Themes: Age Disparity Romance, Looking For Love, Class Differences
Main Cast: Susan Sarandon, James Spader, Jason Alexander, Kathy Bates, Eileen Brennan
Release Year: 1990
Country: US
Run Time: 103 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Screenwriters Ted Tally and Alvin Sargent adapted the novel by Glenn Savan into this intelligent comedy-drama about a May-December romance where the woman is the senior partner. James Spader is Max Baron, a 27-year-old St. Louis advertising executive who has completely shut himself off from the world in the two years since the auto accident death of his wife. When he meets free-spirited, 43-year-old burger joint waitress Nora Baker (Susan Sarandon), his attraction to the earthy, outspoken woman is immediate and overpowering. The difference in age isn't their only obstacle happiness: Nora's into Marilyn Monroe, drinking beer, and lives in Dogtown, the city's low-rent district, while Max is cultured, sophisticated, and wealthy. Despite their differences, Max and Nora are alike in their suffering and in their deep need for connection, but their charged relationship is put to the emotional test when it becomes clear that Max is hiding his affair with Nora from his upper middle-class, Jewish social circle. White Palace co-stars Renée Taylor, Eileen Brennan, Kathy Bates, Jason Alexander, and Corey Parker. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Review
James Spader and Susan Sarandon have similar pairs of wide, soulful eyes, which make them look like they could be brother and sister rather than May-December lovers. Either way, something about it gives them a chemistry that's unmistakable in the romantic drama White Palace, whose title stands both for the burger joint where Sarandon's character works and the isolated yuppie fortress in which Spader lives (literally) and keeps his emotions imprisoned (figuratively). Luis Mandoki's film is a sparingly funny, mostly serious contemplation of the pain of loss, as well as accompanying fears of the abandonment that may punish the decision to lower one's emotional guard. Spader and Sarandon are just right for their roles, simultaneously tough and vulnerable, never quite trusting their happiness. Those that surround them are a little less fleshed out -- Eileen Brennan is a tad too saintly and spiritual as Sarandon's older sister, while Spader's nattering Jewish friends approach the realm of cruel stereotypes. Still, a clear impression emerges of the difficulty of maintaining a relationship when the two principals are separated by 16 years and very different cultural and educational backgrounds. The abuses of Sarandon's older character are realistically complex and painful. The ending seems like it might belong in a different movie, populated by more carefree characters, but Mandoki's direction is mostly subtle and humane, making for an intelligent film. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Steven Hill - Sol Horowitz; Rachel Levin - Rachel Horowitz; Corey Parker - Larry Klugman; Renée Taylor - Edith Baron; Jonathan Penner - Mary Miller; Barbara Howard - Sheri Klugman; Jonathan Ames - Restaurant Customer; Michael Arnett - Country Western Singer; Robert Bourgeois - Bachelor Party Man; Bart Braverman; Hildy Brooks - Ella Horowitz; Cathy Carr - Stripper; Joan Crosby; Vernon Dudas - Jimmy, the Bartender; Judi M. Durand; Greg Finley; John Flack - Advertising Executive; Spiros Focas; Patrick S. Harrigan - Mr. Goodman; Lance Harshbarger - Bachelor Party Man; Rosanna Huffman; Harvey Jason; Maryann Kopperman - Reba Parker; Fannie Belle Lebby - Marcia; Janet Lofton - Supermarket Checker; Mitzi McCall - Sophie Rosen; David McCharen; Kim Meyers - Heidi Solomon; Wilma Myracle - Helen; William Oberbeck - Eddie Lobodiak; Maria Pitillo - Janey; Jeremy Piven - Kahn; Robert Plunket - Director; Paige Pollack; Joseph Roseblum - Rabbi; Glenn Savan - White Palace Customer; Gary Schwartz; Jordan Stone - Bachelor Party Man; Suzanne Stone; Griffin Dunne; Javier Grajeda; Jan Rabson; Barbara Iley
Credit
John Wright Stevens - Art Director, Griffin Dunne - Co-producer, Amy Robinson - Co-producer, Mark Rosenberg - Co-producer, Bill Finnegan - Co-producer, Lisa Jensen - Costume Designer, Luis Mandoki - Director, Carol Littleton - Editor, George Fenton - Composer (Music Score), Ronnie Spector - Makeup, Jeannine Oppewall - Production Designer, Lajos Koltai - Cinematographer, Sydney Pollack - Producer, Lisa Fischer - Set Designer, Mack Chapman - Special Effects, Gary Hymes - Stunts, Ike Mizen - Stunts, Jerry Spicer - Stunts, Alvin Sargent - Screenwriter, Ted Tally - Screenwriter, Glenn Savan - Book Author
White Palace is a 1990 film starring Susan Sarandon and James Spader. It is a romantic drama about the unlikely relationship between a young middle class widower (Spader) who falls in love with a middle-aged working class waitress (Sarandon) in St. Louis, Missouri. The film was based on a novel of the same title by the late Glenn Savan (who also appeared in the film as an extra with a small speaking part), and was directed by Luis Mandoki from a screenplay by Ted Tally and Alvin Sargent. The original music score is composed by George Fenton. The film is marketed with the tagline "The story of a younger man and a bolder woman."
The title was originally to have been The White Castle, and the novel even makes reference to a specific real White Castle location at the intersection of S. Grand Blvd. and Gravois Ave. in south St. Louis[1], but the restaurant chain refused permission to use its trademarked name in either the novel or the film, and also refused permission to allow any of its restaurants for filming locations.
Instead, an independent diner at the intersection of North Eighteenth and Olive Streets[2] just west of downtown St. Louis was used - and that address is even given in the film as a plug for the diner. After the film was released the diner's owners sought permission to permanently rename it "White Palace", but were refused by the studio, so the diner was instead renamed "White Knight". As of February 2007, it still exists and is open for business, serving standard diner fare.
The movie also features Jason Alexander, Kathy Bates, Steven Hill, Jeremy Piven, and Renee Taylor, and was shot almost entirely in the St. Louis area, including the Thanksgiving Dinner scenes, which were filmed in a private home off Conway Road located at #2 Frontenac Place[3] in west St. Louis County, and Nora's house, which was in the Dogtown neighborhood of the City of St. Louis northwest of the intersection of Hampton and Manchester Avenues at 1521 W. Billon Avenue[4]. Nora's house is no longer standing.
Plot summary
Twenty-seven-year-old St. Louis advertising executive Max Baron has completely shut himself off from the world in the two years since the auto accident death of his wife. When he meets forty-three-year-old burger joint waitress Nora Baker, his attraction to the earthy, uninhibited woman is immediate and overpowering. However, it is not just the age difference that presents an obstacle to their happiness. Nora drinks beer, lives in a messy house in "Dogtown" (a working-class section of the city), and idolises Marilyn Monroe, while Max is cultured, sophisticated, and wealthy (as well as meticulously clean).
Despite their differences, Max and Nora are alike in their suffering and in their deep need for connection, but their charged relationship is put to the test when it becomes clear that Max is hiding his affair with Nora from his upper middle-class, Jewish social circle.
