Lighthearted and fluffy, "First Monday In October" tackles the issue of the first woman appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. The film was topical when released in 1981, but now seems terribly dated. Grumpy but witty Justice Dan Snow (Walter Matthau), a liberal, spars with the new justice: Ruth Loomis (Jill Clayburgh), a conservative.
The plot is slow and a bit cloistered, no doubt the result of the film's origin as a play. The plot does advance, but not until near the end. Most of the "action", especially in the middle Act, consists of witty dialogue among the various justices, especially between Snow and Loomis. The dialogue is so witty that it seems unnatural. Each character immediately responds with some clever come-back line. The script could easily have been converted to an episodic TV sitcom of the early eighties. Mercifully, it wasn't.
The story has no real substance, apart from the rather obvious theme that any argument requires opposing points of view. And so, Justice Snow makes his point about a dinner menu. And Justice Loomis makes a counterpoint, showing how a reasoned debate can be applied even to life's most trivial moments.
The film does have very good production values. And the performances of Matthau and Clayburgh are certainly credible. Viewers who like these two actors will no doubt like this film.
My reasoned judgment of "First Monday In October" is that it is not a bad film. It's just very dated, and a tad fatuous.
The plot is slow and a bit cloistered, no doubt the result of the film's origin as a play. The plot does advance, but not until near the end. Most of the "action", especially in the middle Act, consists of witty dialogue among the various justices, especially between Snow and Loomis. The dialogue is so witty that it seems unnatural. Each character immediately responds with some clever come-back line. The script could easily have been converted to an episodic TV sitcom of the early eighties. Mercifully, it wasn't.
The story has no real substance, apart from the rather obvious theme that any argument requires opposing points of view. And so, Justice Snow makes his point about a dinner menu. And Justice Loomis makes a counterpoint, showing how a reasoned debate can be applied even to life's most trivial moments.
The film does have very good production values. And the performances of Matthau and Clayburgh are certainly credible. Viewers who like these two actors will no doubt like this film.
My reasoned judgment of "First Monday In October" is that it is not a bad film. It's just very dated, and a tad fatuous.