Divorce American Style
| Divorce American Style | |
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Theatrical poster
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| Directed by | Bud Yorkin |
| Produced by | Norman Lear |
| Written by | Norman Lear Robert Kaufman |
| Starring |
Dick Van Dyke Debbie Reynolds Jason Robards Jean Simmons |
| Music by | Dave Grusin |
| Cinematography | Conrad L. Hall |
| Edited by | Ferris Webster |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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109 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $12,000,000 |
Divorce American Style is a 1967 American satirical comedy film directed by Bud Yorkin and starring Dick Van Dyke, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Simmons, Jason Robards and Van Johnson.Norman Lear produced the film and wrote the script based on a story by Robert Kaufman. It focuses on a married couple that opts for divorce when counseling fails to help them resolve their various problems, and the problems presented to divorced people by alimony. The title is an homage to Divorce Italian Style (1961).
After seventeen years of marriage, affluent Los Angeles suburban couple Richard Harmon (Van Dyke) and his wife Barbara (Reynolds) seem to have it all, but they're constantly bickering. When they discover they can no longer communicate, even to argue, they make an effort to salvage their relationship through counseling. But after catching each other emptying their joint bank accounts (at the urging of friends), they file for divorce.
Richard finds himself living in a small apartment and trying to survive on $87.30 a week. His take-home income has been cut to ribbons by high alimony. Richard meets a recently divorced man, Nelson Downes (Robards), who introduces him to ex-wife Nancy (Simmons). Nelson wants to marry off Nancy to be free of his alimony burden, so that he can marry his pregnant fiancee. Nancy also wishes to marry because she is lonely.
Since Richard now cannot afford to be remarried, Nelson and Nancy plot to set up Barbara with a millionaire auto dealer, Big Al Yearling (Johnson).
Barbara begins a relationship with Big Al, but the night before the Harmon divorce becomes final, all of the principal characters meet to celebrate the success of their plans. At a nightclub, a hypnotist pulls Barbara from the audience and puts her into a trance. After inducing her into performing a mock striptease, she instructs Barbara to kiss her true love. Barbara plants one on Richard, and just like that their marriage problems are resolved. (But not quite....At the end of the movie, they're bickering again.)
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Wikipedia