Such Good Friends

– Otto Preminger directs this comedy-drama based upon the novel by Lois Gould and adapted by Elaine Ma..

Type:
Movie
Rating:
6.20 / 10
Duration:
One Hour and 41 Minutes
Release Year:
1971
Such Good Friends (1971)

Otto Preminger directs this comedy-drama based upon the novel by Lois Gould and adapted by Elaine May (under the pseudonym Esther Dale). Julie Messinger (Dyan Cannon) is an intense woman who hides her wild emotions and desires under her conventional facade. Her husband Richard (Laurence Luckinbill) checks into the hospital for a simple mole removal that goes seriously wrong. The stellar cast includes James Coco, Jennifer O'Neill, Ken Howard, Louise Lasser, Nina Foch, Sam Levine, Doris Roberts and Burgess Meredith.

Story Timeline:
Producing Country:
USA
Filming Locations:
Genre:

Such Good Friends (1971) - Trailer

Release Date:

23 Mar 1972

Language:

English

MPAA Content-Rating:
R – Restricted

Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. Contains some adult material. Parents are urged to learn more about the film before taking their young children with them.

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writer:

Lois Gould (based on the novel by), Elaine May (screenplay), David Shaber (adaptation)

Main Actors:

Dyan Cannon, James Coco, Jennifer O'Neill, Ken Howard

Plot:

Julie Messinger has it made. She is a New York housewife whose husband, Richard, is an editor for a prominent photography magazine. They have a small circle of friends, including well-meaning, but inept Dr. Timothy Spector, photographer Cal Whiting and Cal's live-in girlfriend Miranda. Julie's mother spends her days getting pedicures and manicures, applying make-up and fake eye-lashes and buying expensive clothes, all the while criticizing her daughter for her looks and behavior. When Richard goes into the hospital for a minor mole-removal surgery, Julie gets more than she bargained for. Richard suffers from complications and goes into a coma, supposedly caused by a rare surgical factor, and she gathers friends and family together, culminating in a hilarious "quasi-cocktail-party" scene in the blood donation center of the hospital. While dealing with red tape, hospital bureaucracy and clueless doctors, Julie discovers her husband's "little black book," which contains the names of her friends. She confirms that her husband had been sleeping around and proceeds to make a fool out of him by getting it on with his male friends. When the complications get more ominous, guilt opens the door to her liberation as a woman. A scathingly funny examination of the dirty rich partying while one of their number lies on the brink of death.

Production:

Paramount Pictures

Ratings:
Internet Movie Database:
6.2/10