The Morning After (1974)
Not to be confused with the Jane Fonda thriller, this television movie The Morning After stars Dick Van Dyke – and it’s not a comedy. He stars as a man with a good job, two pre-teen kids who adore him, and a wife who makes allowances for him. There’s just one little problem: he drinks too much.
This movie is incredibly realistic, showing his problem unfolding slowly so it doesn’t feel over-the-top. In one scene, Dick pours a celebratory glass of wine to toast to a raise in salary; when we see he’s finished the bottle and fallen asleep in his chair, we hardly think that’s cause for alarm. After all, it was a celebration. The next sequence, he’s at an office party and calls his wife, Lynn Carlin, that he’ll be home late. Lynn is worried, but it’s reasonable to think she’s overreacting. By the end of the evening, he’s falling-down-drunk. When he wakes up in his car, pulled over on the side of the highway, then the audience finally gets how serious his problem is.
I won’t tell you any more about the plot, but know that it’s extremely heavy. This movie is not a typical Dick Van Dyke Disney flick; in fact, his performance is so incredible, you’ll wonder what a different, dramatic career he would have had if he hadn’t made a first impression with Bye Bye Birdie and Mary Poppins. As entertaining and charming his comedic talents were, after seeing this movie, I wish his dramatic talents weren’t so hidden. Had The Morning After been a theatrical film, he might have won a Rag Award for this multi-layered, realistic performance. He exposes his heart to the camera and doesn’t hold back. The result is one of those rare performances that makes the audience almost embarrassed for eavesdropping on a real person, not watching an actor perform.
I couldn’t imagine this type of raw performance could come out of Dick Van Dyke. I didn’t know he had it in him to sob uncontrollably, violently fight with his spouse, or shake with emotion while discussing childhood hurts in a therapy session. After seeing this movie, I’m dying to get my hands on a copy of his tv remake of The Country Girl.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, since this movie pretty much turns Mary Poppins on its ear, I wouldn't let my kids watch it. Unless you want your kids to see Bert vomiting blood, wait until they're older.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "J W" for posting!
More Dick Van Dyke movies here!
This movie is incredibly realistic, showing his problem unfolding slowly so it doesn’t feel over-the-top. In one scene, Dick pours a celebratory glass of wine to toast to a raise in salary; when we see he’s finished the bottle and fallen asleep in his chair, we hardly think that’s cause for alarm. After all, it was a celebration. The next sequence, he’s at an office party and calls his wife, Lynn Carlin, that he’ll be home late. Lynn is worried, but it’s reasonable to think she’s overreacting. By the end of the evening, he’s falling-down-drunk. When he wakes up in his car, pulled over on the side of the highway, then the audience finally gets how serious his problem is.
I won’t tell you any more about the plot, but know that it’s extremely heavy. This movie is not a typical Dick Van Dyke Disney flick; in fact, his performance is so incredible, you’ll wonder what a different, dramatic career he would have had if he hadn’t made a first impression with Bye Bye Birdie and Mary Poppins. As entertaining and charming his comedic talents were, after seeing this movie, I wish his dramatic talents weren’t so hidden. Had The Morning After been a theatrical film, he might have won a Rag Award for this multi-layered, realistic performance. He exposes his heart to the camera and doesn’t hold back. The result is one of those rare performances that makes the audience almost embarrassed for eavesdropping on a real person, not watching an actor perform.
I couldn’t imagine this type of raw performance could come out of Dick Van Dyke. I didn’t know he had it in him to sob uncontrollably, violently fight with his spouse, or shake with emotion while discussing childhood hurts in a therapy session. After seeing this movie, I’m dying to get my hands on a copy of his tv remake of The Country Girl.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, since this movie pretty much turns Mary Poppins on its ear, I wouldn't let my kids watch it. Unless you want your kids to see Bert vomiting blood, wait until they're older.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "J W" for posting!
More Dick Van Dyke movies here!