MAGGIE SMITH as DIANA BARRIE in CALIFORNIA SUITE

MAGGIE SMITH


"Dying is easy Comedy is hard" 
Maggie Smith as Diana Barrie in CALIFORNIA SUITE is serious comedic joy at its best.  Maggie Smith proves here she's a master of both drama and comedy. Maggie Smith relishes her sassy, sarcastic quips and she does them with great ease. Her banter with the genius Michael Caine, in a classic Hepburn and Tracy like style, is joyous viewing. There is a tremendous sense of love and togetherness behind every jolt and zap. They balance each other perfectly, giving to the other - never stealing. Watching her pursue, cajole and corner him into bed and to make love to 'her' is both hysterical and heartbreaking. Of course there's that Oscar she wanted, but beyond that little gold man, what she really wants is her husband - who happens to be more gay than straight. She plays a dramatic character prone to big emotional folly, yet with Maggie Smith she's able to make difficult lines like "let it be me tonight" so tender, loving and truthful. Perfect.

When I was eight I enjoyed the Bill Cosby/ Pryor – Walter Mattau/ prostitute / Elaine May segments the best. They were campy, with lots of big physical gags – very mass appealing.  Today watching those segments…I think they're cute but they don't have any real guts or depth. Today, I just watch the Jane Fonda / Alan Alda, Michael Cain / Maggie Smith segments and fast-forward over the others.

Maggie Smith, has her best screen role since THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE, (and Michael Caine equalling fantastic), playing a celebrated English actress and her bisexual-homosexual antique-dealer husband who come to Hollywood for the Oscar ceremony.

In the film's early scenes she is pricelessly funny, getting ready for her big night in a magnificent display of hope, panic, and despair, knowing that she doesn't have a snowball's chance of winning the Oscar, but listening eagerly to even the dimmest person who thinks she has. Most of all she just needs her man's approval and devotion. Without melodramatic effort, the tale becomes an examination of a marriage that has slipped into compromised intimacy, she and Mr. Caine create characters of unexpected depth and compassion. 

"Why the hell didn't I wear my black pant pants suit". The way she bites into 'hell' is magic. Gritty and pissed - but also very funny and desperate to connect to her mate. She's always aware of her characters true desires. Not just to please a national audience and look pretty but to get her man. "Because I am wearing it". Watch the way they look at each other. They are as close as two people can be being opposing sexualities. He loves her and she adores him, she steals glances whenever she can, always trying, always trying to entertain him. And when she falls - she falls hard and attacks him but she ultimately doesn't want him to leave her so she retreats. Gives him his space. Losing the Oscar was one thing but seeing him with a young actor - that's the devastating blow. She finally gets him back. They have something. Sex isn't everything - but she keeps trying. God bless her.

There is no question why Maggie Smith won and Oscar for her portrayal of, ironically, a movie star who is nominated for an Oscar. This segment is side-splitting funny, sad, witty, and tender. The chemistry between Smith and Caine is remarkable and one of the best examples of showcasing an entire history - an agreed back story. They are not playing two different pasts but the same. This type of clever writing and superb acting is what is missing from the garbage that passes off as comedies today.