{"id":6799,"date":"2009-05-20T13:38:08","date_gmt":"2009-05-20T20:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6799"},"modified":"2021-03-10T18:59:28","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T01:59:28","slug":"pennies-from-heaven-1981","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6799","title":{"rendered":"Pennies From Heaven (1981)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;There must be someplace where them songs are for real.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/Pennies-From-Heaven-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/Pennies-From-Heaven-Poster-194x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-60591\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/Pennies-From-Heaven-Poster-194x300.png 194w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/Pennies-From-Heaven-Poster-663x1024.png 663w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/Pennies-From-Heaven-Poster-83x128.png 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/Pennies-From-Heaven-Poster-175x270.png 175w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/Pennies-From-Heaven-Poster.png 725w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nDuring the Depression, a philandering salesman (Steve Martin) cheats on his wife (Jessica Harper) with a naive schoolteacher (Bernadette Peters) who becomes a prostitute when Martin fails to return.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Christopher Walken Films<\/li>\n<li>Depression Era<\/li>\n<li>Herbert Ross Films<\/li>\n<li>Infidelity<\/li>\n<li>Jessica Harper Films<\/li>\n<li>Musicals<\/li>\n<li>Salesmen<\/li>\n<li>Steve Martin Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAs Peary notes, this &#8220;grimmest of all movie musicals&#8221; &#8212; based on a six-part BBC miniseries by British writer Dennis Potter &#8212; is also &#8220;one of the most fascinating and visually dazzling&#8221;, with an &#8220;extraordinary look&#8221; that incorporates &#8220;re-creations of paintings by Edward Hopper&#8221; (see still below). Martin &#8212; in his first serious role after <em>The Jerk<\/em> (1979) &#8212; plays Arthur, a horny, hopelessly romantic traveling salesman whose inability to get any nooky back at home (his wife, well-played by Jessica Harper, is &#8220;contentedly frigid&#8221;) leads him to pursue an affair with Peters, with whom he falls in lust at first sight. Unfortunately, while Arthur starts off as a relatively sympathetic character &#8212; we can understand his desire for some attention, and his tendency to daydream himself into musical fantasy sequences is charming &#8212; he quickly loses credibility, as he lies to Peters to get her to sleep with him, then fails to return to her once his wife agrees to fund his dream of opening a record store. Indeed, both the characters and the story &#8212; in which &#8220;sex and songs are presented as liberating forces, but [are] only Band-Aids against the Depression &#8212; are &#8220;so cheerless that you become anesthetized&#8221;; yet, as Peary notes, it&#8217;s still possible to recognize &#8220;the artistry of what&#8217;s taking place on the screen&#8221;, and film fanatics will surely want to check it out at least once. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Several enjoyable Busby Berkeley-homages<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/pennies-busby.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/pennies-busby.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-6801\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Striking set designs<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/pennies-set.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/pennies-set.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-6802\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Gordon Willis&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/pennies-cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/pennies-cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-6804\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Vernel Bagneris performing &#8220;Pennies from Heaven&#8221;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/pennies-heaven.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/pennies-heaven.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-6805\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Bernadette Peters as Eileen<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/pennies-peters.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/pennies-peters.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-6806\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Jessica Harper as Joan<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/pennies-harper.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/pennies-harper.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-6809\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a most unusual &#8212; if utterly bleak &#8212; musical. Peary nominates Steve Martin for an <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/AlternateOscars.html\">Alternate Oscar<\/a> as Best Actor of the Year. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Good Show<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0082894\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/reviews\/11752\/pennies-from-heaven\/\">DVD Talk Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.nytimes.com\/movie\/review?_r=1&#038;res=9E03E4DC103BF932A25751C1A967948260\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/86458\/pennies-from-heaven#articles-reviews?articleId=29915\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;There must be someplace where them songs are for real.&#8221; Synopsis: During the Depression, a philandering salesman (Steve Martin) cheats on his wife (Jessica Harper) with a naive schoolteacher (Bernadette Peters) who becomes a prostitute when Martin fails to return. Genres: Christopher Walken Films Depression Era Herbert Ross Films Infidelity Jessica Harper Films Musicals Salesmen Steve Martin Films Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: As Peary notes, this &#8220;grimmest of all movie musicals&#8221; &#8212; based on a six-part BBC miniseries by British&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6799\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6799"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70364,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6799\/revisions\/70364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}