Willie & Phil
Encyclopedia
Willie & Phil is a 1980 film directed by Paul Mazursky
and starring Margot Kidder
and Michael Ontkean
.
chic of the '70s. Willie, a high school English teacher who plays jazz piano (Michael Ontkean
), and Phil, a fashion photographer (Ray Sharkey
), meet coming out of the Bleecker Street Cinema where Jules et Jim has just been shown and become friends. They both fall in love with Jeannette, a girl from Kentucky, (Margot Kidder
).
in The New Yorker
. "It could be that the theme of Jules et Jim, which preoccupies Mazursky - woman as the source of life and art, and woman as destroyer - is just what he can't handle. The ad for Willie & Phil does bring out the film's latent subject: we see the open mouth of a giant goddess who is holding two men in the palm of her hand. They reach up to her with their offerings - one with a bottle of wine, the other with a bunch of flowers. She may be breathing life into these dwarf suitors or preparing to devour them along with their gifts. Either way, she's a source of awe and terror. All through the picture, Mazursky has been trying to demystify what he experiences as mystifying. This movie is a little monument to screwed-up notions of what women are."
Paul Mazursky
Paul Mazursky is an American film director, screenwriter and actor.-Personal life:He was born Irwin Mazursky in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Jean , a piano player for dance classes, and David Mazursky, a laborer. Mazursky was born to a Jewish family; his grandfather was an immigrant from...
and starring Margot Kidder
Margot Kidder
Margaret Ruth "Margot" Kidder is a Canadian-born American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Lois Lane in the four Superman movies opposite Christopher Reeve, a role that brought her to widespread recognition....
and Michael Ontkean
Michael Ontkean
Michael Leonard Ontkean is a Canadian actor. He is best known for the 1970s crime drama The Rookies, the film Slap Shot , and the cult-favorite TV series Twin Peaks .-Life and career:...
.
Plot
The film is set in the 1970s and amidst the countercultureCounterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
chic of the '70s. Willie, a high school English teacher who plays jazz piano (Michael Ontkean
Michael Ontkean
Michael Leonard Ontkean is a Canadian actor. He is best known for the 1970s crime drama The Rookies, the film Slap Shot , and the cult-favorite TV series Twin Peaks .-Life and career:...
), and Phil, a fashion photographer (Ray Sharkey
Ray Sharkey
Raymond "Ray" Sharkey, Jr. was an American actor best known for his role as Sonny Steelgrave in the television series Wiseguy.-Early life and career:...
), meet coming out of the Bleecker Street Cinema where Jules et Jim has just been shown and become friends. They both fall in love with Jeannette, a girl from Kentucky, (Margot Kidder
Margot Kidder
Margaret Ruth "Margot" Kidder is a Canadian-born American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Lois Lane in the four Superman movies opposite Christopher Reeve, a role that brought her to widespread recognition....
).
Critical responses
The film was reviewed by Pauline KaelPauline Kael
Pauline Kael was an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker magazine from 1968 to 1991. Earlier in her career, her work appeared in City Lights, McCall's and The New Republic....
in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. "It could be that the theme of Jules et Jim, which preoccupies Mazursky - woman as the source of life and art, and woman as destroyer - is just what he can't handle. The ad for Willie & Phil does bring out the film's latent subject: we see the open mouth of a giant goddess who is holding two men in the palm of her hand. They reach up to her with their offerings - one with a bottle of wine, the other with a bunch of flowers. She may be breathing life into these dwarf suitors or preparing to devour them along with their gifts. Either way, she's a source of awe and terror. All through the picture, Mazursky has been trying to demystify what he experiences as mystifying. This movie is a little monument to screwed-up notions of what women are."
Cast
- Willie Kaufman - Michael OntkeanMichael OntkeanMichael Leonard Ontkean is a Canadian actor. He is best known for the 1970s crime drama The Rookies, the film Slap Shot , and the cult-favorite TV series Twin Peaks .-Life and career:...
- Phil D'Amico - Ray SharkeyRay SharkeyRaymond "Ray" Sharkey, Jr. was an American actor best known for his role as Sonny Steelgrave in the television series Wiseguy.-Early life and career:...
- Jeannette Sutherland - Margot KidderMargot KidderMargaret Ruth "Margot" Kidder is a Canadian-born American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Lois Lane in the four Superman movies opposite Christopher Reeve, a role that brought her to widespread recognition....
- Maria Kaufman - Jan MinerJan MinerJan Miner was an American actress best known for her iconic role as the manicurist Madge in a 27-year series of television commercials for Palmolive dish-washing detergent....
- Sal Kaufman - Tom Brennan
- Mrs. D'Amico - Julie BovassoJulie BovassoJulie Bovasso was an American actress of stage, screen and television. She was born in Brooklyn, New York to an Italian-American family.-Career:Bovasso appeared in many films, including Saturday Night Fever and...
- Mr D'Amico - Louis GussLouis GussLouis Guss was an American character actor with a long line of screen credits, having appeared in hundreds of TV series, feature films and stage productions, specializing in blue-collar ethnic roles, over a five decade career...
- Patti Sutherland - Kaki HunterKaki HunterKaki Hunter . is an American actress, architect & writer. As an actress she first found moderate success in starring roles in the movies Roadie , Willie & Phil , Whose Life Is It Anyway?, and Just The Way You Are with Kristy McNichol...