Harold and Maude (1971)
“What do you do for fun?”
“I go to funerals.”
Harold and Maude is a lot of things: dark comedy, social commentary, and romance. It is also very good.
The storyline is still original nearly fifty years after the release of the film. Harold (Bud Cort) is a…peculiar…18 to 20 years old (who looks a few years younger) who was goth when Marilyn Manson was in little black Pampers. While his fashion tends more to Austin Powers than Ozzy Osborne, his interests are decidedly dark: attending funerals, watching old builds as they are demolished, and committing elaborate prank suicides.
While on a funeral outing, Harold meets an eccentric 79 years young woman named Maude (Ruth Gordon, who knew something about dark after acting in Rosemary’s Baby). Maude is unconventional, outgoing, apparently fearless, and unlike anyone Harold has met.
They fall in love.
So yeah…it is a love story. But it is a lot more. We won’t dissect all the themes (you’ll enjoy exploring them), but it touches on cycles of life, perception, and - most of all - agency: the opportunity and responsibility of making choices and living life on your own terms.
Does it deliver?
There is a lot to like in this film. The acting is solid and Gordon is delightful. Cort takes some time to warm, but one could argue that is in line with the whole idea of the movie. Harold and Maude also has some funny scenes and although a lot of it involves physical humor, its foundation is not in slapstick, but the absurdity of the situation. And the music…is perfect. Cat Stevens is at the top of his game and the soundtrack shows it.
What’s not to like?
Want a long and interesting conversation? Ask your friends (and yourself) how you would feel if the genders were reversed. What if Maude was 20 and Harold 80? The truth you come to may affect how you feel about the film and what it is communicating.
The truth we came to is that Harold and Maude has aged remarkably well and has a dramatic and comedic edge that remains sharp.
You can check it out HERE.
A Strong Four out of Five Jaguar Hearses.
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