''Reuben, Reuben'' is a 1983
comedy-drama film directed by
Robert Ellis Miller
Robert Ellis Miller (July 18, 1927 – January 27, 2017) was an American film director.
Filmography
* '' Breaking Point'' (1963) - TV Series
* '' Any Wednesday'' (1966)
* '' Sweet November'' (1968)
* '' The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'' (1968 ...
and starring
Tom Conti
Tommaso Antonio Conti (born 22 November 1941) is a Scottish actor, theatre director, and novelist. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1979 for his performance in '' Whose Life Is It Anyway?'' and was nominated for the Academy A ...
,
Kelly McGillis
Kelly Ann McGillis (born July 9, 1957) is an American stage actress. She is known for her film roles such as Rachel Lapp in ''Witness'' (1985), for which she received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations; Charlie in ''Top Gun'' (1986); '' Made in ...
(in her film debut),
Roberts Blossom
Roberts Scott Blossom (March 25, 1924July 8, 2011) was an American poet and character actor of theatre, film, and television. He is best known for his roles as Old Man Marley in ''Home Alone'' (1990) and as Ezra Cobb in the horror film '' Derange ...
,
Cynthia Harris
Cynthia Lee Harris (August 9, 1934 – October 3, 2021) was an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for her roles in the television series '' Edward & Mrs. Simpson'' and the sitcom ''Mad About You''.
Life and career
C ...
, and
Joel Fabiani
Joel Fabiani (born September 28, 1936, in Watsonville, California) is an American film, television and theater actor. Known for his leading role in the British TV series '' Department S'', Fabiani has guest starred in '' The FBI'', ''Barnaby Jon ...
.
The film was adapted by
Julius J. Epstein from the 1967 play ''Spofford'' by
Herman Shumlin
Herman Shumlin (December 6, 1898, Atwood, Colorado – June 4, 1979, New York City) was a prolific Broadway theatrical director and theatrical producer beginning in 1927 with the play ''Celebrity'' and continuing through 1974 with a short run of '' ...
, which in turn was adapted from the 1964 novel ''Reuben, Reuben'' by
Peter De Vries.
The main character in DeVries's novel was based largely on the Welsh poet
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Unde ...
, who was a compulsive womanizer and lifelong alcoholic, finally succumbing to the effects of alcohol poisoning in November 1953, while on a speaking tour in America.
Plot
Gowan McGland (
Tom Conti
Tommaso Antonio Conti (born 22 November 1941) is a Scottish actor, theatre director, and novelist. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1979 for his performance in '' Whose Life Is It Anyway?'' and was nominated for the Academy A ...
) is a creatively blocked Scottish poet who ekes out a day-to-day existence by exploiting the generosity of strangers in an affluent
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
suburb, where he recites his verse to various arts groups and women's clubs. Gowan is something of a leech, cadging expensive dinners from well-off patrons (usually stealing the tips afterward) while seducing their bored wives and affecting a superior attitude toward the smug
bourgeois
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. Th ...
types he exploits.
Although a talented poet, he is a chronic drunk, indifferent to the wounds he can casually inflict with his wit. (When one of Gowan's middle-aged conquests undresses for him, he mutters, "Released from their support, her breasts dropped like hanged men," reducing her to tears.)
Gowan falls in love with a young college student, Geneva Spofford (
Kelly McGillis
Kelly Ann McGillis (born July 9, 1957) is an American stage actress. She is known for her film roles such as Rachel Lapp in ''Witness'' (1985), for which she received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations; Charlie in ''Top Gun'' (1986); '' Made in ...
), who has everything to lose from a relationship with a drunken deadbeat poet unable to hold a job. Gowan instigates two ugly incidents that eventually cause their breakup: first, a bar fight from which Geneva rescues him, and later, when he causes a scene in a fancy restaurant where the waiters know he has stolen their tips.
He also suffers an ironic comeuppance from Dr. Jack Haxby (
Joel Fabiani
Joel Fabiani (born September 28, 1936, in Watsonville, California) is an American film, television and theater actor. Known for his leading role in the British TV series '' Department S'', Fabiani has guest starred in '' The FBI'', ''Barnaby Jon ...
). The dentist, after finding out about the poet's affair with his wife, uses the ruse of free dental care for ruining Gowan's smile and forcing him to wear
dentures
Dentures (also known as false teeth) are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and are supported by the surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable ( removable partial denture ...
. When Gowan finds out, it is already too late, and the damage is irrevocable. (Gowan fears losing his teeth, equating it with death.)
Gowan prepares to hang himself, but while dictating his last thoughts into a
tape recorder
An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...
, he comes up with some good lines and regains his will to write. Unfortunately, his host's pet dog, an
Old English sheepdog
The Old English Sheepdog is a large breed of dog that emerged in England from early types of herding dog. Obsolete names for the breed include Shepherd's Dog and . The nickname ''Bob-tail'' (or ''Bobtail'') originates from how dogs of the bree ...
named Reuben, comes bounding into the room, causing Gowan to lose his balance before he can undo the noose, turning the aborted suicide into accidental asphyxiation. The film's title comprises Gowan's final words, an unsuccessful attempt to halt the dog.
Critical reception
John Simon of the ''
National Review
''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...
'' called ''Reuben, Reuben'' "dreadful".
''Reuben, Reuben'' holds a 100% rating on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
based on seven reviews .
Accolades
References
External links
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Movie stills
{{Robert Ellis Miller
1983 films
1983 comedy-drama films
American comedy-drama films
Films about suicide
Films about writers
American films based on plays
Films directed by Robert Ellis Miller
Films scored by Billy Goldenberg
Films with screenplays by Julius J. Epstein
Films set in Connecticut
1983 comedy films
1983 drama films
1980s English-language films
1980s American films