Fun With Dick And Jane (1977)

When an upper middle class aerospace executive (George Segal) is fired, he and his wife (Jane Fonda) find themselves unable to maintain their lifestyle and in debt. When he is unable to secure another high paying job, they turn to crime! Directed by Ted Kotcheff (WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CHEFS OF EUROPE?). After her one-two punch with acclaimed performances in THEY SHOOT HORSES DON'T THEY? and her Oscar winning turn in KLUTE, Jane Fonda seemed on the verge of becoming America's greatest actress, the Bette Davis of her generation. Alas, she seemed to lose interest in mainstream films and concentrated on political cinema. Movies like Godard's TOUT VA BIEN (1972), the anti establishment STEELYARD BLUES (1973), the feminist A DOLL'S HOUSE (1973) and the Soviet production of THE BLUE BIRD (1976) because she believed in detente. All of them unsuccessful. This was her attempt at re-entering mainstream cinema and it worked. The film was a big hit and she became a bankable star again. Alas, it's a pity it isn't very good. You can't get better comedic actors than Segal and Fonda, they're first rate. But they can't do anything to alleviate the mediocrity of the material. While the premise has possibilities and some of the targets like fake evangelicals are okay (by me, anyway), I didn't find it amusing to hold up small businesses like stores in order to maintain their overextended lifestyle. Its stereotyping of minorities also leaves a bad taste. With Ed McMahon, Dick Gautier, John Dehner and Jean Carson.