Just Tell Me What You Want * (1980, Ali MacGraw, Alan King, Myrna Loy, Keenan Wynn, Tony Roberts, Dina Merrill, Peter Weller) – Classic Movie Review 12,175

Just Tell Me What You Want (1980, Myrna Loy).

The 1980 film Just Tell Me What You Want is a misfire from usually dependable director Sidney Lumet, who fails to give this soapy, sour comedy any real bite. Alan King’s Max Herschel, a horrid, rich business magnate who loses mistress Bones Burton (Ali MacGraw) to another man, young playwright Steven Routledge (Peter Weller), and then schemes to win her back.

Despite the undeniable pleasures of watching King’s wildly over-the-top performance and the presence of a host of fine players, this adaptation of Jay Presson Allen’s novel is a messy, long-winded haul through the lives of unsympathetic, unlikely and unattractive characters.

Along with the actors, some witty lines and the general air of gleeful cynicism make it worth a look. But it is a case of a great director working outside his comfort zone, and on an off-day.

The cast are Ali MacGraw, Alan King, Myrna Loy, Keenan Wynn, Tony Roberts, Dina Merrill, Peter Weller, Judy Kaye, David Rasche, Sara Truslow, Joseph Maher, John Walter Davis, Michael Gross, Joseph Leon, Raymond Thorne, Tom Batten, Leslie Easterbrook, Paul E Guskin, and Stanley Greene.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,175

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