Diary of a Mad Housewife

Diary of a Mad Housewife
Directed by	Frank Perry
Produced by	Frank Perry
Written by	Eleanor Perry Sue Kaufman (novel)
Starring	Carrie Snodgress Richard Benjamin Frank Langella
Cinematography	Gerald Hirschfeld
Editing by	Sidney Katz
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	August 10, 1970 (1970-08-10)
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Diary of a Mad Housewife is a 1967 novel that was adapted into 1970 drama film about a frustrated wife, portrayed by Carrie Snodgress, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won a Golden Globe award in the same category. The film was adapted by Eleanor Perry from the 1967 novel by Sue Kaufman and directed by Perry's then-husband, Frank Perry. The film co-starred Richard Benjamin and Frank Langella.^[1]

Plot

Tina Balser is in a loveless marriage with Jonathan, an insufferable, social-climbing lawyer in New York City. He treats her like a trophy, refuses to back her in disputes over the raising of their children and belittles her in public. Searching for relief, she has an affair with writer George Prager, but this only drives her deeper into despair. She then tries group therapy, but this also proves fruitless when she finds her male psychiatrist, Dr. Linstrom, is no more understanding than the other men in her life.

Cast

• Richard Benjamin as Jonathan Balser
• Frank Langella as George Prager
• Carrie Snodgress as Tina Balser
• Lorraine Cullen as Sylvie Balser
• Frannie Michel as Liz Balser
• Lester Rawlins as Dr. Linstrom
• Alice Cooper as Himself
• Peter Boyle as Man in group therapy

Response

The film maintains a 77% at Rotten Tomatoes.^[2] Roger Ebert gave the movie three out of four stars, saying, "What makes the movie work... is that it's played entirely from the housewife's point of view, and that the housewife is played brilliantly by Carrie Snodgress."^[2]

Neil Young wrote the song "A Man Needs a Maid" inspired by Snodgress in Diary of a Mad Housewife: "I was watching a movie with a friend/I fell in love with the actress/she was playing a part I could understand." The song was included on his 1972 album Harvest. Soon after, Young and Snodgress became romantically involved for several years.

Groucho Marx spoke out against this movie in an episode of the Dick Cavett show on May 25, 1971. He stated that it was an example of dirty entertainment, and didn't like it because they were in the sack for 80 minutes. He made a joke of this, and stated, "Well I'm not interested in that. I don't care what they are doing in the sack, if I am not doing it, why should I sit in the theater and watch it?" The interview can be seen on Youtube.^[3]

Availability

The film has never been released on DVD; VHS copies of Housewife have become rare, with sealed copies routinely fetching over $100 on websites like Amazon.com and eBay.^[4]

Awards and nominations

• Best Picture - Musical or Comedy (nominee) - 1970 Golden Globe
• Best Actor - Musical or Comedy (nominee) - Richard Benjamin - 1970 Golden Globe
• Best Actress - Musical or Comedy (winner) - Carrie Snodgress - 1970 Golden Globe
• New Star of the Year - Male (nominee) - Frank Langella - 1970 Golden Globe
• New Star of the Year - Female (winner) - Carrie Snodgress - 1970 Golden Globe
• Best Actress (nominee) - Carrie Snodgress - 1970 Academy Award
• Best Picture (nominee) - 1970 National Board of Review
• Best Supporting Actor (winner) - Frank Langella - 1970 National Board of Review

References

1. ^ New York Times
2. ^ ^{a b} Rotten Tomatoes entry for Diary of a Mad Housewife.
3. ^ Rotten Tomatoes entry for [1].
4. ^ Amazon.com page for "Diary of a Mad Housewife - VHS."

External links

• Diary of a Mad Housewife at the Internet Movie Database
• Diary of a Mad Housewife at AllRovi
• Diary of a Mad Housewife at Rotten Tomatoes