Diane (1979)

Diane: Directed by Joan Tewkesbury. With Talia Shire, Richard Jordan, John Belushi, Keith Carradine. When her marriage falls apart, a psychiatrist seeks out those of her former boyfriends who left the biggest impact on her life, mostly in a bad way.

“Psychiatrist Talia Shire goes nutzoid– she dopes herself up, slams herself into a concrete wall, ditches her husband, then hops into her firebird and hunts down her old boyfriends in a somewhat vague quest for vengeance. First up is Richard Jordan, who actually loved her. Second is John Belushi, who humiliated her in high school. And third is a boy who was killed in Vietnam, though his brother Keith Carradine bears a startling resemblance to him. In the end, though, she learns that life goes on and gets on with it.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Old Boyfriendsu0026quot; is an underrated little curio. Talia Shire gives what is probably her best non-Adrian performance (and thatu0026#39;s a shame, because this movie is nearly lost). The rest of the cast isnu0026#39;t quite so bad itself, particularly Richard Jordan as the one u0026quot;good boyfriendu0026quot;. John Belushi also shines as Shireu0026#39;s senior-year boyfriend, using a lot of Bill Murray-isms and doing quite well in what is a serious role for him. John Housemann seems a bit hammy during his confrontation with Shire. It almost comes off as if heu0026#39;s trying his best to take down the lead.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDirector Joan Tewkesbury does an adequate job, but her work here is nothing special. Though, the set-up of a scene with Shire and Jordan in a bathroom is particularly clever and stylish. At 103 minutes, the film doesnu0026#39;t seem long at all– it runs fairly smoothly as follow Shire from ex to ex. The only seemingly bad thing about the film is David Shireu0026#39;s (then husband of Talia) score– it just seems rather limp and unimpressive and meanders about melodically.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThough it may not be for everyone, give u0026quot;Old Boyfriendsu0026quot; a shot (if you can find it). Itu0026#39;s rather undeserving of its much maligned reputation.”