Golden Goldies
The Quad's retrospective pays tribute to comedienne Goldie Hawn, returning to the big screen for the first time in 15 years with Snatched
Titles include Private Benjamin, Swing Shift, Death Becomes Her, The Sugarland Express and The First Wives Club on 35mm
No Hollywood actress in recent memory has come closer than Goldie Hawn to capturing the ebullience and whip-smart comic timing of the great screen comediennes of the ’30s and ’40s, a modern Joan Blondell or Carole Lombard. Though she won an Academy Award for one of her first roles (in 1969’s Cactus Flower), critics have tended to underestimate the depths of her talent. The forthcoming film Snatched marks her long-awaited return to the screen after a 15-year absence, and we’re celebrating the occasion with a greatest-hits retrospective, a veritable masterclass in the delicate art of cinematic comedy.
Robert Zemeckis, 1992, 104m, U.S., 35mm
Sun May 7 & Mon May 8
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When glamorous narcissist Meryl Streep steals her fiancé Bruce Willis, Hawn finds revenge in an elixir of youth (and immortality) supplied by a seductively devilish Isabella Rossellini. Rivalry escalates to murder as Hawn and Streep battle it out in the land of the undead in this cult black comedy about all-consuming vanity.
Hugh Wilson, 1996, U.S., 103m, 35mm
Mon May 8
Spite never sleeps in this gleefully vindictive comedy about getting even and the bonds of sisterhood. Hawn stars opposite Bette Midler and Diane Keaton as a once-acclaimed actress plagued by ageism and out for revenge against her ex-husband and his perky new muse. But acrimony eventually gives way to a new sense of liberation, culminating in an ever-endearing rendition of Lesley Gore's anthem of female independence.
Overboard
Garry Marshall, 1987, U.S., 106m, 35mm
Wed May 10
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Wertmüller's Swept Away reimagined as big studio farce, with Hawn's shrill heiress
mistreating blue-collar carpenter Kurt Russell, who then proceeds to enact romantic
revenge after she’s afflicted with amnesia. Despite the retrograde sexual politics, the chemistry is palpable and the comic timing immaculate.
After husband Albert Brooks dies on their wedding night, spoiled rich girl Hawn is convinced by military recruiter Harry Dean Stanton to join the U.S. Army, where she comes up against a tough-as-nails C.O. Eileen Brennan. Both Hawn and Brennan were nominated for Academy Awards in this beloved box-office hit.
Hawn hits her comedic stride in this irresistible Neil Simon farce as a characteristically zany public defender torn between district attorney husband Charles Grodin and her ex, Chevy Chase, a writer charged with bank robbery. Things escalate towards a fever pitch when she decides to represent him in court.
Shampoo
The dream team of Ashby, screenwriter Robert Towne, and actor-producer Warren Beatty set their biting farce and undisputed ’70s classic on the eve of Nixon’s 1968 electoral landslide, with over-sexed, in-demand, and increasingly vexed hairdresser Beatty juggling frustrated girlfriend Hawn, taxing client Lee Grant, ex-girlfriend Julie Christie, and potential business partner Jack Warden as America lurches to the right.
The Sugarland Express
Steven Spielberg, 1974, U.S., 110m, 35mm
Sat May 6 & Mon May 8
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After losing their baby son to the state, small-time crooks Hawn and William Atherton snatch him right back and go on the run, with seemingly every law enforcement officer in Texas in hot pursuit. Spielberg’s first feature refines the technical mastery of Duel, but Hawn’s performance as an exasperated, manically determined mother gives this picture a more resonant pathos
Swing Shift
Jonathan Demme, 1984, U.S., 100m, 35mm
Sun May 7 & Thur May 10
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When hubby Ed Harris ships off to fight WWII, housewife Hawn finds herself via a factory job—and a fling with hunky trumpet player Kurt Russell. Despite her contentious relationship with her director, Hawn displays her greatest emotional range here, and Demme’s deft touch for humanist comedy shines through. Featuring Christine Lahti, Fred Ward, and Holly Hunter.
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