10

SPOILERS!

Blake Edwards' 1979 hit comedy/drama 10 is one of those films that had long been available for my consumption, yet I never got around to watching it in my younger days.  As you've probably read, I had pay TV channels like HBO and Showtime from adolescence onward, and this movie played often.  I did catch a scene or two, but for some reason it did not intrigue me.  This is despite its reputation, and the presence of the woman who would rate an "11", Bo Derek.  She was very attractive, but never did much for me.  I think it was that ridiculous, though trend setting, braided hair.

Also, like the character she portrays in 10, she just seemed so vacuous.  She managed a conversation or two with Johnny Carson, OK, sure, but, eh...I also had the misfortune of watching 1981's TARZAN THE APE MAN, a deservedly forgotten dud in which Mrs. Derek starred.  I did not see 1984's BOLERO, which I heard was even worse.  How this is possible is not an investigation I desire to pursue.   There was also the later GHOSTS CAN'T DO IT, in which our current President co-starred.  He won a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actor.  Too bad they don't hand out such accolades to (ersatz) politicians.

Speaking of "Bolero", Ravel's music figures quite significantly in the later going of 10, particularly a key scene that I will not give away.  Actually, two scenes. Sales of the piece went through the roof, as did the careers of Derek and lead actor Dudley Moore, who plays a just turned forty-two year old composer named George Webber.  He's highly successful, and has a loving, if somewhat melancholy girlfriend named Sam (Julie Andrews), with whom he has heady (almost Tarantino-esque, for you latter day viewers) discussions about the meaning of the word "broad", and his own general sexism.  George is also suffering classic middle age crazy, further ignited when he glimpses a woman (Derek) on the way to her wedding.  Against all rationality, he trails her to the ceremony, but not before hitting a Beverly Hills cop car head on.

It gets worse for poor George.  Bee stings, intense dental visits, slurred speech, and tumbles down hills will follow as he plays detective to find where his new vision will spend her honeymoon.  Plenty of opportunities for Edwards to stage some elaborate, highly entertaining slapstick.  Some of it will remind you of his PINK PANTHER movies.  There's a recurring gag involving George's hedonist neighbor, who is hosting what appears to be a week long orgy. Those telescopes are useful props.  Another particularly uproarious scene involves the wedding officiator and his admission that he really wanted to write music rather than enter the priesthood.  His rendition of an original composition is quite hilarious, and reminded me of Candice Bergen's performance in STARTING OVER.   Then the priest's ancient housekeeper wanders in to serve tea, and the scene becomes unbearably funny.

But 10 is also successful at exploring the weighty sense of inadequacy someone George's age might experience.  Lost youth, a bit of cognitive dissonance.  George is not going quietly into his middle years.  Some viewers will wince at the woe-is-me bit George displays, but that's quite the point.  He will inevitably come full circle and realize that he's one lucky bastard, but not before some painful (in every sense of the word) misadventures.  Yes, some comical, but also some wistful, moments of soul searching.  George finds a wise bartender named Don (Brian Dennehy) to whom he can vent, perhaps in a healthier fashion than with his own L.A. shrink.  Barkeeps are good listeners.

George will also meet a sad woman at that bar named Mary (Dee Wallace), and how their brief relationship plays out will touch on insecurities and impairments all too familiar to many viewers.  While I watched the film, I felt Mary's story wasn't satisfactorily resolved, but it was quite realistic.  So was the eventual meeting and discussion between George and the object of his lust, Jenny (Derek).  I especially liked how Edwards concluded their big scene.  No frills, no contrived emotional outbursts.  A real fine point on the emptiness of the so-called pursuit of happiness.

10 never felt uneven or schizophrenic to me.  Edwards (and perhaps George) gets to have it both ways in this movie.  The director concocts silliness and pathos in a favorable ratio, with a fair (and surprising) amount of eroticism to boot.  George learns his lessons but gets what he wants on the way there, but you know what they say about being careful for what you wish....