Where's Poppa? (1970)

starring George Segal, Ruth Gordon, Ron Leibman, Trish Van Devere

directed by Carl Reiner

Gordon Hocheiser (George Segal), a lawyer, finds and then falls for a Louise (Trish Van Devere), a nurse whom he hires to take care of his aging mother (Ruth Gordon). His attempts to romance Louise are foiled by his mother who keeps asking the titular questions. Gordon's mother doesn't seem to realize that her husband is no longer alive.

Gordon turns to his brother Sidney (Ron Leibman) for help with their mother. Louise tries to be understanding but she seems to get scared off by Gordon's mother's behavior.

Thoughts

I had heard about this movie but never seen it before. I decided to watch it when I saw that it was available on Tubi. It isn't long. It moves quickly. It is a comedy. There are parts that I thought were very funny. There were parts that made me uncomfortable, parts that I think were intended as humor. They might have been okay by the wider, White society's standards in 1970 but they wouldn't fly today.

The parts with Sidney getting mugged and then encouraged (by the guys who mugged him) to rape a woman seem to be played for laughs. They muggers were all Black and are the most prominent Black characters in the movie. I don't think I would have thought the rape scene was funny if I has seen this movie when I was younger, say in the 1980s. Today it seem unconscionable to include such a scene in a movie.

I am a bit puzzled by the end of the movie. I'm not sure if it supposed to be funny or not. It was strange and possibly contains a message. I'm not sure.

The best and funniest parts of this movie were the scenes with Gordon and his mother. I loved the way those two interacted. I can't recommend this movie to most people. I wish I had enjoyed it more. I'm glad it isn't any longer than it is.

Notes

Rob Reiner and Vincent Gardenia have small parts in this movie. They both play people whom Gordon is representing in court, in separate cases. Paul Sorvino also shows up late in this movie in a small role. Garrett Morris plays one of the muggers.

This is one of Trish Van Devere's earliest roles. I think I may have seen one other movie she was in (Movie, Movie) but years ago. She is still alive but her last screen credit was in 1994.

I know George Segal best from Just Shoot Me. I think the first thing I may have seen him in was California Split, probably on TV back in the 1980s. He died in 2021.

I believe the first thing I saw Ruth Gordon in was My Bodyguard.