MASH

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, Fred Williamson, Rene Auberjonois
Directed by: Robert Altman
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama, War
1970

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A MASH unit in Korea struggle with the horrors of war while using humor to retain their sanity.

Review:

Tim: MASH is an important movie, a classic black comedy that won an Academy Award and helped usher in a new era in Hollywood- the 1970s certainly pushed the boundaries of what was accepted on screen and MASH fully embraces that. Looking at this film through the lens of 1970, you can see what an innovative, unique movie it was. Unfortunately, the film really doesn't hold up very well (for reasons I'll go into soon). I thought the movie was really good and its influence is unmistakable, but I wouldn't consider this a great film.

I tried really hard to look at this film within the larger context of 1970, which was a very different world than the one we live in today. So much of this film would have been criticized and torn apart by critics today (and for very good reasons). Most despicable is the treatment of Major O'Houlihan. She's subjected to repeated sexual harassment and other misogynistic actions by the men in the film. And this is all done for laughs and we're supposed to applaud and laugh along. Even more disturbing is the final arc of O'Houlihan, which degrades her character and reinforces the awful behavior of the men in the film. Those scenes are hard to watch. There's also a big subplot about the dentist mistakenly thinking he's gay and therefore decides to kill himself. Again, as much as I disliked these aspects of the film, I tried not to be too critical of it. It's awful and has no place in our society today, but they were appropriate in society in 1970 (which is so, so sad). I tried not to knock the movie too much for these scenes, although I have to admit they impacted my thoughts on the movie regardless.

I did enjoy how Altman painted war as this messy, dirty, confusing, and ultimately pointless affair. The use of overlapping conversations was innovative and it spoke volumes about Altman's view of war. It was jarring to see that because it's so seldom depicted on screen. The film also makes use of its R rating with a great deal of language and some surprisingly bloody surgery scenes. Altman truly created something that was so unique to everything else being done at the end of the 1960s. You can see why so many gravitated towards this film, as it was unlike anything that came before it.
br> I liked the cast, even though I didn't love their characters (often because of the awful things they did to each other). Donald Sutherland is good as Hawkeye. His devil-may-care attitude is infectious and fun. Tom Skerritt adds a solid supporting performance as well. I loved Elliott Gould's performance- he emerges as one of the more memorable aspects of the film. One of the highlights is certainly the interaction between Sutherland and Gould- those two were just fun to watch together. It was great seeing Robert Duvall in a small role, but I wish he had more to do. You also have to give Sally Kellerman great credit- her character's arc makes very little sense, but she gives a lot to the role and was the only cast member to be nominated for an Academy Award (for Best Supporting Actress). As a whole, the cast works quite well.

While MASH was nominated for 5 Academy Awards (including Best Picture), it only won for Best Adapted Screenplay. This felt right to me, as the script is memorable, the dialogue impressive. There are quite a lot of genuinely funny moments in the film. I do love the story of the awful song, "Suicide is Painless". The story I read is that the lyrics were written by Altman's 13 or 14 year old son. He actually made more money from the royalties on that song than Altman did for directing the film. The lyrics to the song are awful, but that was the point. One other comment- I have to say I wasn't a fan of the football game at the end. I get the humor in concluding this unconventional film in one of the most conventional ways imaginable, but it just felt so disjointed from the rest of the movie. I would have liked the film more with a better conclusion.

Now, while I've spent a lot of time criticizing things about MASH, as a whole, I really did enjoy the movie. There's a lot of unexpected humor in the film. The cast seem to be having a blast playing these roles. Altman directs a movie that was refreshingly unique and unlike anything that had been done previously. This movie was hugely influential for many reasons. While major aspects of the movie don't hold up well together, you can easily tell why this film was so important.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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