Big Blonde (1980)

Set in the prohibition era of the 1920s, a showroom model and goodtime girl (Sally Kellerman) marries a traveling salesman (John Lithgow). But while the former party girl delights in her new found domesticity, her husband hates it and still craves the party life. As the marriage deteriorates, so does the wife. Based on the prize winning short story by Dorothy Parker and directed by Kirk Browning. There's an underlying sadness to Parker's tale of a vivacious blonde putting on a cheerful front because it's expected of her as she sinks into a depression. This adaptation (done for public television) doesn't quite capture the heroine's duality but Kellerman is really wonderful here, engendering empathy when she could have just as easily engendered annoyance. Sadly, Lithgow seems miscast. We're only too aware of his "acting" the part rather than inhabiting it. With George Coe, Anita Morris and Peg Murray.