Customer Reviews

Micki & Maude

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Micki & Maude is the story of Rob Salinger (Dudley Moore) a television reporter with one desire - children. His wife, Micki (Ann Reinking), is a successful attorney who does not want children to interfere with her career. And then, Rob meets Maude (Amy Irving), a musician who wants children as much as Rob. They begin an affair, and when she becomes pregnant, Rob vows to divorce Micki. When about to confront Micki, she surprises him by telling him that she is pregnant, and has decided to give up her career to devote herself to the child. And now, what does Rob do, when he wants to do right by both women, why marry them both!

What follows is a humorous run-around, as Rob tried to juggle two wives. As one would expect, things come to a head, and pain is unavoidable. [Color, created in 1984, with a running time of 118 minutes.]

I found this story incredibly bittersweet, with Dudley Moore providing a sensitive performance that forces you to love him in spite of what you think of his actions. It is pleasantly funny, without being irreverent, which is the movie's strength. The movie is rated PG-13, most likely due to the subject matter, but there is very little objectionable in this movie. I recommend this movie wholeheartedly.

I've loved this movie for years! It's touching and funny and a great film if you want to just enjoy a funny movie. All actors are outstanding, and Moore, Irving and Reinking really show the heart as well as the humor.

Sorry, if you missed the humor in my review title. It's actually a quote from the film itself. And I don't memorize line from movies, unless they've really made some kind of impression , on me. "Micki and Maude" was impressionable , because it's hilarious. Not hilarious, like "The Jerk", or "Dumb and Dumber". It's not that kind of film. Rather it's hilarious, in the sense of it's dry wit and added humor ,into everyday life situations. Not overplayed or over the top. Hollywood doesn't make too many films like this anymore and that makes "Micki and Maude" , even more enjoyable. This is one of those ,little ,jewels, of a film , that has escaped the popularity and credit , that it's worth. I originally , saw "Micki and Maude" , back in the 80's , on HBO. I was a huge Dudley Moore fan , and so that was the initial appeal , and he's very funny as the story's leading character ( Rob ). I'm also a huge Blake Edwards fan , and this story is exemplirary of his directing and hilarious writing skills. Richard Mulligan also adds to this hilarious farce about a married man ( Dudley Moore ) , who falls for an ambitious , talented and very beautiful younger woman ( played by Amy Irving ). Things get complicated , as Rob ( Dudley Moore) tries to cover it up , from his wife and tries to keep his wife a secret from his mistress. If that sounds tricky , add the fact that he's madly in love with both and gets them both pregnant , at the same time. By today's Hollywood standards , this film would never get the greenlight. Simply because the formula of the script is entirely too murky. However , this film proves that with a wonderful script , director, and cast , that it is possible to make a highly entertaining film with this type of material. Moreover, " Micki and Maude " is a quaint little film , that harbors alot of it's storyline with chauvenistic themes. But who else can make this theme, more humor filled than Dudley Moore ? I've seen this film, countless times and I enjoy it even more, as I get older. A very funny film , to see on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

If you don't believe a comedy about bigamy can be made without making one or all of the characters unsympathetic you're in for a big surprise here. The description of this movie's plot doesn't do it justice, on paper this sounds like it woud be either a morose character drama or an all out farce with card board cut-outs for characters. This is a very warm film.

The French director Loius Malle once made a film made a film called Murmer of The Heart 1971 where he got the audience not only accepting incest, but seeing as a natural progression of the events on screen. Blake Edward's achivement here is just as great, with the help of the wonderful Dudley Moore he is able to win the audience's sympathy for his lead character Rob Salinger. As played by Moore he is a man so sincere in his love for both women, and his desire for children, that you feel guilty questioning his judgement.

Every scene in the film is like a delicious little snack, each with its own setup, emotional center and punchline. Take for example the wonderful early scene when Rob first meets Maude the cellist as part of his report on the Cambodian symphony(he also does stories on underwear for animals and nudists' right to bare arms) and we discover how correspondents really do their interviews. Or the scene where he meets her father, suffice to say he is not what Rob had in mind. Continuing the metaphor, I guess the inspired climax in the hospital makes for a great desert. The film does drag a bit after that, but there are complex issues the film has to resolve here.

Edwards never lets any of his characters become caricatures, or take take any short cuts . Indeed you'll always be wondering how on earth he's going to manage to end this thing. I do thing the ending is too clever, and ofcourse in real life there would have been more heartbreak, but thats not something the audience is going to stand for.

Micki+Maude is one of the best and most original comedies of the 1980s, if nothing else its worth watching for Moore's wonderful performance. Its a wonderful film.

Dudley Moore is the villain in this one but it is hard not to root for him. He plays the supportive husband of Ann Reinking.

All he wants to do is be a father but his wife is busy working on a political campaign. She promises they will settle down when it is over. When it ends, she is instead rewarded with a judgeship in another city which she has to take. That leaves Dudley back home and lonely, mourning for the kids he is sure he will never have.

That's when he meets Amy Irving. She is a cellist he interviews and they share some type of spark with each other right away. He is not the type to be an adulterer but the situation gets the best of him because he feels abandoned by his own wife. He and Amy fall in love and he decides to get a divorce from Ann so he can settle down with Amy and have kids.

If it were that simple, though, there would not really be a movie here. Just as he gets ready to tell Ann the news, she tells him that she is pregnant from their last conjugal visit. Amy turns up pregnant at the same time. Since he really loves them both, he cannot bring himself to divorce Ann nor can he stop himself from marrying Amy. Neither knows about the other and it is slapstick as he tries to manage his life to keep both of his secrets. Needless to say, the world conspires against him.

When both women head into labor at the same time, the secret comes out with disastrous consequences for the guy who only ever wanted to be a dad.

This one is comedy throughout.

Blake Edwards and Dudley Moore, who worked together brilliantly in 1979's 10, re-teamed in 1984 for a fast-paced, surprisingly funny farce. Newsman Moore meets cellist Amy Irving and falls in love, so when she becomes pregnant, he marries her. One minor hitch: Moore is still married to judge Ann Reinking, who's also pregnant. Moore runs himself ragged living two lives until both women go into labor on the same day. So, how do you make a really funny movie about bigamy that brings laughs without leaving a bad taste in your mouth? Answers: 1) Get Blake Edwards to direct it; 2) Don't give him a lot of time to second-guess himself. After getting fired from the Clint Eastwood-Burt Reynolds film City Heat (he may have quit, reports vary), Edwards latched onto Micki's script and managed to get it completed and into theaters the same month as the film he was bounced from. The tight production schedule probably worked to Edwards's benefit, since he didn't get the time to indulge his tendency to tinker and re-shoot scenes until they've become obvious and heavy-handed (see Blind Date for an example). The three leads are terrific, and there are nice supporting turns from character actors Richard Mulligan, Wallace Shawn and Lu Leonard. The letterboxed DVD is a must for this film: Edwards is one of the only comedy directors who can effectively use widescreen, but the results are pretty much unwatchable on pan-and-scan VHS. If the idea of a farce about bigamy doesn't rankle you, this is a lot of fun. It also may be the last great movie Dudley Moore ever made.

I thoroughly enjoyed this video. It's funny and it's clever. Amy Irving and Ann Reinking give great performances as the two unknowing wives of a two-timing husband. Dudley Moore is comedic in his role and gives us a sense of what a man who can't make up his mind about who he wants to be with more is really all about. Ah, the married life...

I've loved this movie for years! It's touching and funny and a great film if you want to just enjoy a funny movie. All actors are outstanding, and Moore, Irving and Reinking really show the heart as well as the humor.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some spoilers appear in the following review.

REVIEW

"Micki and Maude" uses what is an unpalatable subject for a lot of people, and tells a story of heart, wit, and humane sensibilities. It is a very good mature comedy from director Blake Edwards which stars Dudley Moore, Ann Reinking, and Amy Irving.

Mr. Moore is Rob Salenger, a newsman happily married to wife Micki who ends up falling in love with an attractive cellist named Maude Guillory. He never falls out of love with Micki, but as he tells his best friend Leo,..."I don't want to divorce Micki!! I just want to marry Maude!!!" He does marry Maude, with results on his very busy home life both humorous and realistically disastrous.

The movie's real thematic triumph is in exploring the unpredictability of love in a world that wants to define everything, and especially married life, as inherently predictable. Dudley Moore gives an awesomely layered dry comic performance as Rob, with equally fine support from Ann Reinking as Micki and Amy Irving as Maude.

Also featuring Lu Leonard, Wallace Shawn and an unlikely cameo appearance from the late wrestler known as Andre The Giant, "Micki and Maude" is a heartfelt, intelligent success.

Rob Salinger is a man with a terrible problem - when his paramour, Maude, turns up pregnant, he decides to do the honorable thing and divorce his wife and marry her. But, before he can tell her about his affair, Micki floors him by telling him that she is pregnant as well! Rob doesn't want to hurt either Micki or Maude, so takes what he considers the path of least resistance, and he bigamously marries Maude! The situation turns into a comedy of errors as Rob tries to balance two marriages, and inevitable it all comes crashing down.

It's hard to describe this movie. On one hand it is a very funny movie, one that keeps you laughing almost all the way through. On the other hand, it is not really disrespectful of the subject of bigamy. You know Rob is going to get his comeuppance at some point, but you find yourself loving him in spite of what he did. Truly this is a bitter-sweet movie with tears slipping in amongst the laughter.

This is a thoughtful and yet very entertaining movie.

(Review of Her Micki and Maude starring Dudley Moore)