University of Virginia Library

CINEMA

Gould Lost In A Confusing 'Move'

By Steve Wells
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

As its title suggests, "Move" is a
film about transition. In it, Elliott
Gould plays a character named
Hiram Jaffe, an unsuccessful
playwright, author of dirty books,
and professional dog walker, who is
troubled because his move to a new
apartment is being delayed by an
unreliable moving company.

Yet it's Hiram's move in another
sense that the film is really about;
his move towards being able to
accept commitment. Unsatisfied
and unfulfilled, he imagines wild
fantasies and does strange things.
Hiram's exact psychological
problem is never made clear. It's
obvious, however, that he wants to
be something he isn't. He needs a
great deal of straightening out.

Re-read that last sentence. Does
it ring a bell? Elliott Gould playing

a character who needs straightening
out. What's wrong with that?
Remember Gould in "Getting
Straight?" The fact is that Hiram
Jaffe is no more than a muddled
extension of Harry Bailey, the
protagonist of that movie. In many
ways, the characters are identical.

And Gould again plays his role
extremely well. But how sad it is to
see him struggling to overcome the
inferior material in this film. As it
becomes increasingly difficult to
separate Hiram's illusions from his
actual experiences, "Move"
becomes a mish-mosh of confusion.
You're never sure where you are or
where you've been. It's a blind,
unpleasant journey.

The reasons for this are twofold:
the script writers, Joel Lieber and
Stanley Hart, have not defined
Hiram's character sharply enough,
and director Stuart Rosenberg has
been more intent on trying for
quick and easy laughs than on
developing a sensible story line.

From time to time, the film
does succeed in being funny,
although most of the humor is
rather crude. The bathroom gags
are countless, a dog lifting his leg
on Hiram's favorite rubber plant
and Hiram urinating in the kitchen
sink being typical examples.

Paula Prentiss plays Hiram's
wife, Dolly, with a certain amount
of restraint, which contrasts nicely
with Gould's flamboyant style.
But Britain's Genevieve Waite is
quite irritating as a foul-mouthed
girl who meets Gould in the park
and leads him to her apartment
and, eventually, her bed.

It is perhaps ironic, though, that
all the actors are upstaged by a 200
pound Saint Bernard named
Murphy, whose antics occasionally
break the tedium of this misguided
and hopelessly mixed-up movie.

(Now at the Barracks Road)