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Willie and Phil

Play trailer Poster for Willie and Phil R 1980 1h 56m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 4 Reviews 33% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Life imitates art when two Manhattanites -- pompous teacher Willie (Michael Ontkean) and quiet photographer Phil (Ray Sharkey) -- become friends after a thought-provoking screening of "Jules et Jim," Truffaut's classic film about a decades-long ménage à trois. Soon, the men meet Jeanette (Margot Kidder), a sexually liberated southern transplant who promptly falls for both of them. Frustrated passions curdle into jealousy as Jeanette entertains love affairs with each in the ensuing years.

Critics Reviews

View All (4) Critics Reviews
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times I think Mazursky's suggesting something interesting about the 1970s. It was a decade without a consuming passion, without an overall subject or tone. Rated: 3/4 Oct 23, 2004 Full Review Jesús Fernández Santos El Pais (Spain) Paul Mazursky's story feels old. His allusions to the East and to American society are not funny but frivolous. [Full Review in Spanish] Aug 15, 2019 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Jun 17, 2005 Full Review Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality & Practice Willie & Phil vividly shows the pain and unfulfilment that comes with the yearning for new experience that is so embedded in the American grain. Jan 29, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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william k Nicely made, well-intentioned, but utterly superfluous reimagination of Truffaut's classic Jules et Jim; likable, but a far cry from the original. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member inspired by" jules and jim" this falls short of the movie that inspired it Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member *** (out of four) An obvious product of the time it was made, "Willie and Phil" feels a bit dated in its ideals and views. But, it is still an engaging and fun drama that boasts some fine perormances from Michael Ontkean, Ray Sharkey and Margot Kidder. Willie (Sharkey) and Phil (Michael Ontkean) meet each outside of a Greenwich Village movie theater in 1970 after seeing a foreign film. They talk a bit and learn they have a lot in common. They become fast friends and do everything together. That is until an interesting woman (Kidder) comes into their lives. A strange triangle begins that will follow them through the 1970's from New York to L.A. The journey is worth taking for the most part. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Willie and Phil

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Willie and Phil

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Movie Info

Synopsis Life imitates art when two Manhattanites -- pompous teacher Willie (Michael Ontkean) and quiet photographer Phil (Ray Sharkey) -- become friends after a thought-provoking screening of "Jules et Jim," Truffaut's classic film about a decades-long ménage à trois. Soon, the men meet Jeanette (Margot Kidder), a sexually liberated southern transplant who promptly falls for both of them. Frustrated passions curdle into jealousy as Jeanette entertains love affairs with each in the ensuing years.
Director
Paul Mazursky
Producer
Paul Mazursky, Anthony Ray
Screenwriter
Paul Mazursky
Production Co
20th Century Fox
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 56m