DIARY OF A MAD HOUSEWIFE (1970)

Adulterers Unanimous

Eleanor and Frank Perry were indie before anyone else. In 1962 they self-financed their debut film, David and Lisa, and both earned surprise Oscar nominations. From there they specialized in literary adaptions for the studios. In films like The Swimmer, Eleanor, the playwright, knew exactly what to respect in the source material and what to change. Frank, the director, could push film style to almost reckless levels of originality. Diary of a Mad Housewife is their best, most personal, and also their last film together. Based on the novel by Sue Kaufman, it stars Carrie Snodgrass as Tina, suffocating under the weedy tyranny of her New York lawyer husband played by Richard Benjamin. Her life changes when she meets a beatifically coiffed literary star played by Frank Langella.

Diary of a Mad Housewife is a cringy, hilarious, cruel, and sexy 90-minute stew of New York angst, horny writers, and needs both met and unmet. The perfect partner for this Cinema Dirtbag commentary track was, of c…