rip paul mazursky

Director Paul Mazursky passed way last week, at the age of 84. Whenever I hear his name I inevitably think of classic films of the '70s, although his work spanned the '60s to the '00s.

Mazursky wrote and directed two of my favorite films, An Unmarried Woman and Down and Out in Beverly Hills. Both movies play with crushing, from both inside and out, the idea of American life that we have constructed for ourselves — marriage, sex, status, homes, possessions. No matter how timely or personal the stories in his film might be, he always  gave them a touch of comedy, too —  Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Harry and Tonto, Tempest, Moscow on the Hudson, Scenes from a Mall.

Mazursky, center, with Alan Bates and Jill Clayburgh during the filming of An Unmarried Woman

Here are a few humorous quotes from his film:

Ted Henderson (Elliot Gould, from Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice)
"First, we'll have an orgy. Then we'll go see Tony Bennett."

Nick Fifer (Woody Allen, in Scenes from a Mall)
"How many 16th anniversaries does a person have in a lifetime? One ... maybe two."

Dave Whiteman (Richard Dreyfuss, from Down and Out in Beverly Hills)
"I thought we weren't going to drink any more."
Barbara Whiteman (Bette Midler)
"Well, Dave, yeah. It's true. I am a vegetarian. But I hear ... that vodka ... comes from a potato!"

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