Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore(#23 of 1,001-I do love the title enough to want to see it before I die)

I could have sorn I’ve seen this before, but that was obviously not the case when the film came on beginning with this great image of a house in the middle of nowhere that makes me think that this is a horror film the way it was shot.

Then we jump into the prsent and the movie takes on this crazy tone helped out with handheld camera angles, something not done in the 70s when this film was made, except in a movie that came out a year before called Mean Streets in which the same director was at the chair. The zoom ins also fit the style of Rock and Roll being layered in the background. They sure know how to get you in the right mood.

It’s a simple story that unfortunately ever gets old with Alice being married to a dude that’s somewhere between Ralph Cranden and Archie Bunker. If this was a sitcom Alice could easily last for 30mins in this god awful existence and then be refreshed by the next episode, but Alice is not in a sitcom, instead she’s in a movie where this hybrid husband gets killed forcing Alice to fend for herself and her son.

And that’s when it hit me! The reason why this movie sounds so familiar to me is because it is the plot of a TV sitcom, Alice. As I wacth it I realize it’s like a pilot to the show. Not the 1st time this happen. The sci-fi movie Logan’s run spawned a short live TV show that extended the adventure. Cooley High influenced the creation of What’s Happening. Thought the names changed most of the charaters are the same.

I actually watched the show Alice pretty foundly so I’m going to guess that I’ll like the movie.

Ellen Burstyn was great as Alice from the moment she comes on the screen. She just very likeable as Alice and you want to root for her. The type of character that when things happen to her you care.

Versus the Show the movie version of Alice of course follows happens at a faster pace than the tv verson that needed to last for years (l believe it lasted four years) for the most part the movie was not just about the struggle of Alice being a single woman but About how Alice got her groove back (not the same exact movie but like Alice, Stella was trying to grow into her individuality). Finding her grove was the difficult part for Alice with a few bumps and scrapes along the way, but Alice is strong.

So sweet, so charming, so funny and with a great vibe to it. It holds up and as good as any to see it before you die.