrified at the prospect of engaging in any kind of labor, Matthau's character decides the best way to regain his standard of living would be to marry a rich woman.
Enter writer, director Elaine May. As the near idiot-savant botanist, May portrays a character surprisingly less self-sufficient than Matthau's. A scene where Matthau is trying to help May put a dress on properly is, in my estimation, one of the funniest things celluloid has ever captured. No exaggeration.
Even from my sparse description of the plot, it isn't hard to guess how this film ends up. It is a light comedy, after all. Elaine May went on to direct a few more films until the overhated Ishtar either killed her career or killed her inspiration to direct. Ishtar, of course, was the film many felt took the crown of "Biggest Flop of All Time" from 1987's Heaven's Gate, which was then passed to Waterworld in 1995.
You want to see A New Leaf? You either have to be lucky enough to catch it on TV or dust off your grandpa's VCR. No DVD release yet.
In my book, Matthau doesn't get any better than his performance in A New Leaf. As a man too used to living off of his depleting trust fund, his debts have risen to the point where he's losing his possessions and his man-servant. Horrified at the prospect of engaging in any kind of labor, Matthau's character decides the best way to regain his standard of living would be to marry a rich woman.
Enter writer, director Elaine May. As the near idiot-savant botanist, May portrays a character surprisingly less self-sufficient than Matthau's. A scene where Matthau is trying to help May put a dress on properly is, in my estimation, one of the funniest things celluloid has ever captured. No exaggeration.
Even from my sparse description of the plot, it isn't hard to guess how this film ends up. It is a light comedy, after all. Elaine May went on to direct a few more films until the overhated Ishtar either killed her career or killed her inspiration to direct. Ishtar, of course, was the film many felt took the crown of "Biggest Flop of All Time" from 1987's Heaven's Gate, which was then passed to Waterworld in 1995.
You want to see A New Leaf? You either have to be lucky enough to catch it on TV or dust off your grandpa's VCR. No DVD release yet.
