Harold and Maude - A-

On DVD (1971). Rated PG, 91 minutes.

I never thought I'd like a 36 year old movie about a weird teenager falling in love with a 79 year old free spirited woman. Within the first 5 minutes, however, I knew this was a classic. Harold (Bud Cort) is the disaffected son of a domineering mother (his father is dead) and the two of them live in a palatial home and are extremely wealthy. He is obsessed with death and suicide, and fakes suicides throughout the film. Maude (Ruth Gordon) is a wild and vivacious 79 year old that steals cars on a whim and embodies a 'wise hippy' outlook on life. The two of them both attend funerals of people they don't know, and meet when Maude approaches Harold.
The two couldn't be more different in age, demeanor, experience and outlook, yet they make a great pair and, ultimately (yech) a couple. They slowly form a bond over stealing trees and fall in love. Along the way there are great scenes with Uncle Victor, Harold's one armed military general uncle. His 'salute' mechanism made me laugh out loud. There are multiple classic shots and sequences from Director Hal Ashby, such as the montage of shots of Harold's elders at their desks with their 'leaders' in a portrait to the side, Harold's look at the camera, the opening sequence/credits, shots of Harold at the therapist and all of the suicide 'gags'. The soundtrack is from Cat Stevens, and is perfect (it includes the theme song from Ricky Gervais' series, Extras).
The film intelligently and artfully deals with women, depression, suicide, death, love, parenting, wealth, and a host of other issues. Its strength is its lack of irony that spoils similar films made more recently, as well as its deep exploration of happiness and life in general.

I put this in my Netflix queue after seeing the poster in an obvious homage in Pedro Almodovar's 'Y Tu Mama Tambien'. It is weird to see these touchstone films out of order, 36 years later. This film feels like The Graduate or Garden State, with a little Dr. Strangelove and lots of Wes Anderson. Wes looks, acts, and dresses like Harold, and the film's pacing, soundtrack, tone and characters are all reminiscent of one of his films. This is a must see. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHekCJdQUHE