Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 20-June-10
Spoiler Rating: Medium

A Touch of Class (1973)

A Touch of Class starts out like a bedroom farce, and a well executed one at that. It follows Steve (George Segal), an American living in London, who has a chance meeting with a native named Vickie (Glenda Jackson). Fate keeps throwing them together, and the third time they cross paths he invites her to tea. Steve has a wife and children and is a prominent businessman to boot, but he has no qualms about pursuing Vickie as a lover. A newly divorced mother of two, she decides that casual sex might do her some good, so with few preliminaries they plan a week in Spain. This getaway presents the thorns of adultery in a highly humorous light. Steve's family and in-laws consider joining him on his "business trip" while an amused travel agent stands by. When he does manage to escape to the airport by himself, he runs into a buddy who happens to be going to the same destination. In Spain the threat of interference and detection is one of several obstacles to the consummation of the tryst, and once Vickie and Steve finally get it on they have a huge fight. Angry, disillusioned, and stuck in a hotel room with a near stranger, each longs to call the whole thing off until another battle breaks a barrier and unites them as a couple. From then on it's all fun in the sun (and the sack).

Just when you begin to wonder why Jackson won an Oscar for her nicely deadpan but still lightweight performance, the film undergoes a change from silly to serious to sad. (Then too, it used to be less uncommon for actors to win Oscars for comedic roles.) This occurs when the couple returns to London, and strangely enough the change does not seem abrupt or incongruous. Perhaps this is because the movie's moods reflect how people in such a situation might feel. At first everything is exciting and the giddiness quotient is high. Then they settle into a routine and get to know each other. Vickie and Steve refurbish a Soho flat as a love nest where they share food, wine, old movies, and sex. It is very cozy, except that every minute is stolen from Steve's "real" life and they must constantly use an alarm clock to send him home before arousing suspicion. Stolen or not, there is time enough to fall in love, which they do with mutual surprise. Although they do not discuss it openly, the question becomes what the next step should be now that the relationship involves caring instead of cheap thrills. The answer comes rather abruptly, but again this seems like a natural course of events. It is not clear to what "A Touch of Class" refers, but it could well describe the lifelike poignancy that ultimately distinguishes this film.

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