Review of Harold and Maude (1971) by Bassbait T — 31 May 2010

I only give 100% to movies that stand out WAY above the rest. When it comes to comedies, there seems to be a bias towards "romantic comedies". This is the one romantic comedy that stands above the rest.

This movie is, honestly, the only romantic comedy I can stand. Romantic comedies are always predictable. Two people both want each other but pretend like they don't, and towards the end they are super mad at each other, but at the end they love each other and confess. Every Adam Sandler movie does this, as well as other well known romantic comedies, such as When Harry Met Sally. This one is far beyond all of those films because it breaks the rules.

First off, as a movie, I will have to review the direction. As a fan of Stanley Kubrick, his style is based around finding the best shots possible for a setting. Harold and Maude isn't made by Kubrick, but it looks as if it were. Of course, at this time, Kubrick was making the legendary "A Clockwork Orange", but Hal Ashby was here. He is certainly underrated as a director because he never got popular. This one was his biggest work, and I can't find anybody who has heard of it. It's a total cult movie, and with direction like this, that actually comes as a surprise. Then again, Kubrick's films all seem to end up with a cult following, with me a part of that following, so it would make sense. Bottom line, Ashby likes duality in his direction. Two chairs parallel in the therapy room, and so on. It creates a feel of a pyramid shape, which is just like Kubrick's style (see 2001, the monolith with the sun right at the top).

Next is the plot. The plot is a romantic comedy but better. If you are a dude like me, then you will like it. It's not only a love story, but it's a love story without any of the cheesiness that women love, and with Harold faking suicides many times throughout. It's a black comedy as much as a romantic comedy, and it's a barrier breaker for the romantic side. Maude is 60 years older than Harold, but even though Maude is nearly done and Harold has just started living, they both have a connection. Harold is more morbid and looking at the death side of life, and Maude looks at death as a part of life. She's a nice personality, but also a free spirit, in a non-cheesy way. Sure, free spirit generally is a euphemism for "hippie", but she's the kind of person that steals cars, speeds everywhere she goes, outruns the cops, and treats nothing as someone else's property. The duo create a double feel of the person who is trapped in his life and the person who has learned how to live free of being trapped.

It's hard to talk about the rest of the movie though, because it's not easy to break it down into words. It's a great movie experience, it's romantic without being cheesy, it's got humor for all kinds of people, and a positive feel to it. Personal favorites include Harold's uncle and the cop played by Tom Skerritt. It's the funniest romantic comedy I've seen, and although it's not as good a black comedy as Dr. Strangelove, it's still one of the best, considering it's positive feel as a huge contrast to the genre. Highly recommended.