A Touch of Class

Starring: George Segal, Glenda Jackson, Paul Sorvino, K Callan, Cec Linder
Directed by: Melvin Frank
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Romance
1973

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two people (George Segal, Glenda Jackson) start an affair but as they fall for each other, things become complicated.

Review:

Tim: The 1973 British romantic comedy, A Touch of Class is noteworthy for being nominated for 5 Academy Awards (including Best Picture) and winning Best Actress. That being said, it felt like the movie was vastly overrated. It was nominated for Best Picture? It's a perfectly fine, run-of-the-mill romantic comedy. There's absolutely nothing especially interesting or memorable about the film. It's a good movie, sure, but I'm shocked at the recognition it received.

Even making mental adjustments for 1973, I'm still surprised this film was as well received as it was. It's definitely got its moments, but there's really nothing great about this film at all. The two leads are played well by George Segal and Glenda Jackson. I suppose they have decent chemistry, but their relationship always felt a little forced. I didn't really believe either of them when they were angry, which is a large percentage of the film. It's cute to see them throw into awkward situations together and their clashes are among the more memorable parts of the film. But, I'm not sure I would say either of them came across as completely natural. It felt to me like they were acting. They weren't bad, but I didn't leave this film especially impressed with either of their performances. That makes the fact that Glenda Jackson won the Academy Award for Best Actress even more surprising. I mean, she's not bad in the role, but Oscar worthy? I really don't think so. There wasn't that one moment that really made you sit up and take notice. It's a good performance, but not much more than that.

Was the idea of two middle aged people having an affair more controversial and cutting edge in 1973? Perhaps it was, so I factored that into my rating. While the movie seems incredibly tame by today's standards, it was probably more boundary-pushing in the early 1970s. Maybe audiences reacted to the "rape" line differently. In today's culture, it just spurred unpleasant feelings and it didn't seem funny in the least.

The movie does a good job of creating awkward and frustrating situations for our two leads. They want to have an affair, but everything seems to go wrong- his whole family wants to come on the trip, he runs into an acquaintance on the plane, they don't get the right rental car, etc. These scenarios are fairly humorous and were worth watching. Those were among the better moments of the film. The movie slows down a bit after the vacation trip, as the two main characters try to settle into a rhythm back in their normal lives. Again, these sequences were good, but there's nothing inherently special about any of them.

I don't know, A Touch of Class is a good movie. There's nothing remarkably wrong with it. It's enjoyable. However, I do not believe it warranted the acclaim that it received. This is a good movie, but you'd expect it to be so much better based on the critical acclaim.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



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