User reviews

A New Leaf (1971)

A kookie, forcibly odd movie. If at first you think it's just plain stupid, keep watching. It's really well balanced, smartly written, and acted with more restraint than usual for a madcap movie like this.

It's billed (by some) as filled with dark humor, but it didn't strike me as dark, not like the contemporary "Harold and Maude" for example. But there is an unusual tone achieved here that is just slightly different and worth getting a feel for. There is, for another example, a parallel in general plot and scenario to "How to Murder Your Wife" from 1965, complete with the willing butler and the hapless rich bachelor, but that movie is a silly 1960s farce and this one has an edge of almost poignancy to it. (I write that word and think Elaine May would cringe--only because I don't think there is an intention to be sentimental or even romantic, the last scene notwithstanding.)

The star is singularly Walter Matthau, who is almost necessarily goofy just by appearances. But maybe the first clever trick by the director, Elaine May, is putting the goofy man in even goofier situations so that he comes off as actually someone serious and believable. To have his character, Henry Graham, driving in his red Ferrari wearing a crash helmet is pure insanity, yet you don't blink an eye. The guy is self-absorbed and nuts. But also very likable, a little out of touch the way we all are, or wish we could be (if we had his money).

And of course the man's dilemma is stated immediately: the money he once had so much of is used up. And you have to see to appreciate the one long scene in the first twenty minutes with Graham meeting his financial adviser about some bounced checks. This is comedy at its absolute best--I mean that. Watch only this scene if you must (and I dare you to skip the rest of the movie once you do). The actor opposite Matthau here is William Redfield, who pulls off the most brilliant of performances.

The other leading character, eventually, is Elaine May herself as the clumsy, naive, filthy rich scientist who Graham sets his sights on for salvation. She is terrific, as well, and like Woody Allen of the same time ("Bananas" is also 1971) seems to direct her own comic zaniness with a calculated distance. The rest of the shenanigans play out with the necessary twists, and it's consistently funny.

So, see this for its freshness even four decades later. No wonder it has a (small but growing) cult following. May has suffered historically from having made the bizarrely awkward "Ishtar" and for being forever linked in the early 1960s as the comedy partner of Mike Nichols, whose movie career overshadows almost everyone's. But here, at least, she shines on her own terms, without distraction.

Elaine May has created a many layered comedy that stays with you, if you can connect with it. The paths ones life takes often has many bends. Henry (Matthau) has no idea how many. Born to a life style he can not maintain, he chooses to deal with adversity by ignoring it. Eventually reality shakes him loose, and he must learn to deal with things and give back to society rather than taking from it. Henrietta (May) is his victim and his savior. The epitome of a child who was always sent away, she has grown into a person who is not really there. Her catalyst and transmogrifier is Henry. Haunting dialog and poignant social exposition make this classic 70's sleeper worth every stretch.

Happily I can't remember the end that Elaine May disliked so much, but it didn't hurt my memory of the laughs. Both May and Matthau are as good as they get, and Matthau's car is a particular delight. The change in Matthau's character is completely believable. I don't understand why this gem is so generally overlooked. Perhaps it is because neither star is a STAR, but it's a pity.

Few people have ever even heard of "A New Leaf" and that is a shame. It is one of the funniest films in the last 30 years. Walter Matthau plays a spoiled rich man who discovers that his fortune is gone and he needs to marry in a short time to save what little he has left. His solution? Woo a rich woman, marry her, and kill her all in a week. So he picks the nerdy, klutzy, and not so attractive Elaine May (brilliant...she also wrote and directed) whose love is flowers. The film then follows Matthau as he attempts to carry out his plan. This film is full of BIG laughs and should be seen by anyone who loves a good comedy.

A NEW LEAF is so consistently side-splittingly funny that it always puzzles me that Elaine May sought an injunction from Paramount when they released the film and it opened at Radio City Music Hall. She was fighting them to take her name off the film up until the last minute because she said it was not her version.

Well, I never did see the Director's Cut of this movie, but I can tell you that A NEW LEAF is one of the funniest films of its kind I've ever seen in a memory that goes back to Charlie Chaplan's 1947 masterpiece, MONSIEUR VERDOUX about a serial murderer of rich wives.

If Miss May's version seems more like a series of TV blackout sketches, that may be due to the fact that she and Mike Nichols wrote some of the best comedy sketches to ever appear in that medium. Here the joke is extended for an hour and forty-two minutes as Matthau attempts to find a suitably rich wife that will enable him to resume his life as a wealthy man--without her.

It's so full of wonderful comic moments involving him and the clumsy, near-sighted botanist (Elaine May) who falls deeply in love with him and, in the end, makes him a better man. Their scenes together are matchless for pure comedy technique with every line uttered with such complete mastery of the art.

Summing up: A barrel of laughs.

Every now and then you stumble across a film that has been forgotten, or just ignored, and for the life of you, you can't figure out why. "A New Leaf" is such a film. Seeing this wonderful comedy for the first time was the movie-watching equivalent of discovering buried treasure.

One of the marks of an excellent comedy is one that you can watch a number of times and still laugh involuntarily even though you know what is coming. The performances of Matthau and May, as well as the supporting cast are that priceless.

So many funny and memorable scenes, but a couple of my favorites are: the meeting between Henry Graham (Matthau) and his accountant Beckett (Redfield) as Beckett tries to contain his frustration and explain to Matthau that his money is gone ("perfect"); and the scene where Graham crawls to his rich uncle (James Coco) to ask to borrow money while the uncle is favoring an electric pepper mill during his lavish meal (the expressions on Matthau's face are exquisite).

A delightful, black romantic comedy that somehow manages to be very light, and as a bonus even subtly tosses out some profound truths.

So I watched a new leaf from 1971 starring Walter Matthau. So is it a classic, well yeah, is it for everyone well no. It is very quirky, a little odd, a little dark, and has some of the best dialog I've ever heard. I am not a big sucker for a happy ending, especially when you see it coming but it fits. I won't go into it, but it is the only weak spot in this otherwise great comedy. The material doesn't seem dated and a remake could be effective, but this movie stands up over time. Just remember to take care of the carbon on your valves, inside joke if you see the movie you'll get it. if you like concise reviews of interesting films please read my other reviews at http://raouldukeatthemovies.blogspot.com/

This film stands up as one of the most sophisticated and heartfelt comedies ever put to celluloid. Watch it alongside "Hobson's Choice", "Hail The Conquering Hero", "The Apartment", "Shop Around The Corner", "Father Goose", "Trouble In Paradise", and "Love Streams". Although not a romance, "The Ladykillers" is a black comedy with a similar tone. See if "A New Leaf" doesn't hold up to these consensus classics.

Romance always involves the conflict between selfish vanity and naive devotion or love.

Most romantic comedies simply give up the fight at the end, and collapse into gooey, deluded sentimentality (e.g. "French Kiss", "Roxanne"). Some err in the opposite way, concluding on a bittersweet ambivalent implication that love is always dulled or compromised (e.g. "Nothing In Common", "Chasing Amy", "Purple Rose Of Cairo").

The acid test of a romantic comedy screenplay is its balance, its resolution of this issue. Can the lovers truly satisfy each other, without either one abusing or sacrificing his unique character, his intellect, his humanity?

The more starkly and intelligently these forces are presented and opposed, the more difficult the problem. Imagine, then, the most selfish, vain, sarcastic and sophisticated man imaginable, meeting and marrying (for her money) an utterly naive, pure, awkward, cloistered academic woman; a botanist.

Fans of irony enjoy silly dated romances for the stereotypes, the gratuitous sloppy honeyed sentiment, the emotional denial. "A New Leaf" does not shrink from the harsh side of the world, from the dark human character, and (except for the music) it has not dated an hour since its release.

The score may be slightly dated, mixed too high in places, but the music is sweet uptown Manhattan violin-muzak, reminiscent of "Theme From A Summer Place", so why quibble?

Henry Graham marries Henrietta Lowell intending to kill her. He is too bad to be true. Yet, his venal motives are only an exaggeration of our own. He doesn't want to be married; he wants to be free! He doesn't want to share, he wants everything for himself! He has never needed people to like him. Only now, he is desperate for money.

Henrietta, Henry's opposite, is foremost a botanist. She is a pure academic, uninitiated in the ways of sophistication, deception, vanity or power, despite her wealth. Her mind is unprejudiced, but intensely isolated, focused. She lives in a rarefied climate. Her dream in life is to discover and catalog a new species of plant, a "new leaf", which would cause her name to be modestly memorialized in the scientific literature.

These two opposites must combine in everyone. It is the problem of romance, most precisely stated. We love. We trust. Yet, we have infantile desires and vanities. We must struggle in a corrupt world that doesn't give a damn about our delicate preoccupations, to wrest from it the admiration and pleasure our dark hearts desire. We are Henry, we are Henrietta. Can these characters love each other? Can we accept, integrate ourselves?

"A New Leaf" rollicks with endlessly clever, sarcastic, inventive, trenchant dialog, reels through convoluted and finely wrought complications, revels in every character, each played by a brilliant comedian. Matthau was born to play this archetype of morbid, deranged, malevolent and dissolute urbanity. Elaine May conjures an ineffable, lethal sexiness, her myopic naivete perfectly complementing her gentle intellectual clarity. The film is an immaculate, fierce, luminous, huge-hearted gem.

This was a "fair" comedy, a story about a man who was a rich guy but lost all his money. He wants to go back to rich again so he marries this nerdy rich woman. Wow, what a man of principal! Walter Matthau was a good choice to play that role. He usually came across as kind of rogue, no matter role he played. Here, he is "Henry Graham" and Elaine May plays the female lead, "Henrietta Lowell."

As opposed to Matthau's hit-you-over-the-head kind of humor, I liked May's dry sense of wit. The humor is very secular, by the way. I think that characterizes this comedy: mildly funny, but consistently so.

What shocked me was that this movie was rated "G" and had a number of swear words in it, such as "S.O.B." How can that be?

One of those films which has no real highlight but which never the less leaves you feeling that you have just really enjoyed the movie. Matthau plays his roll in a way that no other could, making you feel real contempt for his character until at the last fence, he redeems himself completely. Producing and acting in the major supporting role shows the bungling and accident prone Elaine May on top form also. A real forgotten gem that is certainly worth the view.

It seems a bit odd to me now that I even bought and watched this, but it was on a reliable Blu-ray label and I had fond memories of Walter Matthau in the excellent, Charley Varrick. I also vaguely remembered Elaine May, knew that many loved the film and assumed it would be funny. Unfortunately not very funny for me. There are amusing scenes but the awkwardness of both the leads (clearly charming to some) grates with me and makes it difficult for me to be amused. George Rose excels as the butler/valet and there is a grotesquely amusing scene with James Coco. The final scenes are remarkably well shot and really quite touching but we have had to suffer much dross to get to this point.

Il not recount the story, as others have. The lack of response and proper public recognition for this film my be due to Elaine May's very dry wit and wry sense of humor, which, I think, simply sailed over the heads of many viewers. And it's truly most unfortunate, as this is a VERY funny film (for those who are perceptive and appreciate the subtler and darker shades of humor and life)! To the dude who rated it a "1": "A New Leaf" was nominated for 2 Golden Globes (Comedy -- Best Picture and Best Actress) and for the WGA's (the industry's official Writer's Guild -- i.e., her peers, other screenwriters) writing award for best comedy (from another medium) that year! No offense, but I value my own (and their) sensibilities a bit more than yours!! And it's impeccably acted, as others have mentioned, filled with flawless comedic timing and wry, wry wit. Simply wonderful.

After burning through his trust fund, New York City playboy Walter Matthau must find a wealthy woman to marry or else lose everything, including his dignity; Elaine May (who also directed and adapted the screenplay from a short story by Jack Ritchie) is Matthau's target--a rich, klutzy plain-Jane botanist and bleeding heart. Not especially sharp (or satiric where it needed to be), but nevertheless a lot of fun. Matthau scores some big laughs; when he suddenly takes charge and fires May's thieving household staff, Matthau is comically forceful (a superb mixture which suits him). He even manages to make some of the lesser scenes (particularly a camping trip near the finish) amusing. May is sweetly frazzled and gives herself some good lines, yet she appears to understand this is Walter's movie and so allows him room to run the gamut from sneaky conniver to protective husband. The editing is noticeably ragged, with some scenes cut off too quickly and James Coco's role (as Matthau's uncle) amounting to little more than a cameo. However, when May gets her timing right and relies on the smart dialogue rather than the somewhat awkward physical comedy, the results are very appealing. **1/2 from ****

Elaine May's directorial debut may be a disappointment but it's a noble disappointment: there's no question that May found herself working in then-uncharted territory, trying to find a naturalistic, semi-improvisational comedic style not generally seen in films of the period. Clearly her influence can be found in the works of masters like Albert Brooks (especially in the use of long takes) and the urbane Woody Allen that would emerge with "Annie Hall". But that doesn't solve the problem of "A New Leaf", which meanders along at its own fitful pace and with May's interests kept pretty much private; she doesn't seem to want to let the audience in on her inner workings and what's important to her never really translates to the viewer. Walter Matthau plays a roué who finds himself suddenly broke and must find a wealthy wife in order to settle his debts, finding her in May's naive, clumsy spinster. May's screenplay, her first, never allows her characters to come alive: Matthau hides behind a wall of continual indignation and May, with her staring and stammering, just isn't that funny; the two are played too broadly to connect with each other, let alone the audience. As an artist, May knows what she wants but struggles to develop it and the darkness she hints at (Matthau constantly contemplates murder) doesn't become a plot point until the end and then becomes an unwanted pathos. (That darkness would later find fuller expression in "Mikey And Nicky".) While it's apparent that her approach to comedy is a new one, here she hasn't yet developed the chops that would make "A New Leaf" work.

My room mate and I love this film. We're always quoting lines from it.

"There's carbon on the valves!"

"I've achieved a sort of immortality. As a footnote and under G."

"Henrietta, you have your head in the arm hole!"

I respect Ms. May so much I feel a little guilty enjoying the film she disowned. I hope one day she will, if possible, do a "Touch Of Evil" style re-editing of the film, so that we can enjoy it as she originally intended. I guess you could say that this is my hope and my dream, which is to say that my hope and my dream are the same (my dream.)

Or an unorthodox love story, if you prefer; the ultimate message seems to be that these two people find contentment in life only when they find mutual acceptance. You can see the ending coming a mile away, and Elaine May's direction is sometimes choppy and clumsy, cutting certain scenes too short and letting others play too long. But May shines in front of the camera: the bookish, naive, socially maladjusted, good-hearted Henerietta is played to perfection. She is also exceptionally attractive, with or without glasses. **1/2 out of 4.

Delightfully wacky, oddball comedy. Elaine May's deliciously inept, awkward, filthy rich botanist character is possibly one of her best roles ever. Walter Matthau is wonderful as a spoiled, superannuated rich kid.

I don't think this film ever got much recognition, but in my estimation it's right up there with some of the best off-beat films ever, like Harold & Maude, King of Hearts, etc.

Now that second-run movie theaters are a thing of the past, perhaps the definition of cult status will be harder to determine; but this film certainly deserves to be there.

I adore this film! Every time I see it, it just gets better and better. Mind you, the first time I saw it, I thought "Hmmm... ain't so sure 'bout this one". I don't recall the reason behind watching it again after my initial luke warm reaction; I'm only glad I did.

"A New Leaf" concerns the exploits of spoilt New York "gentleman", Henry Graham (the truly wonderful Walter Matthau) and his attempts to find a rich wife who can replenish the fortune that he's frittered away. The charmingly naive and unsuspecting Henrietta (the multi-talented Elaine May) is his chosen victim and his intent is to marry her, murder her and spend her considerable fortune at his leisure. However, he doesn't reckon with her con-merchant lawyer and his entorage of assorted leeches and soon finds himself taking charge of the badly organised household that's happily ripping off poor, trusting Henrietta left, right and centre.

It's largely the performance of Walter Matthau that makes this film such a joy to watch. Although his character never really seems to lose his arrogance or selfishness, you can't help warming to him and delighting in the way Henrietta manages to change his intentions without ever seeming to know it. It's also worth watching for the wonderfully understated performance of George Rose as Harold, Henry's "gentleman's gentleman"; always aware of what his employer is up to but discreet enough to do no more than pass the most innocuous of comments in his lilting Scottish accent.

Don't pay too much heed to what the detractors have said about this movie. Take a look for yourself and you might find that its innate charm completely wins you over.

Henry Graham (Walter Matthau) is told that he has spent all of his trust fund and is now penniless. He is suddenly poor. His hated uncle gives a loan worthy of a loan shark. He decides to marry rich. He finds oddball rich plant lady Henrietta Lowell (Elaine May).

This black comedy has an interesting early scene with Henry and his accountant. I wasn't sure about this character. He's not that funny and rather hateful. On the other hand, Henrietta is endearing as an oddball. It becomes fascinating. Writer/director Elaine May is also playing the lead. I don't think that I've seen her doing much acting. I fascinated by her. There is an inconsistency with Henry. He starts off as completely clueless in finances but when he starts dealing with Henrietta's money, he seems rather competent. This story may work better if he's simply a poor gold-digging hustler. The movie would lose that fascinating accountant scene but the sacrifice may be needed for the character. This movie is a mixed bag. I like Elaine May's writing. She's interesting as an actress but it may not be her best talent.

There is a category of films that includes several movies made by serious artists which emerged in a final form much different from that originally conceived. This group includes Erich Von Stroheim's silent masterpiece "Greed"------originally made as a movie that ran for over nine hours!; John Huston's filming of Stephen Crane's "Red Badge of Courage"-----finally presented to us by M-G-M in a badly mutilated 69 minute fragment of its original form; Orson Welles' conception of Booth Tarkington's "Magnificent Ambersons"---taken away from him by RKO bureaucrats who then edited it down to a truncated 88 minutes; and Frank Capra's "Lost Horizon"---originally released at 130 minutes in length and then chopped down to 109 minutes in subsequent re-releases.

We will never know what these works would have ended up looking like. Even in a recent attempt to "restore" "Greed" to something approximating its original form, the missing links are supplied through available studio "still" photos. Such travesties have been going on for years. Judy Garland's much admired version of "A Star Is Born" can now be seen only in a "restored" version that follows a fate somewhat similar to that of "Greed." The same is true of "Lost Horizon." Nonetheless, we should be grateful that a portion of these films did survive, to give us the pleasure of seeing something very special---even if only in a limited sense,

This takes us to "A New Leaf." As most film goers know, Elaine May wrote a significantly different (and much darker) screenplay than the movie we now see on the screen. But to her credit, the film she made had so many elements of true greatness in it that the studio edited version now available is very enjoyable on its own terms. It is one of the most underrated comedies of the 1970's and surely one of the funniest and most inspired.

The ensemble of actors May gathered created some superb comic characters---and have never done any better work in comedy. May and Walter Matthau's chemistry in the leading roles worked exceptionally well. William Redfield (who died much too young) is wonderful in a carefully understated role. And singled out for special recognition is George Rose as Matthau's long-suffering valet---a nuanced presentation by a very gifted actor.

Matthau's romance of May is sweet, touching, at times somewhat edgy and always engaging. The growth of their relationship from an almost bloodless union of convenience to the quite tender match up at the end is but one example of the high level of May's comedic writing and the very capable acting of May and Matthau. Too bad that they never had the opportunity to appear together again.

"A New Leaf" deserves both a wider audience, and repeated viewings to appreciate just what a great film it really is. As others have noted, it also demands a good DVD presentation for that whole new generation of lovers of fine comedy who have never seen it before.

Can anyone watch Renee Taylor in her one great scene with Matthau uttering the line "Don't let them out!" possibly ever forget this movie?

Finally---a personal appeal to Elaine May. Some day (soon we hope), "A New Leaf" will be released to DVD in an edition worthy of the film so many people have come to admire. You will no doubt be asked to supply the DVD with an audio commentary on the film. It is essential----really critical----that your views on the making of this film be preserved for present and future generations. Almost 40 years have passed since its original release. Tell us your story!

... as I remember seeing it on TV in the 1970's when I was still in high school. In every way imaginable I saw myself as Henrietta -awkward, shy, clumsy, dismissed by everyone. Forty years later I still recognize that awkward person Elaine May is portraying. Yet Henrietta seems completely clueless that she is perceived this way, which was something I found hard to buy, but it does make her more endearing and make this film more about Henry's journey as he marries this totally helpless yet wealthy creature in order to get out from under his financial problems and discovers he has to take over every aspect of her life outside of her profession as botanist in order to preserve her wealth and his rarefied sense of order. You might say Henry dislikes his new wife so much because he initially sees himself as her - he says so at the beginning of the film when he finds out he has no money. He confides in his gentleman's gentleman that he has no talents or ambitions other than being rich. This is not the case, but this is how he sees himself. This really IS the case for Henrietta yet she does not see herself that way. So, in a really quirky way they are made for each other.

How did Henry know that he would be the beneficiary of Henrietta's estate if he should manage to either kill her or arrange "an accident" and get away with it? Someone with so much money and so many hangers-on as Henrietta would almost certainly have a will prior to their meeting. A set-up by Henrietta's crooked lawyer (also only interested in her money) and Henry's uncle (Henry is on the hook for a loan from him that will mean the forfeiture of all of his assets should he fail) made to make Henry look like the fortune hunter he is backfires and Henrietta changes her will and leaves everything to Henry, with the entire sad tail of Henry's poverty just endearing him even more to her!

Elaine May has always been an underrated talent, and as for Walter Matthau, what can I say? In 1968 he makes "The Odd Couple" and has me believing he's a the world's biggest working class slob, oblivious to his financial condition as long as poker night happens, and three years later he's got me believing he's the world's biggest snob interested only in savoring the finer things in life and dedicated "to traditions that were dead before you were born" - to put it in the words of Henry's (Matthau's) gentleman's gentleman.

If you have a chance, give it a look. It is full of subtle dry humor executed to perfection by the cast. Only after the cynical 70's began could such a film be made. Maybe if it had been made after Watergate the public would have been cynical enough to appreciate it at the box office.

The good: Walther Matthau is who he is, a charming AND obnoxious fellow, with a loud mouth, with lots of mischievous behaviour. He is always fun to watch, BUT...

The bad: unfortunately this movie is simply lacking (big time) in good jokes. It is also lacking in a good "sparring partner" to launch the jokes of Walter Matthay, like Jack Lemmon often ideally was...

This movie is simply going nowhere. It's boring, tedious, terribly dated. Only braindead elderly would rate this with anything higher than a 7. Really weird that there are so many 9 or 10 star reviews for this movie. I guess only people who loved this movie and even knew it existed wrote a review, because I cant imagine anyone wanting to artificially fix the Imdb score for this movie, which nobody (in their right mind) will ever remember...