Review of All That Heaven Allows

Come on...."All that heaven allows" was cheesy in 1955 and its cheesy now.The difference is, cheesy is regarded as cool in 2012 in a post - modern - ironic kinda way;but that doesn't change the fact that it is and always will be an overheated melodramatic piece of kitsch with very little to commend it. How Douglas Sirk's admirers have conned critics into considering him as a major auteur is beyond me.But I guess if you stand on a street corner and shout long enough that the moon is made of cream cheese somebody is going to believe you. We have a Lady Chatterley thing going here with Mr R.Hudson as the gardener becoming involved with the socially superior Miss J.Wyman. When they decide to marry, her children - a twenty going on fifty five boy and a girl who makes a lot of speeches but absolutely no sense - strongly disapprove,as do her friends. She dumps the young Rock so hastily it almost seems rude,but,as you know,love will find a way - and it does,but not before he falls down a cliff.Don't ask. So there you have it.And I read that this film is in the Library of Congress.It's almost enough to make me want to withdraw my subscription.