Cactus Flower

Cactus FlowerEverybody loves this movie. I found it a little slow the second time around, but the language and themes were all very refreshing. The script was obviously written back in the era when it was acceptable to be witty, even if it didn't sound completely natural. Think anything by Neil Simon. Personally, I like a little unnatural dialogue, as long as it's unnatural for a good reason. It's dialogue that sounds stilted for no apparent reason that bothers me, and this movie didn't have much of that, so I approve.

I could see this movie being quite risque back in the day. As a matter of fact, my mother refuses to watch it, stating that if it she hadn't seen it in 1969 when it came out, she probably had a darn good reason. And she did. Speaking moralistically, this movie is quite troubling, although no standards of decency (with the exception of some truly alarming mini-skirts) seem much crossed. The swearing is at a minimum, extra- and pre-marital sex is alluded to only, and of course the closest the film comes to violence is a half-humorous attempted suicide and some frustrated (and amusing) hand gestures.

The more mature couple (eventually) in the film seems to reflect an older style of acting. I noticed the old expressions, and a different relationship with the camera than the younger actors, who seemed to fit more easily into the cramped frames and close-cut camera movement of the younger-style film.

Knowing that this film remade a broadway play also changes the interpretation somewhat. We realize that the director really has broken loose from the restrictive confines of the proscenium and has jumped into a much more active real world of the late sixties.

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