Just Tell Me What You Want (1980)

Why so much hype?

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

I enjoyed watching this film because the styles and look of the city made me feel nostalgic for that time. It's a puzzle how the plot of the movie could tie together romance with the character that Alan King plays. Romantic? Not. Even dashing or handsome? Not. Rich. Yes. But once you realize the person you're dealing with, there's just not enough money... OK, you'll find a goofy 21-year-old who will think there is enough money to make this guy attractive. But then: you don't need that much money to impress that young girl. Which is what Alan King's character ends ups with, and you are happy for him. It's quite fitting for someone that shallow to share feelings with someone just out of her teenage years. Then the movie winds to its close and you're shocked. Shocked! There's no accounting for taste.I much enjoyed a part of the movie that takes place in Bergdorf's - a scene in which Ali McGraw's character tried to beat the crap of the old lecher. It was too too short. But very satisfying.

A real find. Who would have thought that the teaming of Ali McGraw and Alan King would bring out the best in these two dubious acting talents. King is a lunatic millionaire unable to let mistress McGraw go despite their unbelievably rocky (and downright violent) love/hate relationship. Sharply directed by Sidney Lumet from a wicked, albeit over-plotted, script by Jay Presson Allen. The acting is all first-rate, with McGraw giving a truly funny performance. Like some other 70s beauties (Candice Bergen, Raquel Welch) it's clear her forte was comedy. Although she didn't have a career anywhere near the length of those two, she's never been more relaxed than she is here. She almost never flares her nostrils (see THE GETAWAY). King, who usually played hoods or Mafiosos in his few film roles, is a hoot. As King's perpetually infirm wife, Dina Merrill brings just the right regal presence to bear and Myrna Loy is great as his caustic-tongued secretary. The supporting cast includes Peter Weller, Tony Roberts and Joseph Maher (very funny as Merrill's lecherous doctor).

I have seen this movie several times, and the interplay between Alan King and Ali McGraw never fails to make me smile. There is no confusion as to which genre this movie was meant to be or in how it turned out. It's clearly a romantic comedy, and a funny one. Some younger viewers may have a hard time understanding the humor, because none of it involves body fluids, toilet humor, eating disgusting things or other gross-outs. We know that love and war are sometimes the same thing. This time, it's business, too!King shines as a hard-nosed business tycoon who is romantically involved with his executive assistant, Bones (McGraw). He likes the informal arrangement just fine, but Bones is to the point where she either wants marriage or to move on. When she seems to fall for a young writer and moves in with him, it's not clear if she is truly in love with him, or if she is using him as leverage to make King jealous enough to propose. King, of course, retaliates. The war between the two, using under-handed business tactics is very funny, with each trying to top the other. The winner can either move on in triumph or dictate the terms of their reconciliation. King is probably best known for his stand-up comedy, but this movie shows him to be a fine comedic actor as well.

In the late 1990s I attended a public ceremony in Bryant Park that Mayor Giuliani spoke at. The guests included Joan Rivers (who came late), and Alan King. It was the only time in my life that I saw King live. He was amusing, but I cannot recall his jokes or monologue. I do recall that every now and then, while the audience was laughing, King glanced at his wristwatch. Obviously he must have had other appointments that day, and he did leave fairly early. But I did see him once.King was always in demand. A very funny monologist (and perceptive critic of social mores), he had gained national attention by his appearances on the Gary Moore Show, the Tonight Show, and other television programs. He actually was quite studious about comedy. In his later years he did a cable television show called INSIDE THE COMEDY MIND, where he interviewed fellow comics and discussed technique and approach to comedy. He was also an occasional movie and television performer - and not a bad one.Most people recall King's role as Billy Crystal's father in MEMORIES OF ME as his best performance. It certainly is one of his two best performances. But there were others. His M.P. in HIT THE DECK (an early role) was pretty good. So was his hapless, but honest rabbi in BYE BYE BRAVERMANN. And (closer to his satiric view on certain professions) his psychiatrist leading a panel investigating Dudley Moore's "unprofessional behavior" (he was doing work for free) in LOVE SICK was good. But these were small supporting roles.JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT is King's best performance. He is Max Herschel, the immensely rich, smart, and cynical, head of a corporate empire, who is finding his love affair with Bones Burton (Aly McGraw) is collapsing. The comedy's basically looking at the way the world revolves around money - it is impossible for any really altruistic people to thrive in this film. McGraw is disillusioned by the conclusion of the film, as every attempt on her part to avoid Max is thwarted by the corruption of whomever she turns to. But Max too finds his use of money is not always foolproof. He is taken in by his rival Keenan Wynn (a nice performance too) and Wynn's grandson Tony Roberts. He finds that his wife (Dina Merrill) has been doing more at her rest home than recovering from a nervous breakdown. And he finds that his attempts at maintaining a perfect media blackout over his business empire is not as perfect as he thought.The scene in the film everyone recalls, of course, is in the department store where Bones beats the hell out of Max (who has been punishing her for abandoning him for another man), basically smacking King on the head with her purse, but also kicking him where it hurts. It is a very funny sequence, but it is not the only good in the film.Max does have one person with a bit a leeway (but not much) regarding him: his secretary Stella (Myrna Loy in one of her last good roles) Stella tries to keep King from unleashing his full anger at Bones at their split, but even she is warned not to get too deeply involved for her good. Yet Max is human, and at the end he and Bones do negotiate a fair settlement of their differences.Watching King's effortlessly good performance as Max, and keeping in mind his similarly good work in MEMORIES OF ME, one can wonder if King could have made a real go at full time lead parts in film. His physical appearance worked against him (both parts did not require him to look like an Adonis, fortunately), and...truth to tell...his ethnicity. But looking at MEMORIES OF ME and JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT one believes that if Hollywood was not so hung up on glamor and romantic types Alan King might have made more films in the lead and carried them off well. That he did not get that chance is our loss.