Customer Reviews

Diary of a Mad Housewife [VHS]

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sue Kaufman's black-comic novel has been a favorite of mine since long before I was a semi-mad housewife myself, but I never could find the video. Thanks to a fab Amazon dealer, I now have a copy, and it certainly was worth the wait.

I don't know either why Carrie Snodgress never became as widely seen as an actress as she deserved. (She's battling a deadly liver condition right now, poor gal!) Frank Langella is her hypnotically awful lover, the kind of self-absorbed writer who chews women up and spits them out. Richard Benjamin who plays her husband, Jonathan Balser, as a humorless prat who spends a fortune trying unsuccessfully to social-climb in Manhattan. Langella and Benjamin have had long careers--this film was a magnificent showcase for their talent, even as they abused poor Tina Balser. "Did you know that, girls?" says Mr. Balser to his daughters. "Your mother was Phi Beta Kappa at Smith, but she can't make a decent four-minute egg."

Snodgress' green-eyed silences, her little half-smiles, say more than any jabbery actress possibly could. Her Academy Award nomination for Best Actress was well-deserved.

I dug up Rex Reed's adoring review of "Diary," published in his collection, "Big Screen, Little Screen," that gives high praise to the cast, to the picture-perfect Manhattan setting, and to Frank Perry's sensitive direction. His review concludes, "Unless you've been to as many of those parties as I have, you can't imagine what those dreadful omelettes can do to wreck a New York marriage." Amen.

Why is this classic not on DVD? It is a crime that it is so hard to get now. There are two versions, too. One was for theatres (the long version, with the sex scenes and some other scenes not in the short version) and one was for television (with totally different scenes involving Tina's psychatrist who is photographed from Tina's view on his couch). Both versions should be on a deluxe edition DVD. This is truly a vastly underrated film, with outstanding performances including the Oscar-nominated Carrie Snodgress (now sadly deceased) with Frank Langella, Richard Benjamin, and the rest. A perceptive, funny, cutting, never boring (how many films can you say that about these days?) masterpiece of 1970s cinema.

If you're looking for an intelligent, well-acted, perceptive, observant, EXTREMELY funny movie...look no further.

If they still made films like this I'd be a happier man.

EVERYONE'S excellent. EVERYTHING is excellent. I can't fault it in any way.

All I can do is applaud very loudly to the geniuses who were involved in creating this unforgettable masterpiece.

It's up there with all the great satrical comedies of the late '60's & '70's...The Graduate, Goodbye Girl, Heartbreak Kid, Annie Hall. If you dig any of them...GET THIS!

Perfect acting by all 3 principles. Carrie Snodgress--awesome, Richard Benjamin--an excellent whinerbag spouse,and Frank Langella--fabulous portrait of a woman-hater. I don't know why Ms. Snodgress never became a superstar. Having read Sue Kaufman's book, I can state w/confidence that Snodgress got the role of Tina Balser down perfectly. She manages to put up w/truly hideous people--husband, lover, even her kids--w/o coming across as a victim. An interesting point, as pointed out in another review, is "mad" meant as "angry" or "crazy"? Probably both. The fact is, Tina is the only sane one in the movie. I wanted to pull her out of the screen and away from all of the other characters. SEE THIS MOVIE. IT'S WORTH TRACKING DOWN!!!!!

I saw this movie when it first came out in a theatre in Boston. I thought at the time Carrie Snodgrass was going to be a huge star. Instead she chose Neil Young and motherhood. Well, our loss. I think she does a little TV now and then, minor roles mostly. I wonder if she ever thinks about the opportunity she let slip through her fingers? This was one of the first "woman finds her voice" stories of the 70's. At the time the movie theatres were full of this type of movie. An Unmarried Woman is another similar movie. But, I thought Diary was well done and Carrie Snodgress (I just loved her name) did a very good job portraying the put opon, under appreciated wife, for her first major movie role.

I have just finished watching this movie on tv and immediately wanted to purchase its dvd, however, there was none released! How can not this movie be on dvd while there are too many awful films with special edition dvds? It does deserves a 2 disc remastered criterion treatment! It is a shame it is only available on VHS....I really enjoyed watching this film and higly recommend it to anyone who is interested in films off the mainstream

"Diary of a Mad Housewife" seems, on its surface, to be a character study of stereotypes. Richard Benjamin completely over the top as social climbing, acquisitive lawyer Jonathan Balser, who mercilessly criticizes and belittles his wife. Carrie Snodgress totally passive and reactive as the put-upon, poor little harrassed housewife Tina (albeit in a REALLY spectacular apartment). Frank Langella a cardboard cutout of a sadistic misogynist. And yet....and yet. Thanks to the exquisite talents of the three leads, this film rises above the character-development limits of its script to become a fascinating study of its era (just barely pre-feminist) and of the anatomy of an extramarital affair. Richard Benjamin IS over the top as Jonathan, but since the story is told from Tina's diary entries and from her viewpoint as his desperately unhappy wife, she would naturally portray him as almost a caricature, his faults magnified to an epic degree. Viewed from that perspective, his performance is funny, sad, pathetic, and outstanding. One of his earliest scenes, in which he methodically recites to his wife what she is to pack for his business trip, specifying brand names, colors, and exact amounts, is beautifully done and shows Jonathan at his most jaw-droppingly irritating. Carrie Snodgress brings dignity and a touch of pathos to Tina, and communicates volumes with those gorgeous, expressive eyes of hers. The changes Tina experiences as the affair progresses are both wonderful and painful to behold because there is so much truth and naturalness in Ms. Snodgress's performance. Ah, and Frank Langella....I was only eight years old when this movie came out and didn't see it until many years later, but I can imagine the impact he must have had on female moviegoers at the time -- somewhat equal to the effect he has on ME every time I watch him! It's easy to call George Prager a classic woman-hating jerk, but like the other two lead characters, that's much too simple. Frank gives the most complex performance of the entire film, and it's an emotional tour de force, thrilling to watch. From George's very first appearance at a loud cocktail party where he treats Tina to several nasty criticisms of her appearance, to his first moment of seduction when they meet again weeks later (the quote in this review's title - a truly wonderful line, perfectly delivered in that hushed, velvet voiced way in which Frank Langella has no equal), to the gentle, almost-tenderness of Tina and George's first encounter, to their final, harrowing scene, he dominates the screen with effortless and confident sensuality. There is a moment, just after the first encounter, where George tells Tina that she'll be like all those other females who think that "sex -- particularly great sex -- has to be love." Tina replies, "I could never love you...ever," and a look crosses his face for a split second that wholly captures the complicated essence of George. Blink and you'll miss it, but it's a marvelous piece of acting by Frank. George is an arrogant, self-absorbed, ambitious, sadistic pig, but he's way more than that. He's also full of self-loathing (surprising at first, but his final scene reveals why), longing (for love and connection, even as he relentlessly drives it away), fear (also revealed in his final scene), and anger (hints at a bad childhood, more fully revealed in the book). It's a tribute to Frank Langella's talent that he developed George to this extent in view of the script's limits. "Diary of a Mad Housewife" is quite of its era on the surface, especially evident in the subplot which culminates in the painfully funny fiasco of the cocktail and cigarette-drenched "omelette party". But the characters, and the wonderfully talented actors who potray them, are timeless, and because of this, it's a marvelous film that transcends its time to become a classic, and one that deserves a wide audience. Highly recommended!

Right from the first scene when Carrie Snodgress wakes up and we see the domestic hell that is turning her into a "mad housewife", we know this is going to be a great film. And it certainly doesn't disappoint. It's one of the best movies of the 1970s and a timeless monument to a certain type of life in New York. The dark humour is almost painful at times, similar to the effect created by the Victorian classic novel "Diary of a Nobody". Who hasn't known excruciatingly awful people like the film's ambitious, obnoxious husband and the plausible, untrustworthy lover? This is such a good movie that it seems inexplicable that it wasn't issued on DVD as soon as the new format came out. Why, I wonder?

I just love the sound of Carrie's voice! OK Where is the DVD???? I agree with all the previous comments.Just an adorable film. AND Alice Cooper plays at a party!! Now where is the audio of that scene?

I have an old copy of this book (it was my 70 y.o. mother's). I have read it numerous times, and enjoyed it. I love how the book depicts life in Manhattan (I am a native NYer). They never show this movie on cable (I look for it). I saw part of it once on late nite t.v. years ago. I would like to see the entire film, I was a small child when it came out, so I did not get to see it in the theatre. Hopefully they will put it out on a DVD version soon.