Beau Bridges plays a rich young man who, on a whim, buys a tenement building in a lousy neighborhood. His intention is to renovate the building into luxury apartments, but over time this changes as he starts to bond with his Black residents and seems like he would like to be Black as well. At first, when he comes to the building, he is scared away by some of the residents. Seeing Lou Gossett and the rest chasing him down the street was awfully funny, as were the social commentaries made by comparing these people with Bridges' stuck up liberal family--a family with lofty ideals, but were amazingly prejudiced at heart. However, after being a mildly diverting comedy, the film turned dreadfully serious and just seemed to lose momentum. It also had some nice insights about prejudice and race relations. In the end, though, much of original impact of the film just seemed lost. And, while it was meant as a bit of shocking film in its day, today it seems a tad dated and Bridges' character a bit unlikable.
I think aside from this mixed focus, I was also disappointed because the film was directed by the same man that did the delicious black comedy, HAROLD AND MAUDE. While some elements of THE LANDLORD seemed similar to this other film in spirit, this only seemed to be in fleeting glimpses. There were many excellent moments, but overall it just didn't hold my interest.
I think aside from this mixed focus, I was also disappointed because the film was directed by the same man that did the delicious black comedy, HAROLD AND MAUDE. While some elements of THE LANDLORD seemed similar to this other film in spirit, this only seemed to be in fleeting glimpses. There were many excellent moments, but overall it just didn't hold my interest.