(Courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
The noose tightens around Harold’s neck as he sways back and forth. His mother walks into the room, too preoccupied with the phone to notice. Choking noises escape Harold’s mouth as if he is slowly strangled.
This may be hard to believe, but this is the opening scene of a romantic comedy.
Finally his mother looks up and says, “I suppose you think that’s very funny, Harold… Oh, dinner at eight, Harold. And do try to be a little more vivacious.”
In 1971the world was introduced to a new kind of romance, when the film industry was willing to let someone other than the traditional Hollywood couple try their ways in romantic movies. Ruth Gordon was more than three times Bud Cort’s age, but they were perfect for the title roles in “Harold and Maude.”
Cort plays a rich young man obsessed with death. His mother turns to a dating service to find him a girlfriend, but in response Harold does what he does best: fake suicides. In the meantime, Harold (Cort) meets Maude (Gordon) when she befriends him, albeit against his will, at a funeral. He is shocked by her freewheeling attitude to other people’s property, particularly cars, but the two soon establish a firm bond.
Though the film is filled with fake deaths, funerals and a couple of hearses, it is anything but depressing. “Harold and Maude” has the perfect comedic touch and its humor shines through the gloom of death.
“Harold and Maude” broke the mold of romance movies with a far from ordinary relationship that manages to ring true. It paved the way for later quirky romance movies like “Juno,” “The Crying Game” and “Benny and Joon.”
The movie is accompanied by the lyrical stylings of Cat Stevens. The Cat Stevens soundtrack is one of the most perfect pairings of song and film.
Both Cort and Gordon give excellent performances. Cort is almost expressionless throughout and keeps his voice to a monotone, while Gordon is exactly the opposite—full of life and energy.
“Harold and Maude” is a story like no other. It depicts romance exactly as it is: Relationships can’t be forced; they are what they are.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Brigid Igoe at Brigid.igoe@colorado.edu.
