I was surprised to see no threads on this film. I saw this film in its original theatrical release when I was 13 years old. I enjoyed the surprising chemistry between the two stars even though I could not figure out what Segal's Stephen Blackburn saw in Jackson's Vicki Ellesio, who came off as a sort of a b**ch IMO. I thought George Segal was charming and sexy in this film. Jackson is good also but I have to admit to being shocked when she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for this performance.
Mmmm I remember seeing this in the early eighties and liking Glenda's hairdo and Segal's fat mate. Seeing it again today I realised why his mate was memorable, its Paul Sorvino! I heard that Glenda Jackson went to the bad and became an MP, shame on her.
mmmm, I just saw the beginning and stopped after a half hour. Supposedly the Blackburn character says he only cheats when his wife is out of town? and then wife comes to town, and he still finagles a rendezvous attempt? I didn't find it endearing.
I don't think this film is "overrated" - there are no threads on display, hardly anyone has voted for it, those who have voted gave it a pretty poor rating, and only a handful of people have even deigned to comment on it. This film died with the 70s, there's nothing about it worth remembering
I've gotten through to about half of it and it's annoying me. It's like it's supposed to be funny but isn't and the dialogue is so boring. I like Glenda Jackson and George Segal in other stuff but this is dull and whoever said his screwing around on his wife "isn't endearing" is totally right. Talking about the characters, her sarcasm which is supposed to be funny just makes her look cold and bitter while his whiny-ness makes him look immature. They're not really likable characters.
Why is it that people can't step outside their own morals to attempt to understand the plight of others and their experiences? Yes, this movie is about an affair.... It happens a great deal out there in the real world, and a movie that deals with those emotions does not need to be endearing but perhaps instead, another exploration of lifes experiences. Isn't that what a movie is supposed to be?
You've got to view this as a reflection of the Sexual Revolution in its full 70s "swinging" mode, where infidelity within an unhappy marriage was viewed as less simply immoral than now. As such it's a charming time capsule with very good casting.
As for Jackson's Best Actress win--well, there really weren't a lot of good roles for women at the time. This is a particular instance (like Louise Fletcher's very-supporting Best Actress win for "Cuckoo's Nest") that proves how dismal the competition was in that era. Of course there were fine actress performances in films during the 70s, albeit ones too small or too foreign or too arthouse-y to be noticed by the Academy. But really, the whole era just sucked in terms of substantial women's leading roles.
The film's own dated sexism is apparent in its obliviousness toward divorcee Jackson's drop-everything-whenever-called neglect of her children (guess she has nothing better to do!) whereas much attention is given to Segal's neglect of his wife and children (he's a guy, so of course he's got better things to do!). As if her commitments aren't important, while his naturally are.
"A Touch of Class" seemed overrated at the time (this movie got multiple Oscar nominations in the same year as "Mean Streets"?!?), and it hasn't aged brilliantly. Nonetheless, it's an excellent example of a romantic comedy reflecting a very different moral complexity than movies allow nowadays.
Heck, I've rambled enough that I'm going to post this as an imbd review, so don't complain that I've repeated myself.
I watched it last night. I suppose I'll have to give it credit for the writers' attention to trying to have good dialogue in the film. It tries to hark back to comedies of yesteryear(e.g. His Girl Friday, The Lady Eve, Bringing Up Baby, Pat and Mike, etc.). Comedies tend to be harder to pull off than dramas. It tries to have a sophisticated take on modern life - I like how they both watch "Brief Encounter" which sort of mirrors their own affair in some way. Seagal seems warm and funny, Jackson has that whole "ice queen" thing going on - she is strong willed and I think Seagal's character finds that attractive. It was interesting to see Paul Sorvino before he became a mob character for "Goodfellas" and "The Sopranos". Does it work as a film? Err - not really. It has its moments and I think that Jackson and Seagal do put in some good performances, but it's not that memorable. Most memorable thing about it is that it won Jackson her second Oscar. I suspect that because comedies rarely get a look in at the Oscars that was why it got put on to the list that year. As film it doesn't stand up to the other films of that year, namely "Mean Streets" and "American Graffiti".