''Just the Way You Are'' is a 1984 American comedy-drama film starring

Kristy McNichol Christina Ann McNichol (born September 11, 1962) is an American former actress. She is known for such film roles as Angel in ''Little Darlings'', Polly in '' Only When I Laugh'', and Barbara Weston in the TV sitcom ''Empty Nest''. She won two Emmy ...

and

Michael Ontkean Michael Leonard Ontkean (born 24 January 1946) is a retired Canadian actor. Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ontkean relocated to the United States to attend the University of New Hampshire on a hockey scholarship before pursuing ...

and directed by

Édouard Molinaro Édouard Molinaro (13 May 1928 – 7 December 2013) was a French film director and screenwriter. Biography He was born in Bordeaux, Gironde. He is best known for his comedies with Louis de Funès (''Oscar'', ''Hibernatus''), '' My Uncle Benja ...

Plot

Susan is a professional

flautist The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

in Philadelphia who has been handicapped since childhood and is forced to wear a leg brace to get around. She is all set to enter into a

lavender marriage A lavender marriage is a male–female mixed-orientation marriage, undertaken as a marriage of convenience to conceal the socially stigmatised sexual orientation of one or both partners. The term dates from the early 20th century and is used alm ...

with her gay investment banker friend Frank in order to help him hide his sexuality so he can get ahead in business and get a big promotion, but decides not to when she realizes that the marriage won't meet her (or his) sexual needs. Shortly afterwards she accepts the offer to travel to Europe on a concert tour. While in Paris, she comes up with an idea to disguise her leg by putting it in a cast and travel on her own to the French Alps to be treated without pity. Not looking to find romance, Susan however has become the interest of Peter, a news photographer. They soon fall in love and Peter dumps his insufferable and narcissistic girlfriend Bobbie for her. Susan is forced to decide if she should tell Peter the truth about herself.

Main cast

as Susan Berlanger *

as Peter Nichols *

Kaki Hunter Kaki Hunter (born Katherine Susan Hunter; November 6, 1955) is an American actress, architect, and writer, perhaps best known for her role in the trilogy of ''Porky's'' films in the 1980s. Life and career Hunter was born in Silver Spring, Maryla ...

as Lisa Elliott *

André Dussollier André Dussollier (born 17 February 1946) is a French actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as f ...

as François Rossignol * Catherine Salviat as Nicole Schallon *

Robert Carradine Robert Reed Carradine ( ; born March 24, 1954) is an American actor. A member of the Carradine family, he made his first appearances on television Western series such as ''Bonanza'' and his brother David's TV series, ''Kung Fu''. Carradine's fir ...

as Sam Carpenter *

Alexandra Paul Alexandra Elizabeth Paul (born July 29, 1963) is an American actress, activist, health coach, and former model. Paul began her career modeling in New York before landing her first major role in John Carpenter's horror film ''Christine'' (1983). ...

as Bobbie *

Lance Guest Lance R. Guest (born July 21, 1960) is an American film and television actor, best known for his starring role in 1984's ''The Last Starfighter''. Biography Guest developed a serious interest in acting as a freshman while attending Saratoga H ...

as Jack, The Answering Service Guy *

Tim Daly James Timothy Daly (born March 1, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Joe Hackett on the NBC sitcom ''Wings'' and his voice role as Clark Kent/Superman in '' Superman: The Animated Series'', as well as his recurring role as ...

as Frank Bantam * Patrick Cassidy as Steve Haslachez *

Gérard Jugnot Gérard Jugnot (; born 4 May 1951) is a French actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. Jugnot was one of the founders of the comedy ''troupe'' Le Splendid in the 1970s, along with, among others, his high-school friends Christian Cl ...

as Desk Clerk, Hotel Monte Blanc *

André Oumansky André Oumansky (born 15 August 1933) is a French actor. He appeared in more than eighty films since 1958. Filmography References External links * 1933 births Living people French male film actors French male television actors ...

as Paris Doctor * Billy Kearns as Earl Cooper, Frank's Boss * Joyce Gordon as Answering Service Lady *

Wayne Robson Wayne Robson (April 29, 1946 – April 4, 2011) was a Canadian television, stage, voice and film actor known for playing the part of Mike Hamar, an ex-convict and sometime thief, on the Canadian sitcom ''The Red Green Show'' from 1993 to 2006, as ...

as Theater Assistant Manager * Jean-Claude Ostrander as French Ski Instructor *

Garrick Dowhen Garrick Storm Dowhen (born December 21, 1945)''Who's Who in Entertainment''. (1992). Wilmette, Illinois: Marquis Who's Who. is an American actor and screenwriter, active as an actor mainly in the 1980s and early 1990s. Dark-haired and chisel-jaw ...

as Bill Holland, American Ski Coach

Production

The movie was filmed in Toronto and in France. In France, Kristy McNichol suffered an emotional breakdown while filming (later diagnosed as a chemical imbalance), and production had to be interrupted for a year while she recovered. Kristy said she was ready to go back to work within a month, but that shooting the snow scenes for the film's second-half would have to wait until the following winter. "It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life getting through that film."

Reference list

External links

* * * * 1984 films 1984 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films Films directed by Édouard Molinaro Films scored by Vladimir Cosma Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films set in the Alps American skiing films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films Films about disability {{1980s-comedy-drama-film-stub