This is a paen of praise to a functional dysfunctional (does that make any sense? no matter it will before the end of this review) family in New York City. The antihero of this epic is self-proclaimed "apathist" Alfred Chamberlain, played to absolute perfection by Elliott Gould - who also shared production credits. The movie is, of course, that criminally overlooked Jules Feiffer jewel Little Murders from his play of the same name. Now that the barest of introductions has been afforded, let's get down to business.

Alfred Chamberlain, the self-proclaimed apathist, is an unknown street photographer who makes his living and has even won awards by photographing s... no, Epinions doesn't allow that word so I'll substitute "doodoo" and especially "doggie doo." Obviously, this is set in a time before effective leash laws requiring dog owners to pick up after their pets. It wouldn't make any difference to Alfred, though. Patience - the patience that comes with apathy - will pay off and doodoo will eventually be found and photographed. In the meantime, his biggest problem is being regularly beaten up by bored street toughs with nothing better to do. Alfred asks only that they don't hurt his camera, and submits easily while thinking only of photographing doodoo while the beatings are going on.

Alfred's counterpoint and eventual love interest is provided in the person of Patsy Newquist, played with exquisite credibility by Marcia Rodd. Patsy is an upper middle class young woman who is making her own way in the world. She copes with the usual Big Apple problems of street noise waking her before she's ready, rusty pipes in her shower, and a persistent heavy breather to remind her that someone is thinking of her.

You already know (or should) Elliott Gould from his roles in The Night They Raided Minsky's, Bob&Carol&Ted&Alice, and of course playing "Trapper John" in MASH. Just as a reminder of how young Gould was in those days, he was married to Barbra Streisand during the filming of Little Murders. You are probably much less familiar with the delightful Marcia Rodd. Marcia had been doing well on the New York stage when she was picked for the roll of Patsy. Despite an outstanding job in the role, she chose to pursue a very successful TV career - not as a series star, but in key roles in most of the top series of the time. Her only other reasonably successful movie appearance was in the Roy Scheider film, Last Embrace, directed by Jonathan Demme. Oh, well, at least we can enjoy her here!

Alfred and Patsy meet when she looks out of her apartment window and sees some toughs beating up on an unresisting victim. They ignore her calls, so she breaks it up by hand, getting somewhat roughed up in the process herself. Alfred, while she is being hit upon, leaves the scene without trying to help and she, naturally, follows to chew him out for his apparent lack of gratitude. To her surprise, he bawls her out for interfering with the following explanation:
"Those guys in the park, they said 'Hey fatface! What are you staring at?' If I told them I wasn't staring at them, they would've beat me up for being a liar. And if I told them I was staring at them because I wanted to take their picture, then they'd beat me up for being a cop. So I told them I was staring at them because they looked familiar, and they beat me up for being a feg (Epinions made me change the 'a' to the 'e'). There's no way to talk someone out of beating you up if that's what he wants to do.'

Somehow, Alfred's apathetic acceptance of unpleasant realities is attractive to Patsy and Alfred's apathy allows it. Can you imagine a more exciting beginning for a love story? Well, relax this isn't anything near the traditional love story. Although the story draws mention of nihilism and being Kafkaesque, it isn't either. It's just plain kooky Jules Feiffer commenting on the insanity that is New York. I won't tell you any more about the plot, although is one that will lock your eyelids open as surely as the mechanical locks used by the re-programmers on Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange which, by the way is another of my favorite films. Rather than load this review with spoilers, let me tantalize you with the totally flawless casting.

Patsy's cuckoo mother, Mrs. Newquist, is played by Elizabeth Wilson. You might (or might not) remember her as the wife of the cook in the panicked cafe in Hitchcock's The Birds, or regular Freida Hechlinger on TV's East Side/West Side for 25 episodes. More likely, however, is you remembering her as Dustin Hoffman's mother in The Graduate. Patsy, naturally, needs to have a father, and he is played hilariously by the rock solid actor, Vincent Gardenia. Coincidentally, he had played Elizabeth Wilson's husband in the 1970 fizzle Jenny and came to this film role naturally. If you doubt the talent of this 'couple,' just keep in mind that both are/were Emmy award winners and Wilson was nominated for a Bafta Award while Gardenia was twice nominated for Oscars. Gardenia is probably best remembered for being Mayor Wappler of Eagle Rock, Iowa in the anti-smoking comedy Cold Turkey or Coach Dutch Schnell in the Robert DeNiro sports goodie Bang The Drum Slowly.

No dysfunctional family would be complete without a nutty "little" brother, in this case Kenny Newquist, played by Jon Korkes. I know, already. You've never heard of this young actor, either. Try a super dorky 1981 Horror flick by the title of Jaws of Satan which, despite being a real stinker (no fault of Korkes') is still available on VHS. Or, his role in Two Minute Warning in which he plays "Jeffrey," a young man on a tragic date with "Lucy," played by Marilyn Hassett - a small but memorable role. His first and most memorable role (other than Kenny) was, however, as "Snowden" - the gunner who dies in Yossarian's (Alan Arkin) arms.

One of the interesting coincidences (?) in this movie was how many of the actors had played closely with each other in other films. Korkes played with Alan Arkin in Catch 22, and Wilson and Gardenia played a married couple just the year before this film; Elliot Gould played Trapper John to Donald Southerland's Hawkeye Pierce in MASH, John Randolph (who played Alfred's father) had co-starred with Elizabeth Wilson in an episode of the TV series East Side/West Side and later played Doris Roberts's (who played Alfred's mother) husband as the parents of Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation. In addition to being outstandingly credible in some of the most difficult roles possible, they managed to keep me in laughter - which isn't easy in a movie with the title Little Murders.

Don't worry, I won't spoil anything for you - I wouldn't dare deprive you of the shock. This is Jules Feiffer at his most outrageous and, for those males who used to watch for him in Playboy magazine, you'll know what I mean. The picture was dreamed up largely because of the increase in pointless violence in the Big Apple following JFK's assassination and - to some unpleasant degree, became the handwriting on the wall. It is as black (and bleak) a comedy - and as uproariously hilarious - as any ever brought to the screen. Director Feiffer and Producer/Star Gould saw certain uncomfortable similarities between the circumstances in the movie, and the situation in the Middle East right now - which is what led them to pull this masterpiece out of mothballs and offer it to a whole new generation of watchers who may understand it from an entirely different perspective. This is one that definitely should NOT be missed or passed over. It is available in factory sealed pristine horror for ridiculously low prices. Don't let it get away.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age