MovieChat Forums > An Unmarried Woman (1978) Discussion > Nomination for the most uncomfortable sc...

Nomination for the most uncomfortable scene goes to...

posted 12 years ago by shannongr
12 replies | jump to latest

...Erica telling her therapist about getting her first period!!! I love this movie, but that scene always makes me cringe! Anyone else?

[–] Shilpot7 12 years ago

No, it didn't make me uncomfortable at all.

[–] shannongr 12 years ago

Well, to each his/her own, but it always gets to me. I actually wonder if Mazursky wrote it that way to underscore the awkwardness of a first appointment.

[–] terripinder 10 years ago

Every time I see that scene, I get the feeling that it was totally improvised by Clayburgh and Russianoff (the therapist), and that the director told them to just "go with it" and see what comes out. Russianoff was a genuine Psychologist in real life, after all.

[–] lynnsrealm-1 10 years ago

I agree. It didn't seem scripted at all. None of their sessions did

[–] rrb 10 years ago

In the DVD commentary, Mazursky says he told Russianoff (a well-known therapist he asked to do the part) to feel free to improvise with Clayburgh - to take the conversation where she would with an actual client. Very good direction that resulted in two very genuine scenes.

[–] artistathome 10 years ago

Just saw the movie again after 36 years and it is so obvious that the therapist is not an actress but an actual doctor.

I have no clue what I thought 36 years ago about the doc. I probably thought she was a really good actress.

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] zuccascatering 7 years ago

My opinion exactly! I wish there were more anecdotal references under the trivia section. I thought it'd be much more interesting than it is.

[–] DaisyMe1975 10 years ago

No because I can kind of relate :) It's a long scene though :)

[–] Jack_Rabbit_Slims91 8 years ago

My mum turns to me and says: Wow, you must be enjoying this part. 

'Buffalo hunting? I've gone buffalo huntin'? What the *beep* does that mean? Buffalo huntin'!'

[–] cookiela2001 7 years ago

I thought that scene was interesting...and so relatable, as to how one starts discussing random things from the past in great detail in therapy, not sure exactly what triggered them or how they fit into the present day.

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[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

It’s awkward because Erica is so uncomfortable talking about it. Erica acts like a scared teenager when she talks about her period and later about men and sex. Flash forward to a post 2000 world and we see tv ads for tampons and pads with confident, bold women. It’s hard to understand someone like Erica in this context. Consider that she grew up in the 50s, came into adulthood in the ‘60s, then was abandoned by her husband in ‘70s. Those three decades saw rapid social changes, especially for women. That’s part of what makes this film so interesting. Seeing Erica step out of the well-defined role of the married Manhattanite into being her own independent person.