''It's My Turn'' is a 1980 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

starring

Jill Clayburgh Jill Clayburgh (April 30, 1944 – November 5, 2010) was an American actress known for her work in theater, television, and cinema. She received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Ac ...

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AF ...

, and

Charles Grodin Charles Sidney Grodin (April 21, 1935 – May 18, 2021) was an American actor, comedian, author, and television talk show host. Grodin began his acting career in the 1960s appearing in TV serials including '' The Virginian''. After a small part ...

. The film was directed by

Claudia Weill Claudia Weill is an American film director best known for her film '' Girlfriends'' (1978), starring Melanie Mayron, Christopher Guest, Bob Balaban and Eli Wallach, made independently and sold to Warner Brothers after multiple awards at Cannes ...

and written by

Eleanor Bergstein Eleanor Bergstein (born 1938) is an American writer, known for writing and co-producing ''Dirty Dancing'', a popular 1980s film based in large part on her own childhood. Life and career Bergstein was born in 1938 in the Brooklyn borough of New ...

Plot

Kate Gunzinger is a mathematics professor at a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

university. She lives with divorcé Homer, in a comfortable but not terribly passionate relationship. Kate travels to New York for a job interview and to attend the wedding of her widowed father. She is offered the job, though it does not look promising, as she will not be able to continue doing research. She meets the bride's son, Ben Lewin, a former professional baseball player. Ben is married, but a relationship develops with Kate. He takes her to

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

for an old-timers' day ceremony, and eventually, they have an affair. When they part, Kate goes back to Chicago and breaks up with Homer. She returns to work, where she is greeted with a gift sent by Ben.

Cast

Production

The film's title track, " It's My Turn", played during the final credits, was sung by

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

, with music by

Michael Masser Michael William Masser (March 24, 1941 – July 9, 2015) was an American songwriter, composer and producer of popular music. Early life Born to a Jewish family in Chicago to Ester Huff and William Masser, he attended the University of Illinois ...

and lyrics by

Carole Bayer Sager Carole Bayer Sager (born Carol Bayer on March 8, 1947) is an American lyricist, singer, and songwriter. Early life and career Bayer Sager was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Anita Nathan Bayer and Eli Bayer. Her family was Jewish. She grad ...

. The film had a tumultuous production due to the producer Ray Stark's sexism and sexual harassment of director Claudia Weill. He also interfered with her vision of the film. Due to this she directed no more feature films.

Critical reception

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 ...

of ''The Chicago Sun-Times'' gave the film 2 stars out of 4: The film was nominated for a

Razzie Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

for Worst Screenplay for Eleanor Bergstein.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:It's My Turn (Film) 1980 films 1980s feminist films 1980 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films Columbia Pictures films 1980s English-language films Films scored by Patrick Williams Films directed by Claudia Weill Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City 1980s American films