Main Cast: Jill Clayburgh, Michael Douglas, Charles Grodin, Beverly Garland, Steven Hill
Release Year: 1980
Country: US
Run Time: 91 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Claudia Weill's second feature is a romantic look at the humorous and tragic sides of love, starring Jill Clayburgh as Kate Gunzinger, a mathematics professor who lives with perpetually sunny architect Homer (Charles Grodin) in Chicago. But during a trip to New York City, Kate becomes romantically involved with handsome hunk Ben Lewin (Michael Douglas), a recently retired professional baseball player who is trying to adjust to a life outside of professional sports. The son of her father's fiancee, Ben, in spite of uncertainties about his future, actively pursues Kate, and Kate, much to her surprise, willingly permits Ben to make his amorous approaches. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
The law of diminishing returns had set in by the time Jill Clayburgh starred in It's My Turn, a film that seems to be a descendant of her earlier (and much better) An Unmarried Woman and Starting Over. None of these films were actually sequels, but Clayburgh's presence -- and the fact that her character in each one seemed to be a stand-in for the "modern woman" of the time -- makes them feel like part of a trilogy. The difference is that the two earlier films were subtler in their approach; there was a social commentary at the core of each film, but it was couched in an involving story with interesting characters. In Turn, the commentary seems to have been grafted onto a fairly traditional romance with characters that are fairly shallow; we've seen them all before, even if their words and phrases may have been slightly different. As a result, Turn feels a bit clichéd and manipulative, and modern audiences will also find it amusingly dated. Still, the creators have approached the work with adequate skill; the result is not great drama, but it's an enjoyable, plastic little romance, complete with the required big scene for the star to show her acting chops. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Teresa Baxter - Maryanne; Daniel Stern - Cooperman; Joan Copeland - Rita; John Gabriel - Hunter; Charles Kimbrough - Jerome; Roger Robinson - Flicker; Jennifer Salt - Maisie; Robert Ackerman - Good Will Man; Michael Alaimo - Man at Restaurant; Ernie Brown - Man at Restaurant; Joe Collins - Himself; Bob Feller - Himself; Whitey Ford - Himself; Bud Harrelson - Himself; Noah Hathaway - Homer's Son; Mickey Mantle - Himself; Roger Maris - Himself; Ralph Mauro - Jerry Lanz Man; Dusty Rhodes - Himself; Raymond Singer - Rabbi; Dianne Wiest - Gail; James Desmond - Man in Baseball Stands; Ronald C. Frazier - Professor; Jane Jenkins; Toshi Toda - Professor; David H. Goodman - Man in Baseball Stands
Credit
Ruth Myers - Costume Designer, David McGiffert - First Assistant Director, Claudia Weill - Director, James Coblentz - Editor, Marjorie Fowler - Editor, Byron Brandt - Editor, Jay Presson Allen - Executive Producer, Patrick Williams - Composer (Music Score), Diana Ross - Songwriter, Bob Schneider - Production Designer, Jackson de Govia - Production Designer, Bill Butler - Cinematographer, Jay Presson Allen - Producer, Martin Elfand - Producer, Geoff Hubbard - Set Designer, Jeff Bushelman - Sound/Sound Designer, Pat Somerset - Sound/Sound Designer, Eleanor Bergstein - Screenwriter
