CliqueClackThe Heidi Chronicles: Sometimes tedious, sometimes insightful
This Throwback Thursday entry tossed me in a deep pool of unknown territory where it was sink or swim. Fortunately, I survived … but I didn’t learn much from it.
The things guys will do for their girlfriends …
In this case? It’s what I did for Jamie Lee Curtis.
Willy-nilly and throwing caution to the wind, I dove into The Heidi Chronicles knowing only Curtis, Tom Hulce and Kim Cattrall starred in it and that it had contracted a bevy of awards in its wake as a play before being adapted to film. Rather daring … wouldn’t you say? (Hokay … stupid, maybe. Get off me …)
Little did I know the story was going to be chock-full of feminism throughout, something I will never, ever be able to wrap my head around completely. Why? Well … I’m male for one thing. (Thanks for noticing.) That right there discludes me from fully understanding the feminist state of mind. Yeah … I admit it: I’m far from the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to the ideologies of feminism. And I’ll tell you something else, too — this film didn’t help educate me in the least with regard to what little I do know.
Leading up to a somewhat frantic scene at a friend of a friend’s apartment, we witness Heidi (Jamie Lee Curtis) in various episodes of her early life from high school and onward attempting to come into her own, trying to find herself while taking a stand on exactly who she (thinks she) wants to be. Which leads to that aforementioned scene that oozes feminism.
In the piece, there’s a lot of “Rah-rah-rah! Women are people, too, so let’s fight the good old boys’ establishment! Let’s get ‘em, girls!” but even they aren’t quite so confident of their efforts. It appears more a meeting of self-promotion, back slapping and cheer leading than anything else, complete with an underlying whiny-ness that makes the group seem, well … more like whiners than advocates for their cause. Which, in turn, confused the hell out of me. If you’re rallying around the idea of feminism as they seemed to be in the film, then I would have expected them to dive in head first. Or in the words of Fran (Julie White) the biggest feminist bulldog of the group: “Do you shave your legs or don’t you?”
But … those whiny attitudes were precisely what confuzzled me about what they were attempting to voice, further muddling what I (barely) know about feminism.
I’ll say it again from above: The things guys will do for their girlfriends …
So, right away in the film, I’m at more of a disadvantage than when I pushed “Play” on the remote control. But it didn’t completely sour my experience of the story. Elements of it were rather enjoyable, such as Heidi’s (a bit too long and drawn out) women’s club keynote speech which I appreciated more and more as it went on, turning what the group thought she was going to say (“Rah-rah-rah! Women are people, too, and we deserve to be happy!”) into a confusing “What the hell just happened?!?” number instead. Because that’s who Heidi is in the film — a girl, and then a woman, in search of herself and in search of her “place” in the grand scheme of things.
It’s a good thing I went into this film without any preconceived notions. Had I delved in expecting one thing and getting what I got instead (some confusion, some interesting character studies with bits of comedy thrown in to keep things off balance) I would have hated it. More so, I would have avoided it altogether knowing it wasn’t anywhere near my wheelhouse of enjoyable movies. But I’ve always (yes … I used the word “always”) been one of those individuals who believes it’s good to remove yourself from a comfort zone now and again and experience the unknown. You won’t know if you like something unless you give it a whirl. (In case you didn’t catch the clue, I didn’t hate The Heidi Chronicles. A better statement would be I tolerated it.)
Still, neither did it sour my enjoyment of the actors. Tom Hulce (as Heidi’s gay, if-wishes-were-fishes wannabe companion Peter Patrone) was annoyingly engaging while Kim Cattrall (Susan) was simply annoying, just as she was in Sex In The City. And Scoop Rosenbaum (Peter Friedman), Heidi’s lover turned good friend, played the terrific asshat.
As with other DVDs in the Warner Archive collection, this reprint contained a nice showing of the film. Nothing out-of-the-ordinary noteworthy, just a clean, adequate copy. And, lo and behold, there is an extra on the disc! But don’t get too excited … it’s just a trailer of the film.
Was The Heidi Chronicles worth the 100 minutes? Yes … if you’re a Jamie Lee Curtis fan as I am. But don’t expect a rollicking good time of a film. But do expect it to put you in the context of the friendships and lives of the characters and make you wonder about them — possibly even care about them.
The Heidi Chronicles was generously provided to CliqueClack by the Warner Archive Collection for review.
