Woolf Man

George and Martha go at it -- Picture courtesy of Warner Brothers Pictures

by blogSpotter
I just watched Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, a ground-breaking 1966 movie, with its frank dialog and sexual suggestiveness. The last time I saw it was probably 30 years ago, and there are many details that I've forgotten. Woolf is a black comedy, centering on the alcohol-fueled, dysfunctional relationship between George, a 40-something history professor and Martha his harpie, angry wife. Both of these people would be recommended to AA or the Betty Ford Clinic nowadays; for the purposes of this movie at least, their nasty invectives flow as freely as the ever-present alcohol. They have an innocent young couple, biology professor Nick and his wife Honey, over for cocktails. The middle aged George and Martha wage verbal war on each other and create collateral damage by drawing Nick and Honey into their bitter battle of wits. I won't give away what all happens, but I do think the movie is hilarious if you can get past some of the sad implications. The movie has inspired many knock-offs -- see if you can catch essentially the same couple on episodes of Will and Grace, American Dad and Seinfeld.

Since the original play came out in 1962, critics have suggested that Edward Albee, an openly gay man, really intended this to be a play about two gay male couples. Part of this comes from the fact that both couples are childless, and the fact of Albee's own admitted sexual orientation. Part of it I fear is an undercurrent of phobic preconceptions that still exist 46 years later. You see, George is an acerbic, witty snipe -- nearly the equal of Martha for vitriolic insults and comebacks. Most people have trouble seeing a straight man in this mode although I've encountered several such men thru the years. The Seinfeld spoof even picked up on this by implying that their "George" character was in a secret love affair with another male novelist.

Elizabeth Taylor nailed the role of Martha, and I've always wondered if the role wasn't pretty close to her real persona. In fact, she and Richard Burton had a pretty rocky relationship thru the years -- George and Martha might be an apt metaphor for the relationship of the actors portraying them. Some people have looked for some kind of symbolic meaning in the protagonists' names -- George and Martha. They happen to be the names of our first President and his wife. I have to say it's a bit of a stretch. The movie was filmed in black and white which seemed edgy at the time; I'd like to see it now in color, to better appreciate four of the industry's finest actors in their prime.

If you happen to catch Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf on the TV schedule some night, make time to watch it. Aside from stimulating discussions about denial and bitchiness, it's damn good cinema.

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