Zee and Co. (1972)

What film fan does not adore La Liz who more than anyone gives movies the sparkle they deserve. After all, we go to the movies to escape the rat race for a couple hours - no other reason, right? And Liz never disappoints. What makes her so great is the simple fact she knows she's the best and she always gives her best. Even in a pedestrian vehicle like this one, it is impossible to ignore La Liz in all her glory. She is what stardom is about and will always be the ultimate star regardless of what the AFI says. Number 7??? Give me a break! La Liz defines stardom because she is the ultimate star and the AFI can go blow smoke rings. Michael Caine, of course, is always wonderful with the ability to make you interested even if you do not want to be. He manages to be incredibly sexy without half trying and that more than anything else is why he is a star. The script is utter nonsense without a single redeeming moment in it but Taylor and Caine make the most of it and it is impossible not to care what happens.

I always get this film confused with Unman, Wittering, and Zigo, another British drama from 1972, but other than the similar titles they're fairly distinct creatures. In contrast to UWZ's somewhat down at heel pedigree, X, Y, and Zee (known as Zee and Co. in the UK) stars Liz Taylor as the wife of successful architect Robert Blakeley (Michael Caine), whose currently engaged in an adulterous affair with younger woman Stella (Susannah York). It's a brash, soapy affair that allows Taylor to vent in best Virginia Wolff style, whilst Caine and York are, predictably, a little more subtle and quite excellent. The film tries a bit too hard to outrage--the lesbian sub-plot is particularly silly and hasn't aged well--but provides a decent showcase for its three leads.

... but without Edward Ablee's Pulitzer Prize winning touch. Taylor is firing on all eight cylinders again, as she did against Burton's George. This time 'George' is a remote, self-centered, enterprising individual and often on mute control around his tiger wife.You quickly get a belly full of Taylor's ranting and antics - but there are real performance gems strewn around. And you wonder why in the world York's character with her quiet temperament and lifestyle would risk getting consumed alive by two battling idiots. If it was for the excitement, a crash landing was her sad reward.Nevertheless, this forgotten film is worth watching just to see the three talented principals on the same set together go through their paces.

Set in the swinging London scene of the early 1970's, the last gasp of the hippie era clashes with the chic international jet set. The result is this triangular jewel of a movie. Robert Blakeley (Michael Caine) is married to the glamorous, manic and barren Zee (Elizabeth Taylor). Intricate games and a few threads of love hold the marriage together. Into the volatile mix comes Stella, a younger woman who is on the edge and ready for a little shove. Michael Caine and Susannah York are great actors in any right. Mr. Caine particularly shines in this film. However in `X, Y and Zee' both actors are blown off the screen by an inspired comic performance by Elizabeth Taylor. Not often given the chance to play comedy she turns in a well-timed and poignantly funny performance in this Black Comedy of marriage, sexual confusion, and social boredom. It is sad that Miss Taylor was mostly relegated to dramas and not allowed often enough to stretch her comic wings. You can see flashes of her comic abilities in such odd fare as "Boom", "Reflections In A Golden Eye" and "Hammersmith Is Out!" But in this film she soars as a woman of wit and warmth who will stop at nothing to come out on top.