Chilly Scenes of Winter

Original title: Head Over Heels

1979
PG
1h 35m

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

1.7K

YOUR RATING

Working for the Utah state government as a report writer, Charles Richardson reminisces about his past love affair with Laura Connolly, with who he was immediately attracted upon first sight when she worked in the file section of his office. Their relationship was despite Laura then being married to ex-football player Jim, nicknamed Ox, he bringing an adolescent daughter, Rebecca, into their blended family. When she and Charlie met, Laura was already on a trial separation from Ox, which always tainted Laura and Charlie's relationship in her sense of guilt as Ox never did anything bad to precipitate that separation. Charlie can't help but think about Laura as he is still in love with her and wants to get back together with her, their relationship which ended when she returned to Ox, who never knew about Charlie in her life. Charlie's thoughts about Laura are only one complication in his life, those other complicating people being: his perpetually "half glass full sister" Susan, who shares the house he inherited from their grandmother; his longtime best friend Sam Maguire, a men's garments salesman who is even less motivated with work than Charlie; his mother Clara, whose eccentricities and suicidal tendencies may solely be a cry for attention; Clara's current husband Pete, who wants a bromance with Charlie despite knowing Charlie doesn't much like him; his boss, Mr. Patterson, who continually uses him as a guidance counselor in issues related to his teenage son; and his typist Betty, who is attracted to Charlie herself not knowing about his and Laura's past relationship, and who Charlie consciously and unconsciously uses in knowing she still is in touch with Laura.

Play trailer1:36

1 Video

65 Photos

Romantic Comedy Comedy Drama Romance

Charles is a bored civil servant struggling through a harsh Utah winter. He spends most of his time reflecting on his romance with Laura, a coworker who left him to return to her husband, an... Read allCharles is a bored civil servant struggling through a harsh Utah winter. He spends most of his time reflecting on his romance with Laura, a coworker who left him to return to her husband, an A-Frame salesman.Charles is a bored civil servant struggling through a harsh Utah winter. He spends most of his time reflecting on his romance with Laura, a coworker who left him to return to her husband, an A-Frame salesman.

Director
- Joan Micklin Silver
Writers
- Ann Beattie
- Joan Micklin Silver
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

1.7K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Joan Micklin Silver
Writers
- Ann Beattie
- Joan Micklin Silver
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
Ann Beattie: the author of the original novel, plays a waitress in a diner scene and was paid $26 for the non-speaking part. (A speaking part would have paid $225.)

Quotes
Sam: What do you want from a child her age? She never even went to Woodstock!
Charles: Neither did we.
Sam: But we *could* have.
Charles: That's true.
Susan: Listen, Woodstock was just a bunch of naked stoners looking for a place to pee. I saw the movie!

Alternate versions
Head over Heels was released in 1979 and flopped as a mainstream release. After it flopped, the producers took the film, reedited it, added a new ending that was faithful to the original novel by Ann Beattie (who appears as a waitress at the beginning of the film), and released the new version as Chilly Scenes of Winter (the same title as the original novel) in 1980 in film houses.

Connections
Featured in Sneak Previews: Running/Head Over Heels/Skatetown, U.S.A./The Legacy/Yanks (1979)

Soundtracks
Get It While You Can
Written by Jerry Ragovoy (as Ragovoy) and Mort Shuman (as Schuman)
Performed by Janis Joplin
Courtesy of CBS Records

User reviews37

Review

Featured review

6/10

low-calorie Woody Allen

This whimsical if inconsequential romantic comedy owes a lot of its idiosyncrasies to 'Annie Hall', but while not in the same league as Woody Allen it has an offbeat charm all its own. The original, numbskull title 'Head Over Heels' aptly describes love struck civil servant John Heard's fixation with married girlfriend Mary Beth Hurt. Neither character is particularly complicated, but an eccentric secondary cast and some unpredictable plot lines keep the film buoyant and enjoyable even at its most superficial, although it helps to share some of the couple's featherweight romantic angst. The script was adapted from a novel by Ann Beattie.