“No one seems to love or understand me. Oh what hard luck stories they all hand me”
MELVIN AND HOWARD screens Friday, June 16th at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood). This is the third film in their ‘Tribute to Jonathan Demme’ The movie starts at 8:00pm.
Paul Le Mat is an average Joe named Melvin E. Dummar in MELVIN AND HOWARD (1980) an effective combination of drama and comedy from director Jonathan Demme. Melvin often finds it difficult to make ends meet, no matter what line of work he’s in. Then, one day, it seems as if his luck might change. A stranger leaves on his desk a will proclaiming Melvin to be one of 16 heirs to the fortune of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes. Once upon a time, Melvin had given a lift to an aged, decrepit looking individual (Jason Robards) who claimed to be Hughes. The two sang ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’ to each other and then remarked about the scent of sage and greasewood in a scene both touching and humorous. All of a sudden Melvins’ ordinary life isn’t so ordinary anymore, and he even has to go to court to affirm that he’s not making up this incredible story.
MELVIN AND HOWARD is further testimony to the versatility of the late Hollywood filmmaker Jonathan Demme, who’d gotten his start, like many of his peers, working for independent operator Roger Corman. Demme has been able to move from exploitation feature (FIGHTING MAD) to comedy (MARRIED TO THE MOB) to documentary (COUSIN BOBBY) to thriller THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) to message movie (PHILADELPHIA) with ease. Here Demme makes the most of the engrossing script by Oscar winning Bo Goldman, and the two men succeed the most in portraying the various ups and downs of average American life.
And, of course, it’s pretty funny as well. Most of the highlights are provided by the memorable Mary Steenburgen (an Oscar winner here , for Best Supporting Actress) as Melvins’ first wife, especially during a TV talent contest. Mary is a delight – and even gets naked, for those who are interested. Demme fills the cast with top actors, although Robards’ screen time is relatively brief. Le Mat has a genuine, likable, Everyman type quality here. Strong support is provided by character actors such as Jack Kehoe, Michael J. Pollard, John Glover, Charles Napier, and Sonny Carl Davis, and other familiar faces like Martine Beswick, Gloria Grahame, Dabney Coleman, Pamela Reed, and Charlene Holt. Joe Spinell appears unbilled; the real Melvin E. Dummar also turns up as a counterman in a bus depot.
MELVIN AND HOWARD is the kind of story that seems too far-fetched to be true, yet it’s all performed and filmed so endearingly that it moves along extremely well, holding ones’ attention consistently.
Admission is:
$6 for the general public
$5 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$4 for Webster University staff and faculty
Free for Webster students with proper I.D.
Here’s the rest of the line-up for the other films that will be part of the ‘Tribute to Jonathan Demme’:
6/17 – Stop Making Sense (1984)
6/23 – Something Wild (1986)
6/24 – Married to the Mob (1988)
6/30 – The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
7/1 – Philadelphia (1993)
