Jack Lemmon is Harvey Fairchild, a successful architect whose depression and anxiety are heightened by his upcoming 60th birthday party, adding to an impending nervous breakdown. His wife Gillian, played by Julie Andrews, is supportive of him, but she is quietly suffering with a potential health crisis that she keeps secret from her family. Unfortunately, Harvey is selfishly unable to see past his own issues acting out toward his family, while also engaging in meaningless affairs with other women. His behavior threatens to not only destroy himself but the lives of his wife Gillian and their children.
Lemmon and Edwards had a long working relationship that began when both were at the start of their careers. Their first collaboration was on the 1955 musical comedy My Sister Eileen, which was written by Edwards and directed by Richard Quine. Edwards and Lemmon worked together under the direction of Richard Quine on two more productions: Operation Mad Ball (1957) also starring Ernie Kovacs and Mickey Rooney; and The Notorious Landlady (1962) with Kim Novak and Fred Astaire. After the commercial success of his first major theatrical directorial effort with Operation Petticoat (1959), starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis, Blake Edwards had finally established himself as a respected director and was behind some of the most popular films of the 1960s. Following the success of Breakfast at Tiffanys, Edwards cast Lemmon in Days of Wine and Roses in 1962, which was a serious departure from his usual comedic fare. While Lemmon had shown his dramatic side, especially in films such as The Apartment (1960), this role really demonstrated his skill in playing damaged characters on the verge of losing it all a type of character that Lemmon occasionally revisited for the remainder of his long career. Lemmon and Edwards reteamed twice more: on 1965s The Great Race, a huge departure from the bleak melodrama of Days of Wine and Roses, and again 21 years later on Thats Life!.
Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards not only had a marriage that spanned over 40 years until Edwards death in 2010, but also a close working relationship. Andrews starred in eight films directed by her husband, including Darling Lili (1970), starring Rock Hudson; 10 (1979), with Dudley Moore and Bo Derek; S.O.B. (1981) with William Holden; Victor/Victoria, starring James Garner; and The Man Who Loved Women (1983), with Burt Reynolds.
Edwards struggled to secure funding for Thats Life!, ultimately opting to go independent and largely self-finance, striking a distribution deal with Columbia Pictures. To cut production costs, Edwards shot much of the film in his and Andrewss Malibu home and cast their own children in supporting roles. Jack Lemmons own family also lent a hand, with son Chris Lemmon playing the son of his character Harvey, as well as wife Felicia Farr as Madame Carrie. Unfortunately, the production violated union standards due to low pay, setting off protests from the American Society of Cinematographers and prompting the departure of cinematographer Harry Stradling Jr., whom Edwards had previously worked with on S.O.B., Micki + Maude (1984) and A Fine Mess (1986). Anthony B. Richmond, then known for his work on The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) and the rock documentary The Kids Are Alright (1979), stepped in as director of photography. Edwards and Stradling Jr. worked together once more, on Blind Date in 1987.
Director: Blake Edwards
Producer: Tony Adams, Johnathan D. Krane and Trish Caroselli
Screenplay: Blake Edwards and Milton Wexler
Cinematography: Anthony B. Richmond
Editing: Lee Rhoads
Music: Henry Mancini
Cast: Jack Lemmon (Harvey Fairchild), Julie Andrews (Gillian Fairchild), Sally Kellerman (Holly Parrish), Robert Loggia (Father Baragone), Jennifer Edwards (Megan Fairchild Bartlet), Robert Knepper (Steve Larwin), Matt Lattanzi (Larry Bartlet), Chris Lemmon (Josh Fairchild), Felicia Farr (Madame Carrie) and Teddy Wilson (Corey).
C-102m
References
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/thats-life-1986
https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/21/movies/real-life-buoys-that-s-life.html
By Jill Blake
