| Willie & Phil | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Paul Mazursky |
| Written by | Paul Mazursky |
| Produced by | Paul Mazursky |
| Starring | Michael Ontkean Margot Kidder Ray Sharkey |
| Cinematography | Sven Nykvist |
| Edited by | Donn Cambern |
| Music by | Claude Bolling Georges Delerue |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date |
|
| Running time | 115 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5.5 million |
| Box office | $4,400,000 |
Willie & Phil is a 1980 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Mazursky and starring Michael Ontkean, Margot Kidder, and Ray Sharkey.
Plot
The film is set in late 1970s New York City, amidst the counterculture chic of that era. Willie, a high school English teacher who plays jazz piano, and Phil, a fashion photographer, meet as they exit the Bleecker Street Cinema, where Jules et Jim has just been shown, and become friends. They both fall in love with Jeannette, a girl from Kentucky.
Cast
- Michael Ontkean – Willie Kaufman
- Margot Kidder – Jeannette Sutherland
- Ray Sharkey – Phil D'Amico
- Jan Miner – Maria Kaufman
- Tom Brennan – Sal Kaufman
- Julie Bovasso – Mrs. D'Amico
- Louis Guss – Mr. D'Amico
- Kathleen Maguire – Mrs. Sutherland
- Kaki Hunter – Patti Sutherland
- Kristine DeBell – Rena
- Jerry Hall – Karen
- Laurence Fishburne – Wilson
Critical responses
The film was reviewed by Pauline Kael in The New Yorker. "This movie is a little monument to screwed-up notions of what women are", she noted.
Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars. "In a subtle, understated sort of way, Mazursky is giving us a movie that hovers between a satirical revue and a series of lifestyle vignettes. The characters in his movie are almost exhausted by the end of the decade (weren't we all?)" he commented.
References
- Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History, Scarecrow Press, 1989 p259
- "Willie & Phil (1980) – Box Office Mojo". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
- Pauline Kael Taking It All In ISBN 0-7145-2841-2
- Ebert, Roger. "Willie and Phil movie review & film summary (1980) | Roger Ebert". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
External links
| Films directed by Paul Mazursky | |
|---|---|
|
- 1980 films
- 1980 comedy-drama films
- 1980s romantic comedy-drama films
- 20th Century Fox films
- American romantic comedy-drama films
- Fictional duos
- Films directed by Paul Mazursky
- Films set in New York City
- Films set in the 1970s
- Films shot in New York City
- Films scored by Claude Bolling
- Films scored by Georges Delerue
- 1980s English-language films
- 1980s American films
- English-language romantic comedy-drama films