Review of Alex in Wonderland (1970) by Jenna I — 06 Feb 2018

Boy, this is unendingly self indulgent, with scenes that vary from incredibly questionable to total comedic brilliance, but at the end of the day I think it just manages to come out on top.

Every time you think this movie goes too far, it manages to flicker a light of self-awareness that undercuts its previous discretions. The movie treats us the same way Alex treats his wife - it lashes out and then apologizes and then makes us laugh and then lashes out again. When it's funny it's outstanding, I laughed out loud as much as I cringed. I almost want to cut another version of this movie with just the satirical bits. When it got sexist, it apologized through pointed commentary via Ellen Burstyn's character. Where it got White Knight about race, it gave us a bunch of lily white school children putting on a play about "we the people of South Africa..." So at the end of the day it largely balanced out for me.

Though I will say one place where it is super dated is in its use of completely unnecessary, casual female nudity. Re: the way too over the top beach naive-white-man fantasy scene and Burstyn getting dressed on screen for literally no reason. But that comes with the territory so I guess whatever. Oh and questionable parenting in some scenes but hey, who am I to uh...judge...errrr... though even that was half addressed in the scene where Alex rails against "square parenting," just before both of his kids show up with ho hos and turn the TV on.

For a meandering movie about a man who can't make a decision to save his life, Alex in Wonderland strangely comes together. Though maybe in the loosest sense of the word as it ends rather vaguely with Donald Sutherland wandering around his empty house having just sold it (ugh why it was great), implying he does eventually figure something out, enough to make some money to move to a bigger and better home.

Shout outs to Fellini hilariously as himself, Donald Sutherland and Ellen Burstyn absolutely nailing it all around, the goddamn amazing wardrobe for Sutherland, and Mazursky casting himself as the creepy Hollywood producer he obviously can't stand (with the great visual parallels between his wardrobe and hair vs Sutherland playing him).