Since I've been doing loads of housework lately, I thought it a good idea to watch a history lesson in second wave feminism: Diary of a Mad Housewife, the 1970 film starring the fantastic Carrie Snodgress. Even though it is a dated, Betty Friedan-style polemic, I love it and I'm glad I saved my crappy VHS copy of it. Where is the campaign to get this one out on DVD already? Carrie Snodgress is so great in her role, deftly handling her pompous husband (Richard Benjamin) and cad of a lover (Frank Langella). Ironically, she left films for a time to have a kid with Neil Young. A man needs a maid indeed.
2 comments:
Wow! I haven't thought about this one in a while. I found the book in a resale shop when I was about fifteen. I loved it. Later, I watched the film on VHS, but I don't remember how my sheltered teenaged self made sense of it. I should watch it again, too.
Whatever happened to Carrie Snodgress after Neil Young? And how great of a name is "Snodgress"?Richard Benjamin is so cool, too. Have you ever seen Goodbye, Columbus?
She was in some other stuff, nothing as good. It's actually a sad story; the kid she had with Neil Young had cerebral palsy and she had to fight him for sufficient child support. Made me less of a Neil Young fan. She died recently.
I have not seen Goodbye, Columbus, but I'll have to as I'm a big Jack Klugman fan. Just added it to the queue!
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