nomorefog ***************WARNING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**************Made in the seventies by director Paul Masursky with George Segal Kris Kristofferson, Susan Anspach and Shelley Winters. I first saw this on ex-rental video and was surprised that it was (and still is), a good film. I'm not a big Masursky fan but he was modish for a period and his work rose to prominence with the romantic comedy Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, which I have never seen because it was considered too risqué for children. (Definitely showing my age here, folks).As a follow-up, 'Blume in Love' is another thoughtful and funny meditation about relationships, seen from the point of view of Segal (as Blume) trying to win back his ex-wife who has left him and made a life of her own that, unfortunately, no longer includes him. Blume's wife has shacked up with a musician and dropped out of the middle class rat race. Since he is a lawyer, Blume believes that his wife is being unfair by comparing his uptight lifestyle with that of her boyfriend. As a result, he takes action of a drastic nature which only serves to alienate his wife even further.Blume appears to be a loser in love and Segal gives us a sympathetic portrayal of a romantic who is confused, but lovable. His wife may not love him but the audience is meant to. There are some amusing situations and interesting observations about the 70's singles scenes when women were supposedly liberated. That did not mean however, that they were necessarily happy. There is an excellent dream sequence later on in the film, shot outdoors in Venice as Segal imagines that he has successfully retrieved his wife from the hands of the hippie wastrel Elmo (as played by Kris Kristofferson). The sequence is set against a backdrop of classical music and a lot of flying birds in a beautiful looking Venetian square densely populated with many Italian people sipping on their cappuccinos. It serves to illustrate the Hollywood belief (or is it cliché?) of the eternal nature of romantic love and Blume's foolish hopefulness that his wife will reject Elmo and return to him.Susan Anspach plays Blume's ex-wife, (she was also Woody Allen's ex-wife in Play it Again, Sam) and Shelley Winters has a single scene as a client of Segal's (if I haven't already mentioned Blume is surprise! a divorce lawyer) which is quite funny but seems irrelevant to what is going on in the rest of the movie. Maybe its meant to illustrate how neurotic divorced women are supposed to be, who knows?'Blume in Love' is the type of film that will leave cynics to protest about how warm and fuzzy it makes them feel while the rest of us will have no reason to complain. 'Blume in Love' is delightfully wry and observant and I hope this review reveals my fondness for it

den_quixote i disagree with those who were so put off by the rape scene that they cannot give the movie a positive review. remember this movie was made over 30 years ago at the height of the sexual revolution (i'm not excusing it). mazursky is a very interesting and unique writer/director who is responsible for some really excellent films, to wit: moscow on the hudson, down and out in beverly hills, an unfinished woman and next stop greenwich village. to me this movie has it all, great music, excellent acting and one of the funniest scenes i have ever seen in a movie when george segal, as a divorce attorney tries to calm his client, shelly winters. you'll enjoy it, trust me. p.s. the key word in some of those other reviews is "self-indulgent."

Brigid O Sullivan (wisewebwoman) This was a fairly ground breaking movie when it came out first. I saw it in the theatre and we talked about it for days afterwards, especially the character of Nina Blume, here played by Susan Anspach. She was complex, feminist, independent and strong and also very likable. That is what I remember, that and the closing scene in Venice with Tristan Und Isolde played by the orchestra and the camera panning upwards, leaving all the conversations taking place in the piazza still ringing in our ears until the last freeze frame. **Warning***Spoiler*** However, and it is a big however, the rape scene, watched anew is sickening and repulsive and had me disliking Steven Blume, played by Gerge Segal, intensely. This does not bode well for the remaining quarter of the movie which demands that I applaud his compulsive obsessive efforts to woo his ex-wife back into his life. I am surprised none of the other reviewers addressed this truly nasty scene on which so much hinges thereafter. ****spoiler over**** Kris Kristofferson gives one of his standard hazy pot-filled performances, all charmy, twinkly eyed and gravelly voiced. So charmy in fact that Steven Blume along with Nina falls for him too. Marsha Mason gives a multi-layered characterization, whatever happened to her, I believe she married Neil Simon, the playwright. A fine performance. Susan steals the show, her beauty at times is breathtaking. One scene has Steven looking at her across a room and she is ethereal, all blonde curly hair and soulful eyes. 7 out of 10, short on plot, long on talent.

Bob Taylor Paul Mazursky gave us three fine films: Blume in Love, Harry & Tonto and Moscow On the Hudson, and a host of lesser works that we can still enjoy. I can't think of many American directors of the last half-century with a record like his. Blume In Love is obviously influenced by Truffaut's Jules and Jim, but is funnier, faster and not indebted to literary models as Truffaut's film was.The triangle of Blume, Nina and Elmo works so well because of Kris Kristofferson's easy charm and rock star charisma. The story would have foundered on Blume's obsessiveness and Nina's Puritan desire to do good ("I haven't done much for the farmworkers, but I boycott the supermarkets") had Elmo not been around to keep things light. The story he tells of the bust in Franklin, Tenn. is wonderfully funny, although a little scary, and the trio's singing Chester the Goat is a delight.I became a George Segal fan when I first saw this movie, and I can't help but lament the lack of intelligence and depth in today's actors when I see what he does with this difficult character. Marsha Mason is his equal in talent, playing Arlene, Blume's vulnerable lover who knows her days are numbered. The smaller roles are ably filled, particularly Shelley Winters as the woman whose husband left her.