THE LAST MARRIED COUPLE IN AMERICA (1980) - Kino Lorber Blu-Ray Review

[AndyDursin]

One of my favorite comedies from the late '70s/early '80s is “Serial,” a hilarious satire of “The Me Generation” that found its comedic pitch through an outlandish send-up of stereotypes and cultural mores. A movie that similarly tried – but failed – to do the same was THE LAST MARRIED COUPLE IN AMERICA (103 mins., 1980, R), a vehicle for George Segal and Natalie Wood that offered an equal number of notable comedic presences as “Serial” did – here with Richard Benjamin, Valerie Harper, Dom DeLuise, Bob Dishy and Priscilla Barnes co-starring – yet its pedestrian script and direction are no more cultivated than an “all-star” TV movie, albeit one carrying an R rating.

Segal, typically laid back, and Wood – quite wonderful here in her penultimate film performance – play the title couple, who find themselves adrift in a sea of swingers, divorcees and similar folks going through a middle-aged crisis. The actors all create a comfortable rhythm here, and it's fun to see a parade of familiar faces weaving in and out of the disco-era settings, yet the punchlines are weak and the entire premise of the movie is contrived – Wood and Segal have so much believable chemistry off the bat that you don't believe their issues are a construct of their relationship but rather the script, since we wouldn't have a film without them!

Gilbert Cates' film was not well-received upon its original release and has made scant appearances on home video. Kino Lorber's Blu-Ray (1.85, mono) hails from a perfectly serviceable Universal catalog master and includes the trailer and a new commentary by Lee Gambin. Charles Fox's underscoring utilizes a classical feel that was clearly influenced by the soundtrack of “Breaking Away,” though it also boasts a glossy, Norman Gimbel co-composed ballad that was intended to give Maureen McGovern a Barry Manilow-esque hit. It didn't happen, but it's not an unpleasant tune: