What’s Up, Doc?
One of the things my mother has passes on to me was discernment as a moviewatcher, and a curiosity towards stuff from earlier ages. I don’t remember how old I was when she first showed me Peter Bogdanovich’s “What’s Up, Doc?,” but I know I’d seen at least the chaotic ending plenty of times, and it helped me appreciate the absurdity of film comedy, and especially, the screwball comedy. In 1972, Bogdanovich made probably one of the best studio comedies of all-time in a genre that seemed out of step with the times, but with a cast that certainly wasn’t. It continues to be effortlessly charming.
The first thing we notice about Judy Maxwell (Barbra Streisand) in the film is her beauty, but if you look carefully, she also is a natural causer of chaos. Everywhere she goes, whether it’s walking the street or watching a pizza maker toss dough, her radiance results in chaos. For much of the movie, we don’t even know her name, but what we do know is that wherever she goes, trouble follows, and that’s not good for the uptight Howard Bannister (Ryan O’Neal). Howard is in town with his fiancee, Eunice Burns (Madeline Kahn), for a conference where he is one of the finalist for a grant to continue his research. What is that research? He’s a musicologist, and he’s researched the natural musical properties of rocks. Judy’s not the only thing that will throw him off guard.
Bogdanovich was a filmmaker who was also a film historian- much like the French New Wave, he studied films through making his own, going through genres, as well as documenting history through movies like “Directed by John Ford.” “What’s Up, Doc?” is Bogdanovich exploring the screwball romantic comedy through a 1970s lens, and one of the things that makes this work so well is, it feels like it could come from the era of “Bringing Up Baby” or “Arsenic and Old Lace,” and it wouldn’t feel out of place. The screenplay by Buck Henry, Robert Benton and David Newman doesn’t embrace modern comedic styles, but does build enough of a freedom into their narrative that modern sensibilities in broad comedy can exist. That comes from Kahn as Eunice, who is the engine for why Howard is so uptight, and Kenneth Mars as Hugh Simon, Howard’s competition for the grant. They are from the Mel Brooks school of comedy, and it makes sense that Bogdanovich would pit them against the rapid-fire rapport that builds between Howard and Judy, who passes herself off as “Bernsie” when Howard is going after the grant. There’s also Austin Pendleton as the person in charge of the grant, and Liam Dunn later as the judge. As soon as some of these people come in to frame, you know you’re in for a display of comedic brilliance.
The plot for “What’s Up, Doc?” hinges on plaid suitcases- four of them- each with different items. One has Howard’s rocks. One has Judy’s clothes. Another is filled with a woman’s jewelry. And the first one we meet has government secrets in it. The chaos, and confusion, surrounding these cases comes to a head during a chase through San Francisco that is like Bogdanovich melded the chase scenes in “Bullitt” with the wild sequence in Keaton’s “Sherlock Jr.” where Buster is on the handle bars on a bike, narrowly avoiding danger. This, and the subsequent scene in front of Dunn’s judge, were my main memories of this film for a long time. Now that I’ve watched the film more over the past couple of years with my mom, I’m glad I’m starting to become as familiar with everything else.
Finally, we have O’Neill and Streisand. O’Neill is a perfect fit for the frazzled, but straight-faced, Howard, but you can also see why, as exasperated as he comes to be with Judy, he can’t help but fall in love with her, as well. Streisand is as adorable and sexy and funny as a female lead has ever been in a comedy- from those first moments watching the pizza dough made to her sly pronouncement of the film’s title to her charming of Pendleton on Howard’s behalf to when she’s in the bathtub to when she’s on the piano- every moment with her is movie magic. They make a wonderful odd couple, and “What’s Up Doc?” one of the most memorable comedic experiences of all-time.
