Made For Each Other (1971)

Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna wrote and star in this story of two hopelessly lost souls who find one another. Each is the product of a dysfunctional home and each has struggled to find an anchor in this world. Their adult years are filled with failure and heartache and endless searching ... until they find each other.This comedy/drama is a showcase for Renee Taylor who mines much of her own life for the character of Panda Gold, a hilariously untalented woman yearning to become a star and with a stage mother (Helen Verbit) to end all stage mothers. Bologna stars as Giggy Panimba, the coddled mama's boy who also fails at everything he tries ... including entering a seminary ... with his mama (Olympia Dukakis) right behind him.They meet in a group therapy session and form an on-and-off alliance against the world that may or may not lead to a happy ending.Taylor is funny and heartbreaking as she haplessly veers from job to job, always sure stardom and happiness await her. Her night club act in which she asks the coy question, "who am I now"? while doing a terrible impersonation of Rita Hayworth singing "Fire Down Below" is so bad it's funny. Bologna is appalled and tells her the act is terrible, but nothing penetrates, and she persists in thinking herself supremely talented. Audiences are just too dumb to get her act.Co-stars include Paul Sorvino and Louis Zorich as the fathers, Peggy Pope, Ron Carey, Despo, and Norman Shelley as group members. Look fast for Adam Arkin, Candy Azzara, Eddie Barth, and Nancy Andrews.In real life, the couple won an Oscar nomination and Writer's Guild nomination for the film version of their play "Lovers and Other Strangers" and earned another Writer's Guild nomination for this film.Wonderful film.

This is a really bad movie. My wife and I recently saw Renée Taylor live in Queens Theatre, and wanted to watch one of her early movies. "Made For Each Other" looked like a good candidate, so I went and ordered a DVD on Amazon. We were very disappointed. Directing was simply awful, and it was very boring and even depressing for a comedy. After struggling through the first half hour, we fast-forwarded the rest of the movie with only one stop - the cabaret number (the extra star in my rating), which we already saw on YouTube in the same quality free of charge. Speaking of quality: at $20 list price, Twentieth Century Fox could have bothered to clean up video and sound somewhat or at least to make subtitles.

I saw this as a half of a double feature on a double date in the 1970s. Three of the four of us preferred the other film ("Marriage of a Young Stockbroker"?), but I liked this one and went back to see it again. It IS a funny film, but also a believable love story with (understandably) good chemistry between the two leads. And no other reviewer has mentioned that Bologna was pretty hot back in the day if you like those Big types. It is borderline painful to watch Renee Taylor's various "acts" as she skates close to some sort of showbiz fame--sort of a proto-Bridget Jones--but you have to admire the candor of these two writers in filming this autobiographical material, warts and all.

Joe Bologna and Renee Taylor hit a homer with this one. Unfortunately, the critics must have been busy at the concession stands when they rounded the bases. Where is the DVD? You might not find a better acted script or one that seems so believable despite its over-the-top characters. Giggy and Pandora are unforgettable as evidenced by the resonance the film left with me even after these 35 years since its release, the first and last time I saw it. The scene in which Pandora meets Giggy's parents and relatives at dinner is a classic. Director Robert Bean allowed the top notch cast to relate as they would in a real life situation, and it worked wonderfully. Joe Bologna and Renee Taylor are under-appreciated national treasures!