A Touch of Class

source: A Touch of Class

A very witty, funny movie about an affair between a spoiled, married American business man (George Segal) living in London and a somewhat caustic British fashion "stealer" (Glenda Jackson). Whether they're fighting (some of the funniest verbal fight scenes ever!) or dealing with the reality of an affair (with some very poignant moments), the chemistry between Segal and Jackson works and the script is exceptional. Jackson's performance is particularly terrific; also notable is Paul Sorvino's performance as an irritating-but-wise friend. IMPORTANT - If at all possible, watch the uncut, uncensored, uninterrupted version of this movie (i.e., don't watch it on broadcast television for the first time).

It's hard to imagine how this film got such a strong reception on its first release. Viewed several decades later, it's trite, formulaic, frustrating, and downright dumb. The strongest redeeming factor is Glenda Jackson: sharp as always, and fun to watch even in this mess. (Unfortunately, her talents are offset by the smirking anti-charismatic presence of George Segal.) Another plus: the lovely locations, especially in London, which make the film at first seem like one of those effervescent European sex comedies... rather than the cliché-ridden Hollywood farce that it is. On top of everything else, the plot is basically a needless reworking of Melvin Frank's far better 1960 film, The Facts of Life. The older film must have been far more adventuresome in its time. It's also blessed with the wonderful pairing of Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. And it actually manages to be about something. A Touch of Class is pretty much the bottom of the barrel for Melvin Frank fans. My advice: check out The Facts of Life, or The Court Jester, and give this creaky curio a miss.

They probably made "A Touch of Class" thinking that it was an old-style romantic comedy, reworked for the '70s. Well, it is one DATED movie, containing a lot of pre-feminist material. There are some funny scenes (especially the whole sequence in Spain), but otherwise the movie comes across as old school. Glenda Jackson - who has been a member of Parliament since 1992 - is particularly good as the liberated businesswoman. Even so, don't make this your first choice. Melvin Frank did much better with "Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell". PS: Nadim Sawalha, who plays the Spanish hotel manager, is the father of Julia Sawalha, who voiced Ginger in "Chicken Run". He also played the emir in "Syriana".

A love story with a built-in dead end: they're crazy about each other, but he's already married. Attempt to recapture the sophisticated romantic-comedies of yesteryear is put to the test under a heavy-handed direction which doesn't know what it's going for, laughs or pathos (the former occasionally bumping clumsily into the latter). There's nothing wrong with a good mix of laughs and tears, but this scenario is cluttered up with too many dolts (like Paul Sorvino's "best friend" character, who is tiresome the minute we meet him) and too many montages which set no certain mood. Oscar-winner Glenda Jackson is warmly sarcastic throughout--and she's delightful working with George Segal--but their characters lost my interest after an hour or so. There's too much bickering over nothing, too much intensity melting away into love-starved giggles. The picture is a situation comedy but there are only occasional laughs, all early on. ** from ****

Glenda Jackson's second Oscar-winning picture, A TOUCH OF CLASS is a UK production, but directed by American writer-director Melvin Frank (fairly to say, it has to be his most accomplished work), an urban relationship caricature precisely broaches a modernised (feminist) view on an extramarital affair between an American married man Steve Blackburn (Segal) and a British divorcée Vickie Allessio (Jackson). Steve is a successful business man, living in London with his wife Gloria (Neil) and two children, he is handsome, virile, a jock of baseball and golf, so after several chance meetings with the alluring but independent Vickie, all he wants is to woo her for a "quickie" during his lunch break. But Vickie is not a bimbo, although she jovially accepts Steve's invitation and doesn't mind a depressurising rumpy pumpy with a man she finds attractive, she demands to do it under better surroundings, with "a touch of class". Intrigued, Steve arranges a trip to Málaga with her, to consummate their affair. A chain of mishaps will occur even before their tryst, from Steve's desperate attempt to persuade his wife from joining him for the so-called "business trip", to the encounter with his friend Walter (Sorvino) in the airport, it is sheer magic how Frank and his co-writer Jack Rose can extract humour and laughter out of other people's misfortunes without ever over-stuffing the gags (a negative example can be observed from Arthur Hiller's Neil Simon-penned THE OUT-Of- TOWNERS, 1970) and run them smoothly with conviction and élan. It is so true, a short trip is the best way to know about each other, Steve and Vickie clash vigorously, a tug-of-war of bedroom quarrel-fest chiding each other's stereotyped characters, a.k.a. the libido-driven American man against the uppity British woman, Segal and Jackson spark off engagingly in their two-handers, eventually a woman's abrasive sagacity prevails over a man's immature grumble (that's why Jackson is the mature one, since most of her points are right on the nose), which plausibly abides by the corny but enigmatic allure of the antithesis and creates an amazing aura of sexual magnetism, thus paves the way for the next step - their consensual arrangement of renting a flat together. Back to London, the affair continues, Steve squeezes time from dog-walking, or sneaks out in the middle of a Beethoven concert and return, to conduct the carnal knowledge in their secret flat. Soon or later, as we expect, a "casual" relationship is slowly but inevitably consumed by the weary day-to-day dissatisfaction and in a cerebral move, after admitting that she is behaving like a wife, Vickie has the boldness to end it (although the movie considerably let Steve initiate the motive), after all her emotional baggage is the lighter one, whereas Steve is bogged down in his dither, and finds the courage to let it go, thanks to her, eventually. Ingenious, brisk and without a whiff of patronising either sex, A TOUCH OF CLASS is a top-shelf comedy where Segal and Jackson are at the top of their games. Also, as a footnote it reminds us to why David Lean's BRIEF ENCOUNTER (1945) is a must-see for everyone!

"A Touch of Class" strikes me as a poor Neil Simon wannabe, partially redeemed by the acting and chemistry of stars Glenda Jackson and George Segal and by a tolerably realistic ending. Most of the plot is as unrealistic and predictable as a lame TV sitcom and no funnier. Neither Steve nor Vicki is shown with any of their children, other than a few moments in the initial meet-cute scene: basically the kids are used entirely as excuses for unfunny babysitter complications. Nor is Steve shown as having any relationship with his wife that might make him hesitate to leave her for someone he adored. Their dogs get far more screen time than their families, presumably on the theory that canines are funnier than people. This is unforgivably lazy screen writing. See it for the performances, or skip it altogether. How this got nominated for Best Picture I'll never understand.

Bittersweet comedy helped immeasurably by the chemistry of the stars and the skill of their performances. Glenda is brash and delicate in equal measure, George bombastic but good natured. While it shows the pitfalls of infidelity it doesn't judge its characters for their choices and actually presents all the relationships, including Glenda's gay assistant's, evenhandedly rather surprising for the 70's. As far as her receiving an Oscar for this performance, she's sprightly and more relaxed than she usually was on screen but I doubt that even she expected to grab the prize for what is a customary solid job but hardly extraordinary.

A Touch of Class is directed by Melvin Frank who also co-writes the screenplay with Jack Rose. It stars Glenda Jackson, George Segal, Paul Sorvino, Hildegarde Neil and Mary Barclay. Music is by John Cameron and cinematography by Austin Dempster. Two great lead performances and a sharp script propel this delightful sex comedy forward. Plot is no great shakes but it matters not in truth, divorced English woman meets American married man, an attraction is there and they agree to go away for a brief holiday to indulge in some stress relieving sex. Upon arrival at the Spanish resort, a number of things get in the way of the couple actually copulating. Once achieved, things start to go a bit sour, and the bickering and withering sarcasm starts. But hold on, there's more twists to come, right up to the bittersweet finale. Genuine laughs are dotted throughout, Jackson's waspish tongue an utter delight, and the pic never teeters over the edge into sentimental hog- wash. It's obviously a product of its time, though the extra-marital affair theme is daringly mounted for the era. A lovely film, funny, poignant and literate. Score! 8/10

I remember liking this when it first came out - I just saw it again and don't know why. Segal's character is a sort of professional philanderer ("I've never made love to a woman in the same city as my wife"). Jackson's character is superior and rather humorless. The two do not produce magic together. I find myself strongly resenting the repeated insults by Jackson, her arrogance, her haughty scorn. The movie is also very much of its time. Like Pardon Mon Affaire, Cousin, Cousine, Pardon Mon Affaire Two, I Do I Do, I Love My Wife, its point is to share the great fun of seeing a man has in his attempts to deceive his unsuspecting wife and children (of course in Cousin, Cousine, they loudly make love when the children and spouses are present). In a period in which we see movies such as A Walk on the Moon, Unfaithful, A Perfect Murder - in all of which infidelity is taken deadly seriously - its consequences wrecking lives, the day in which this kind of fluff was entertaining is long over. This is not a good movie - I actually like George Segal as an actor (and the Viennese reviewer should know that Americans have seen George Segal each week for years in a very popular television series). Both he and Glenda Jackson do their best - but their lines aren't very funny, the situation is terribly contrived (yes, coincidental meetings abound), and one has great difficulty sympathizing with either the mother who abandons her daughters or the husband who must work so hard to deceive his whole family.