A New Leaf

If The Heartbreak Kid brilliantly anticipated all manner of awkward cringe-y comedy to come, this takes an even odder, altogether more stylized approach that feels almost as proto-Wes Anderson as like-minded oddball early '70s comedies like Harold and Maude or Brewster McCloud, except you know, much darker and stranger. Not unlike a '30s screwball comedy seemingly cryogenically frozen and unthawed amidst post-'60s disillusionment. So, like Bringing Up Baby dipped in battery acid, basically.

Awkward, uncomfortable and misanthropic, but also hilarious. Matthau really strikes the perfect, and precarious, balance between being despicable enough that you want to root against him, but sympathetic enough that you secretly hope he succeeds. It helps that the entire film is populated by despicable and selfish people, so one is free to delight in schadenfreude without reservations. May's character is the counter to all of this, despite her own massive failings, and sets up some great comedy.

A more challenging romantic comedy than usual, as not only are the characters goofy, but none of them are at all likable. Matthau's acting is audacious; he's not an endearing rascal, but a despicable duplicitous gold-digger of an anti-hero. Director May portrays gazillionairess botanist Henrietta with edgy dorkiness. You don't really root for anyone, but you find yourself riveted with bemusement.

It's not usually the case that something so atrociously filmed has such outstanding support in leads. I was at odds with myself through its entirety to how I should rate this.

Practically on the same level of genre revisionism as McCabe & Mrs. Miller. It'd definitely be on that level if it were presented in its original form. It's dark and cynical, but also really funny and totally heartwarming in the end. Matthau and May are brilliant and great together.

Just really, really funny.

A charming but misshapen piece of work that was taken away from its creator Elaine May and mutilated by the studio in the editing room, A New Leaf still has enough sharp writing and funny performances to make it worth a look. May has a wonderfully acrid comic voice, but her film making skills often seem awkward and primitive here. The blocking of the actors and the placement of the camera never seem quite right.

Okay, that's all the time I've got. I gotta get back to watching Elaine May's A New Leaf on the Criterion Cha-ah shit it's gone

A dark rom-com. I wish it had been darker. Hefti's score is impressive.

A pair of brilliant performances from May and (especially) Matthau buoy uneven comedy, which uncomfortably lurches from incident to incident without building any momentum; no doubt a symptom of post-production editing problems faced by director May. It bears repeating that Matthau really adds value, with a portrait of cold, selfish (but devilishly likable) narcissism rarely seen; his put-down of society types early on is worth the price of admission!

As great as many aspects of this film are, it seems the editing (of this originally 3 hour film) that really sets the mood that slightly elevates in pacing as it approaches the end (aside from the servants sub-story). More importantly (perhaps), Matthau does brilliantly as the cynical man who lives among mostly cynical people and works this particularly pessimistic comedy tone right throughout to the end which is slightly ballsier than many rom-coms before and after it.

What we have is good, but the removal of most of a key sub-plot has ruined the balance of this film.

Very good. Matthau and May both turn in incredibly performances.

This is quite a fun little black comedy. The pacing isn't the best but the acting from the leads makes it worth watching.

Elaine May's directorial debut is a witty black comedy about a broke loafer ex-millionaire, played brilliantly by Matthau, who wants to marry a rich woman to continue living lavishly without expending an ounce of labor. His search leads him directly to May, who plays a clumsy, naive and eccentric botanist that is oblivious to his true intent. Intelligent, well written comedies are a rarity in Hollywood, and on that level A New Leaf is a resounding success.

Delightful —my son says cringeworthy, but comedic. It would be hard not to be charmed by it.

Was Walter Matthau always old? Like, I can't imagine him being younger than he is here. A young Matthau is something I care not think about. I like how May writes her male leads as arrogantly clueless. But, after they get married, the film just sorta drags for me. That's okay, though. Not every film is meant for me, and I like some of May's other work more, so we are all good.

Commedia ironica e brillante, con degli interepreti straordinari che rendono pienamente giustizia alla vivacità dei dialoghi. Da vedere e rivedere.

The notion of Walter Matthau as an aristocrat is in itself very funny and there are numerous hilarious moments.

A funny very enjoyable romcom with a tremendous Walter Matthau, whose both despicable and sympathetic. Reminded me a lot of Woody Allens 70s comedies.

Not terribly.

watched: 2014, 2020

The writing is decent, but it's Matthau's delivery and mannerisms that make this good.

"This character study should not be as funny as it is."

Em honra do centenário de Walter Matthau. May é uma gênia absoluta, tudo que toca vira ouro. Como bem alguém aqui apontou a semelhança em toxidade ao Aurora de Murnau, por incrível que pareça o tom cômico deadpan e um cinismo transformado em doçura me faz gostar muito mais do que a May propiciou do que seus equivalentes me Chaplin ou Murnau. BlurayRip RARBG.

Rather odd, but very funny comedy. You can see why she spent so long in the edit: it's very tightly edited.

"The PLO was bombing over there and a cruise ship had been taken hostage ...and then Elaine May was causing problems..." http://illusionpodcast.blogspot.com/2014/08/episode-26-subject-of-this-episode-is.html

"Blessed with a perpetual craggy hangdog, Matthau is May's perfect comic foil." - Keith Uhlich

Fun Walter Matthau romantic comedy directed by, written by, and starring May. Matthau is in top form as a smarmy product of inherited wealth who runs out of money in a performance that kind of gave me Steve Martin vibes at times. I'd never seen May in anything before but she is effective in this role. Matthau's character arc maybe could have been handled a little more deftly, as he's pretty irredeemable right up until the predictable finish. Fun.

Especially first part was very funny and anti-bourgeoisie, and I liked the point of the second part, that we do not always know what we really need. Plus for not having any sex scene.

It has to be treated as a farce, which is what it is. It's just not funny enough to pull it off. Don't get me wrong, there are laughs, just not enough of them to keep me from breaking down the movie in my mind. The character inconsistencies are awfully convenient for the plot and comedy. And the turn by Matthau at the end was unearned.

Elaine May's intended cut of her celluloid entrance we always remain a mystery: a supposed three-hour gallows farce entailing counterfeit marriage, blackmail and murder, which heralded the well-known comedienne's directorial debut. Producer Robert Evans swiped the film from her, radically condensed it and she disowned the resultant version. I doubt it's any relief to her that, even in this existing manifestation, A New Leaf is one of cinema's top comedies.