the audience applauded

Highly Overrated But Still Good

A different way of telling a story

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This movie had feeble comedy, no chemistry, and a plot that slogged along as if wading through knee-deep mud. Marta Heflin, presumably cast for her swan-like, melancholic countenance, was unbearably dull. It was as if she was in a Quaalude haze throughout the entire film. I could barely sit through the repeated almost-but-not-quite hookup scenes, watching Heflin affect doe-eyed bashfulness while flimsy garments were peeled off her skeletal shoulders. As for the band scenes, which accounted for nearly half the film, think vocal chords strained very nearly to rupturing and lots of white polyester vests. This movie is a bona-fide stinker. Were there any characters that were at all interesting? Well, there was a crying baby that made a few appearances.

This is unlike any Altman movie I have ever encountered. No snarkiness, no clever dialogue, no overlapping story lines. This is just a nice, simple love story. Paul Dooley is nice as a middle aged man still controlled by his father. Marta Heflin was a harder character to pin down. Maybe it was because I was only concentrating on her excessive thinness (her next role cast her as a concentration camp victim, if that gives you some idea), but I couldn't get a read on her at all. Her face was fairly blank, but her voice was outstanding! She belongs to a communal singing group led by the insanely talented, and so sexy, Ted Neely! We see many of the bands (Keepin Em off the Streets) songs performed in their entirety, and it is fantastic! I will be scouring the internet for copies of their music! Overall, sweet love story,with some nice sibling relations thrown in, but the reason I will keep coming back is the music!

Perhaps I'm part of a minority of film goers who seek out what is best in a film rather than what is worst, but it is now 26 years after the release of this film, and I'm still flipping through movie soundtracks at the local music stores, looking for the soundtrack to "A Perfect Couple". I still remember walking out of the theater at the end of watching this film when it was originally released, making a note to buy the soundtrack of the film, if not the film, itself, as soon as it was released. Sadly, it seems that neither have ever been released, and I, for one, have never seen the film show up on television, in spite of looking for the past 26 years. The music would have made a perfect film soundtrack, particularly because it was representative of a certain genre of music of the '70s. The film, itself, may not have been deserving of any awards, but it was certainly a great deal better than many of the films that have made it to video over the years. Sadly, the only way that a fan seems to be able to get a copy of the film is through the occasional EBAY sale of a bootlegged copy, which is of poor quality, but better than nothing until a legitimate version finally becomes available.

This is a wonderful film with an out-of-sight uncredited series of great songs. Strangely, it's not included on Yahoo's list of Altman films. Offers great insight into the adult dating scene. Henry Gibson (of Altman's Nashville) has a non-singing part. Singing cast includes one of the Neville Brothers. Think of it as Nashville with an extended boy-meets-girl plot and no political overtones.