''Alex in Wonderland'' is a 1970 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by

Paul Mazursky Irwin Lawrence "Paul" Mazursky (April 25, 1930 – June 30, 2014) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. Known for his dramatic comedies that often dealt with modern social issues, he was nominated for five Academy Awards: three t ...

, written with his partner

Larry Tucker Larry Alan Tucker (November 11, 1935 – November 16, 2016) was an American politician. Born in Carbondale, West Virginia, Tucker went to Montgomery High School. He then graduated from West Virginia University Institute of Technology. He s ...

, starring

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films ''Citizen X'' (1995) an ...

and

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Em ...

. Sutherland plays Alex Morrison, a director agonizing over the choice of follow-up project after the success of his first feature film. The situation is similar to the one Mazursky found himself in following the success of ''

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' is a 1969 American comedy-drama film directed by Paul Mazursky, written by Mazursky and Larry Tucker (screenwriter), Larry Tucker, who also produced the film, and starring Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould, ...

'' (1969) and he casts himself in a role as a new-style Hollywood producer. His daughter Meg Mazursky appears as Amy, one of Morrison's daughters. Noted teacher of improvisational theater

Viola Spolin Viola Spolin (November 7, 1906 — November 22, 1994) was an American theatre academic, educator and acting coach. She is considered an important innovator in 20th century American theater for creating directorial techniques to help actors to be ...

plays Morrison's mother. The film also features

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

s by

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

and

Jeanne Moreau Jeanne Moreau (; 23 January 1928 – 31 July 2017) was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française. Mo ...

, and seems to be inspired by their work. In particular, Fellini's ''

8½ ' (Italian title: , ) is a 1963 surrealist comedy-drama film directed and co-written (with Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano and Brunello Rondi) by Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini. The metafictional narrative centers on Guido Anselmi, played by Ma ...

'' (1963), about a film director who's artistically stuck, is referenced. Moreau sings two songs on the soundtrack, "Le Vrai Scandale" (for which she wrote the words) and "Le Reve Est La."

Plot

Young director Alex Morrison feels compelled to follow his recent box-office hit with another blockbuster. While mulling over this dilemma, the director's mind wanders to his past, his present, and probable future.

Cast

as Alex Morrison *

as Beth Morrison *

as Hal Stern *Meg Mazursky as Amy Morrison *Glenna Sargent as Nancy *

as Mrs. Morrison *

Andre Philippe Andre Philippe (November 3, 1927 – April 29, 2007) was an American film and television actor. He was best known for playing the role of Mr. Everett Johns in the American drama television series ''Mr. Novak'', and the role of Paul in '' Hawaii ...

as Andre * Michael Lerner as Leo *Joan Delaney as Jane *

Neil Burstyn Neil Burstyn (July 17, 1939 – November 9, 1978), known as Neil Nephew, was an American actor, writer and story editor. His works as an actor include ''Panic in Year Zero!'' (1962), ''The Rebel Rousers'' (1970) and ''Alex in Wonderland'' (197 ...

as Norman *Leon Frederick as Lewis *

as himself *

as herself

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave the film four stars, saying "the human story does work, remarkably well, and if the movie doesn't hold together we're not disposed to hold that against it."

Emanuel Levy Emanuel Levy is an American film critic and professor who has taught at Columbia University, New School for Social Research, Wellesley College, Arizona State University and UCLA Film School. Levy currently teaches in the department of cinem ...

was more critical, calling it "arty and pretentious, lacking real wit." Tony Mastroianni of the

Cleveland Press The ''Cleveland Press'' was a daily American newspaper published in Cleveland, Ohio from November 2, 1878, through June 17, 1982. From 1928 to 1966, the paper's editor was Louis B. Seltzer. Known for many years as one of the country's most in ...

gave it a similarly negative review. In a retrospective review written in 2011,

Nathan Rabin Nathan Rabin (; born April 24, 1976) is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for ''The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013.

of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' found the movie to be "pleasant" and suggested that "Studios, audiences, and critics may have expected a major statement after ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice''. Instead, Mazursky delivered a pleasant shrug of a movie, an affable afterthought."

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

described the movie as "intriguing, if deeply flawed."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alex In Wonderland 1970 comedy-drama films American black comedy films American comedy-drama films American satirical films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Paul Mazursky Films about filmmaking American independent films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films about film directors and producers 1970s American films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links