Mixed Company (1974)

The Worst Film Ever

That was an excellent one.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Seriously, this film is cringe-worthy from the outset. Granted, it is the product of its time, but for whom was it intended? With tons of profanity, a constantly yelling father, naked locker room shots of Phoenix Suns players (rear only) and a tendency to have young children in various stages of undress...it's certainly not a family film in the traditional sense. I did enjoy the director's somewhat similar earlier effort, "Yours, Mine and Ours," although it also has some surprising content for a family film, as well (the kids getting their father's date plastered with liquor, and the Lucy character losing an undergarment in a crowded bar). However, that film is relatively tame compared to "Mixed Company," where you have kids saying "goddammit" every other scene. Within the first six minutes alone, you have about twenty examples of adult language, and the statement that abortion has "fortunately" cut down on the number of unwanted children. I am not surprised that my parents didn't allow me to see this one, when I was a kid in the 70s.Politics and such aside, the film has a badly written script, and incredibly annoying performances - adults and children alike. I do like Lisa Gerritsen (Bess from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show") in her role, however. The youngest "original family" child is a brat - unbearable, and far from cute.A particularly annoying scene is that of the orphanage picnic in a city park - the location of which which is ridiculously convenient, merely for the sake of a plot development.(Seriously, the mother just HAPPENS to stop their car there while arguing about adoption with the father, after she picks him up at the airport??) During this scene (where two new orphans are introduced), a HELICOPTER with a black Santa lands in the middle of a field - the whole point of which is to set up the Vietnamese-kid-afraid-of-helicopters scenario (saw THAT coming). What kind of idiots would have Santa arrive in a HELICOPTER...kids running up to him as he emerges....helicopter blades...dumb.I almost stopped watching an hour into it, with the closet/crying scene - creepy. Then I held on till the next basketball scene - and even more kid-cursing. Then the Halloween scene - continued kid-cursing. Pot- smoking boyfriend. Extended kid-cursing. More parent-cursing.At this point, I've heard more "goddamns" than anything since the 80s "Scarface." All in all, a truly bizarre film.

This move was entertaining solely for its camp value and rampant political incorrectness. The writing is lazy, sloppy and predictable. As with many movies featuring large casts, the supporting players are reduced to a few quirks which pass for character development. My favorite part of the movie is the way that each and every character (including the kids) say "goddamnit" several times each. Having said all that, Joseph Baloney is always good at playing a blustery character, and Barbara Harris' character is so loony, I would have killed her within the first ten minutes of the movie. The script reads more like a terrible 1970's sitcom than a feature film, with its attempts at "relevance", including a prospective black suitor for the oldest daughter, played with gusto by veteran TV actress Lisa Gerritsen (Mary Tyler Moore Show, Phyllis, My World and Welcome to It). A colossal misunderstanding in the vein of "Three's Company" shows the movies true colors. If you are looking for some so-bad-it's-good 1970's crap, you can't go too far wrong in watching this. We saw it on the FLIX cable channel. Goddamnit!

Funny movie based on the life of a coach who adopts children of different backgrounds. At first, they adopt Freddie - a black kid, but Freddie gets so much perks for being a minority that they decide to adopt one more minority to teach him the world is not all about him. Enter Kwan - a Vietnamese girl with trauma caused by war and her pal - a native American boy. With 6 kids, a bigoted neighbor, a basketball coach with a less than stellar team - the mom's challenge is keeping the peace and making the children happy.People have to think about when this movie was made and how they used humor to take a jab at bigotry.Great job - Excellent cast!

A couple with three children, two girls and a boy, adopt or foster three other children; a Black teen (Haywood Nelson), a Viet Namese girl and a Native American boy. With Joe Bologna and Barbara Harris as those parents, you can guarantee that any conflicts will be met and dealt with. I caught about half of this movie when I saw it and was overwhelmed by the way the subject matter was handled so humorously.Stephen Honanie as Joe, the Native American child, who was one of the youngest children, was without a doubt the funniest, as on Halloween he wore a feather in a headband, mocassins and buckskin breeches and carried a tomahawk and exclaimed over and over "I'm an Indian, I'm an Indian, I'm an Indian!" It would be years before I would realize the joke here; as far as he could tell, it was the costume that made him the Indian, not his heritage. Ariane Heller as the white child of the couple, their youngest, would also show a child's innocence in what she perceived around her.Lisa Gerritsen, best known as Cloris Leachman's daughter on Mary Tyler Moore, was the oldest child and on that same holiday, her date removed his Frankenstein mask to reveal what her parents didn't know, nor did Haywood Nelson; that he too was Black.The final conflict came down between Bologna, a basketball coach, and Nelson, and how each of them would show they care, in the end by cheering on their team at the basketball game. I would love to see this movie again and get a better clue of how the racial lines were crossed. From what I can recall it did an excellent job. This came on the heels of the cancellation of The Brady Bunch and later on there would be Mulligan's Stew with Elinore Donahue. This one got lost in all the shows. It is truly an outstanding viewpoint of the extended family.