Something To Offend Everyone!

 Probably Not Today, But It Is Pretty Out There

The Loved One (1965) – An over the top satire of both the American way of life, and death. A star studded cast thrashes through a script that guarantees it has “something to offend everyone”.

Directed by Tony Richardson

Starring Robert Morse, Jonathan Winters, Rod Steiger, James Coburn, John Gielgud, Milton Berle, Tab Hunter, Roddy McDowall, Liberace

Why I Liked It – So intensely weird that it just couldn’t be ignored.

I associate the 1960’s with these all-star cast, over the top comedies.  You either enjoy them or find them intensely dumb.  If I’m honest, I’m not sure where I stand on this one.  The tagline the movie has “…something to offend everyone…” should be taken with the time period in mind.  There’s little here to offend anyone other than the most fragile of snowflakes.  It’s just silly, campy nonsense. 

A young Englishman, Dennis Barlow, arrives in the United States with no particular plan, other than staying with his uncle in Los Angeles.  When he arrives, he discovers that most of his time will be dedicated to arranging for his uncle’s funeral.  Here, we enter into the satire on the corporate/religious facade of the American funeral industry.  The Whispering Glades funeral home is more of a cult than a business.  Dennis falls for one of the make-up artists there, the rather Morticia Adams looking Aimee Thanatogenous.  Rod Steiger is the over the top momma’s boy embalmer, Dr. Joyboy, while comedian Jonathan Winters is the driven funeral home boss, the Rev. Wilbur Glenworthy.

Honestly, it just gets weirder from there.  And the end, well, I don’t know what to tell you about the end.  It’s not a classic Hollywood ending, with all the details wrapped up and happily ever after.

So, it’s based on a novel by the highly respected author Evelyn Waugh.  Waugh hated this movie.  The director was just coming off an Oscar win for the film “Tom Jones”.  The cast has handfuls of top actors and comedians.

And the result is a truly unique…hash of a movie.  But there’s no doubt it’s worth a quiet weekend’s watching.

Rating *** Worth A Look