In Praise of Older Women

1978 "The story that turned on millions of PLAYBOY Magazine readers in the October issue."
5.6| 1h50m| en
Details

Andras Vayda grows up in a turbulent, war-torn Hungary, where he procures local girls for the occupying G.I.'s during World War II. Disappointed by girls of his age, he meets Maya, a married women in her thirties, who tutors him in the lessons of love and romance. Maya is only the first of many mature women that Andras will meet through his teenage and young adult life.

Director

Producted By

Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)

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Reviews

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.
BallWubba Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.
Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Greatornot This film though artsy ,was , well, you guessed it redundant. Growing up as a middle man for a brothel and being introduced to sex from a countess at the ripe old age of 11 or so, Andres becomes a stud, not gigolo , for sex starved housewives, between 30 and 40 or so. Taking place in Hungary during mid century, this film even seemed that much more far fetched. Andres , not having luck with teens his own age , ventures for older women. Going through women like the rest of the male population goes through underwear, this film did not have much of a point. Surely women can not be as pathetic as they were in this film? The cheesy lines were as ridiculous as the revolving door of a plot, that just kept going around and around. In the one scene, where a stupid line did not work, conveniently there was an attractive older lady, dining alone,ahemmmm, at another table that somehow saved the day for Andres. Too contrived, too predictable and well too soft porn. From a male perspective, lots of lovely visuals, but not much else going. Basically the open ending , just presumed more of the same, with nothing settled with Andres as far as his conscience or simply just becoming a mature adult. Another film, unlikable characters and a garbage pail.
IMDb-Girl87 Tom Berenger plays a young Hungarian having flings with older women.Pretty much a soft soft soft core porn flick. Really, boy meets girl, boy seduces girl, girl sleeps with boy.Why are the women such sluts in this film? They will have sex at any opportunity given. Not once does Tom Berenger get turned down for sex. It is quite a boring film but it seems ever 2 minutes Tom Berenger has a new bed buddy. So it ain't that bad. But if you're looking for entertainment, this film aint for you.My rating.. 1/5.
Jan Hrubin "In Praise of Older Women" is relatively true to the excellent psychological/philosophical novel it is based on. However, the problem is that all its intellectual elements (such as its theories about the reasoning behind promiscuity) are removed in the adaptation. The result is a soft porn movie which is unintentionally hilarious due to awkwardness and bad acting. Andras, the skirt-chasing protagonist, is presented as a dip who throws a temper tantrum when one of his lovers leaves him and delivers lines like "Give us the grand tour, pops." or "This exquisite antique ashtray could be yours if you promise to become my lover." as awkwardly as if he actually knew how lame he sounded (which Tom Berenger, who played him, probably did). A bad acting award should also go to the girl who played Andras´s first teenage girlfriend. She delivers her lines as if the characters she talked to were puppies or newborn babies but then, as my friend pointed out, she actually does act like a stupid flirty girl in her early teens who does not know what she wants in a boyfriend. The actresses who play Andras´s more adult girlfriends admittedly do a better job but still, they mostly play along with the soft porn cliche of upper class semi-intellectuals who treat sex as if it was art collecting or jogging. What do they see in a dork like Andras at their age anyway ? Also, what´s the deal with some of the Hungarian characters having Hungarian accents and the other Magyars having AMERICAN accents ? Nevertheless, I must reemphasize that this movie is fun. It made me laugh more than most typical "comedies" and some of the dramatic scenes, such as the one where Andras must flee Hungary , actually do work dramatically. The sex scenes, while pretty mild by today´s standards, look relatively realistic. The insights into Hungarian culture are interesting too. Nevertheless, trash is trash and I love it !
theeht If you can accept this Canadian made film as light entertainment, and not expect too much, you will definitely enjoy it. Unfortunately, at the time of release,it was unfavorably compared to the novel,and received some undeservedly vicious reviews,but it was a huge hit in Canada, where Helen Shaver received a best supporting Actress award for it.Tom Berenger is remarkably charismatic as a Hungarian lad who has romances with some of the international cinema's most accomplished(and underrated actresses) actresses, Karen Black, Susan Strasberg, and Alexandra Stewart,after striking out with a girl his age(Marianne MacIsaac, sounding quite like a young Marilyn Monroe). Is's a pleasure to watch the then novice, very handsome Berenger hold his own as an actor against this talented trio. Much was written about the film's sexuality and nudity, but it's not much, except for an extremely heated closing encounter between Tom and Helen Shaver. All in all, a memorable, unique film.