Last year I admitted I had not seen every film Hitchcock had ever made, and this year I caught up with another one of those missed movies, his final film, 1976's Family Plot. While definitely not one of his best, I will say I enjoyed a hell of a lot more than I did Frenzy, mainly because it's far less...rapey.
The best thing about it is definitely Barbara Harris as Blanche, the sham psychic, who, with her cab-driving boyfriend George (Bruce Dern) stumbles upon a missing person type mystery that brings them in contact with a pair of kidnappers/jewel thieves, played by Karen Black and William Devane.
I've always found Barbara Harris to be a delightful screen presence, ever since I saw way back when in Freaky Friday, trading places with a young Jodie Foster. She's definitely the comedic relief in Family Plot, a film that is supposed to be a comedy, but very rarely hits as far as laughs are concerned, at least not intentional ones. (The very, very bad rear projection used in the driving sequences may cause some unintentional ones.)
While the film never really says where it takes place, it was filmed in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, and I was delighted to see some locations close to home, like the Fairmont Hotel, Grace Cathedral, and a house just a few blocks from me. Nice to see Hitch's love of the Bay Area was there until the very end.
Family Plot is available to rent on Amazon Prime.
1 comment:
I haven't watched this one in a very long time. Don't recall much about it, so I guess it is time for a refresher.
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