THE STERILE CUCKOO

US, 107 minutes, Colour.
Liza Minnelli, Wendell Burton, Tim McIntire?, Elizabeth Harrower.
Directed by Alan J. Pakula.

The Sterile Cuckoo made Liza Minnelli popular as an actress. Loneliness needs love. Seriousness and shyness need love. They meet in this film, and in Liza Minnelli’s lively and excellently portrayed Pookie Adams. She is a student who throws herself in amiable desperation at a student well played in a subdued style by Wendell Burton. The film is another search for love and permanence by the young. It has the usual frank scenes and dialogue plus its sentimental song, Come Saturday Morning, and its run through coloured landscapes. This film is above average and deals with human beings rather than ideological question-posers. The question here is love and happiness. The answer is permanence; but then there arises the further question of whether it can be found. The film implies learning by mistakes; grave, emotional mistakes that must be lived through. Liza Minnelli then went on to "Cabaret". Producer Alan Pakula made his directing debut in this film. He went on to "Klute,' "Love and Pain", "The Parallax View", "All the President's Men".

1. What was the meaning of the title? Was it explained during the film? Its relationship to fruitfulness and love? How did the song, "Come Saturday Morning", add to the atmosphere of the film? The use of the music for the theme? The use of colour, location photography etc.? What atmosphere did the film have? Why?

2. How central was Pookie’s character for the film? The possibility of audiences liking and identifying with her? Liza Minnelli's vitality? Personality? Why did this come across so strongly? Where? How did she ingratiate Pookie's personality to us? e.g., the use of photos at the beginning, her kookie behaviour, how desperate was she in communicating with people, her use of truth and lies? Her capacity for friendship, dislike of the girls at the college, her pursuing of Jerry, what did she want of him? Did she ever fall in love with Jerry? Comment on particular scenes together where love was manifest - in the basketball stadium, their walks and runs? Did they love each other when they made love? (How humorous was the visual presentation of this?) Her remaining at the boarding house, looking out the windows etc.? Her letters? How desperate was Pookie in her loneliness? Her relationship with her father? Her family? How sad a person was she? How desperate at the end? How much did she learn during the film? What future would she have?

3. How attractive a hero was Jerry? As an ordinary young man, studious, pleasant? Did you feel that he was imposed on by Pookie? Where was this most evident? What was his first response to her? How cold was he? Why did he change? Did he fall in love with her? Why was he unable to respond to all her emotional demands? Did he love her when he made love to her? What alternatives did he have at the end? Was there any future for him with Pookie? What future did he have?

4. How did Harry contrast with Charlie and’ his boasting about his way with girls? His relationship with the other students and contrasting to them? e.g. the sequence of Pookie and Jerry at the party with the noise etc.?

5. How well presented were the themes of loneliness and friendship? How were they portrayed visually? The exploration of the theme of love? How real could love be for these characters? Why?

6. How typical of young people were Jerry and Pookie? Of their questions, searching, angers, learning answers? How much did each learn during the film?

7. Which sequences made most impression on you? Comment on the use of photography with long shots and angles etc. Did this add to the film? The particular bite of the dialogue?

8. How genuine was the film, or did it use some cliches? Where?

9. How useful would this film be for discussion between adolescents and parents? Why?