No hagiography
meg | santa monica, california | 04/07/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"It's been a few years since I've seen this -- I even saw a little of it being shot. I enjoyed it quite a lot, but I am familiar with Jaglom's body of work without being a fan. (I'm a bit more objective than the people who love to despise him.)
I particularly enjoyed the scenes from the location shoot for Last Summer in the Hamptons, with some especially revered actors (Viveca Lindfors, Ron Rifkin, Andre Gregory, Roscoe Lee Brown) working with a director famed for the performances in his films. The most quoted line from the film is Candice Bergen's epigram, "If I'd had Henry as a husband or a father, I could have taken Poland."
All by way of saying that this intelligent and witty documentary about one of THE MOST independent filmmakers working in the U.S. may have a somewhat limited audience. It helps to be at least interested in Jaglom (or perhaps Orson Welles' relationship with Jaglom), but his fans may take a dim view of the rather acerbic tone adopted by the filmmakers. I have heard (but do not agree with) the phrase "hatchet job" from a couple of them."