Themes: Opposites Attract, Sexual Awakening, College Life
Main Cast: Liza Minnelli, Wendell Burton, Tim McIntire, Elizabeth Harrower, Austin Green
Release Year: 1969
Country: US
Run Time: 108 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Liza Minnelli is Pookie Adams, a relentlessly kooky coed in The Sterile Cuckoo. The film's focus, however, is on Wendell Burton (likewise making his first screen appearance) as reserved young college student Jerry. He is actively pursued by the unpredictable Pookie, who helps him to survive his first months in school. Gradually, however, it is obvious that Jerry is outgrowing Pookie. Both, however, have benefited from the relationship (he has gained self-confidence, she is now able to come to grips with her unhappy home life) and their parting is a tender one. Not unlike his stars, Alan J. Pakula was making his directorial bow with The Sterile Cuckoo, which earned an Oscar nomination for its theme song "Come Saturday Morning." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
A sweet coming-of-age story from the late 1960s that seems as if it belongs to an earlier, more innocent era, The Sterile Cuckoo stars Liza Minnelli as an awkward but gregarious college girl who is determined to have her first sexual experience with a shy, naïve young man (played by Wendell Burton). Director Alan J. Pakula, in his debut film, shows flashes of brilliance in squeezing all the energy he can out of a predictable plot. Minnelli stepped out of the shadow of her mother, Judy Garland, and made a dramatic impact in her first major starring role. Minnelli and the film's theme song, "Come Saturday Morning," both received Oscar nominations, and Minnelli went on to fame in Cabaret. Pakula went on to Klute, All the President's Men, and other topical dramas and character studies. In England, The Sterile Cuckoo was titled Pookie. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
Sandy Faison - Nancy Putnam; Chris Bugbee - Roe; Mark P. Fish; Philip S. Derfler; John Hussey; Toni Shorrock; Eric Best; Becky Davis; Fred Lerner; Towyna Thomas; Frances Tobin; Tim Laurie; Margaret Markov; Anita Alberts; Warren Peterson; Paul McConnell; Adele Wynn; Cynthia Hull; Jawn McKinley - Helen Upshaw
Credit
Roland Anderson - Art Director, Jennifer Parsons - Costume Designer, John A. Anderson - Costume Designer, Don Kranze - First Assistant Director, Alan J. Pakula - Director, Sam O'Steen - Editor, John W. Wheeler - Editor, Fred Karlin - Composer (Music Score), Mike Moschella - Makeup, Milton Krasner - Cinematographer, Alan J. Pakula - Producer, Charles R. Pierce - Set Designer, Charles Spurgeon - Special Effects, John K. Wilkinson - Sound/Sound Designer, Ben Winkler - Sound/Sound Designer, John Nichols - Screenwriter, Alvin Sargent - Screenwriter, John Nichols - Book Author
The Sterile Cuckoo (1969) released in the UK as Pookie, is a theatrical release feature film released by Paramount Pictures. It tells the story of an eccentric young couple whose relationship deepens despite their differences and inadequacies, and stars Liza Minnelli, Wendell Burton, and Tim McIntire.
Mary Ann "Pookie" Adams (Minnelli) is an oddball, quirky teenager who meets Jerry Payne (Burton) on a bus heading to their colleges, which are near each other, where they have enrolled as freshmen. Jerry immediately sees that Pookie is different, even strange. She lies to a nun on the bus so the nun will switch seats with her. Jerry is beginning to settle into college life with his roommate (Tim McIntire) when Pookie shows up one Saturday morning out of the blue. They spend much time together over the weekend, and before long are seeing each other regularly.
Jerry slowly falls in love with Pookie, but soon their different personality types pull them apart. They began having sex, and not long after Pookie tells Jerry she might be pregnant. After the pregnancy scare is over, Jerry wants to spend spring break alone to catch up on his studies. Pookie begs and pleads to stay with him, and he relents. The week alone with Pookie makes Jerry realize they need time apart, and he tells Pookie this. He discovers she has left college, and he finds her in the same boarding house where she had stayed on the first day she came to visit. He puts her on a bus for home, and the young lovers part.
