DIRECTED BY HERBERT ROSS
In 1978 gay director and former choreographer Herbert Ross – he had been married to ballerina Nora Kaye and then Lee Radziwill but people in Hollywood knew he was gay – surprised everyone by filling two of the five Best Film of 1977 Oscar slots with the newly married Neil Simon/Marsha Mason lovefest “The Goodbye Girl” and the Arthur Laurents-penned ballet soap “The Turning Point”. Both had gay moments, and both were dreadful. Between the two of them, they garnered an incredible 16 Oscar nominations (” The Turning Point” eleven and “The Goodbye Girl” five), with Ross himself getting a nod for Best Director for “The Turning Point”.
Shirley MacLaine is Deedee Rodgers. Once a promising ballerina, she left the stage to marry Wayne and raise a family in Oklahoma. She now runs a small ballet school. It is intimated that Deedee married her husband Wayne (Tom Skerritt), a former ballet dancer, to prove that he wasn’t gay! Anne Bancroft is Emma Jacklin, Deedee’s former friend and rival, who chose career over family, becoming a celebrated star with the American Ballet Company. Leslie Browne is Emilia Rodgers Deedee’s daughter, who joins Emma’s company, reigniting old tensions between the two women. Deedee envies Emma’s fame and regrets her own sacrifices, while Emma envies Deedee’s family life. Their rivalry intensifies as Emilia thrives under Emma’s mentorship. Emilia becomes involved with Yuri (Makhail Baryshnikov), a charismatic dancer, complicating her professional and personal growth. Deedee and Emma confront each other in a heated argument that escalates into a physical fight, symbolizing their decades of suppressed resentment.
How this managed to get eleven Oscar nominations only Hollywood knows. The plot is basically a rehash of the old Bette Davis-Miriam Hopkins warhorse “Old Acquittance,” and the Arthur Laurents script is painfully apparent. Worse, the two major supporting characters – both of whom received Oscar nominations – are ballet dancers who cannot act. Every scene that involves Browne and/or Baryshnikov is embarrassing to watch. Finally, the big Dedee-Emma confrontation is another rehash, this time it’s a catfight stolen entirely from the far more entertaining catfight five years earlier between Carol Burnett and Geraldine Page in “Pete ‘n’ Tillie.
When “The Turning Point” came away from the ceremony, 0/11, I rejoiced.
NOW STREAMING ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, APPLE TV+ and YOUTUBE
Seventy Queer Films Made Under the Hays Code (1934-1967)
https://thebrownees.net/seventy-queer-films-of-the-new-hollywood-1967-1981
