Review of Family Plot (1976) by Richard D — 18 Jul 2018
Barbara Harris stars as a fake psychic who is commissioned by a wealthy client to find a man who is the heir to her fortune, but was whisked away as a baby because the mother was not married. She is helped by her boyfriend, Bruce Dern, who's a cab driver, actor and her own private detective.
Their search brings them up against William Devane and Karen Black, a pair of kidnappers. Hitchcock's last film is not good, but it manages to be better than some of his worst films from the previous decade.
I confess that part of my dislike for this film is due to my rather intense dislike of Harris, who I find horrendously annoying and unfunny. But beyond that, it feels like Hitchcock just isn't in tune with the way a film from the 70's should look and feel.
He uses rear projection to mimic a car racing out of control, and it looks awful. Dern and Harris have a bit of coy, sexual banter going on that just ... does ... not ... work. (Note to filmmakers: Never have Dern make a comic reference to his erect penis.
) This is a slow, sluggish and lifeless affair.
This review of Family Plot (1976) was written by Richard D on 18 Jul 2018.
Family Plot has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
