What’s Aged the Best?
Conrad's depression cues; Beth's haircut; evil Mary Tyler Moore; Elizabeth McGovern; swim coach's office; movie psychiatrists; 'It hurts too much to be around you'; performances; Canon in D score; fashion; Conrad's books; actor-to-director transition; Chicago-suburb setting
In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 01:17:56Read transcript
- The subtle ways the film shows Conrad is depressed in the first 15 minutes are called smart.
- Beth's haircut is perfect, de-glamorizing America's sweetheart; NBC gave Willow Bay the same cut.
- Evil Mary Tyler Moore has aged fantastically, and Elizabeth McGovern is a delight who is still working, as Cora on Downton.
- The swim coach's office feels completely 1980.
- Redford instructed the cast and crew not to interact with Hutton so he would feel isolated like his character; it worked.
- Psychiatrists in movies have aged the best, beyond a Woody Allen or erotic-thriller gimmick.
- After Conrad punches the swimmer, telling his friend 'it hurts too much to be around you' lands because the friend reminds him of Buck.
- The performances hold up on repeat viewing, as do the piano-heavy Canon in D score and the fashion, especially the suede outerwear. — Mallory Rubin
- Conrad's desk and books are noted: Return of the King, Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure, and Hunter S. Thompson.
- The answer's own style is a fusion of Cal's and Berger's clothes. — Sean Fennessey
- The actor-to-director glow up became more common after Redford, and late-70s and early-80s Chicago-suburb films, with Risky Business, Ferris Bueller and Thief, have aged well.