February 8 movie: The President's Analyst. James Coburn plays a psychiatrist hired to psychoanalyze the president. At first he loves the prestige of the job, but soon the stress and isolation start to get to him. He cracks under the pressure and tries to quit, only to discover that his most outlandish fears are true, and then some. This movie is utterly hilarious and supremely paranoid. I can't even describe how much I love it.
Part of my affection for The President's Analyst comes from the friend who introduced me to it. A wild man who styled himself Dr. Anubis Atomsmasher and was possibly even more paranoid than the movie. I will never forget how he lit up at the scene where the phone company makes its play. Like that made everything make sense. I love that crazy son of a bitch.
Unfortunately, though the phone company delivers some of the best humor in the movie, it may not translate well for anyone much younger than me. I remember when Ma Bell was broken up, but I was too young to have ever paid a phone bill myself. I wonder if that part of the movie would make any sense to someone in their 20s.
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Dunno, but it's a huge favorite of mine. Especially the TPC scene, which I used to have an audio tape of before video trickled down to the public. Also notable is the helicopter shot of Coburn on the torch of the Statue of Liberty, made at a time when (I was told) nobody was permitted up there. The suburban family and love in a field scenes are great too.
Don't worry. The way things are going, the TPC scenes will make sense again in a couple of years.