Harold and Maude

After seeing a movie for the first time, I often read reviews to get an idea of how the movie is perceived. If I really hated the movie, I like to see how anyone could’ve liked it. In this case, however, it was the opposite. I really enjoyed this 1971 cult classic that I just got around to seeing for some reason. I found that most people agreed with my opinion, but one certain famous critic did not.

Death can be as funny as most things in life, I suppose, but not the way Harold and Maude go about it. -Roger Ebert

Usually I'm criticizing Roger Ebert for not being a critic. For example, when I saw him give a thumbs up to The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and The Lake House in the same show, I knew he could never be considered a critic again. Even Roeper got on him about giving every movie a thumbs up.

In the case of Harold and Maude, Ebert was way off in the other direction. Maybe 30 years ago he was a bad critic because he hated everything, and now he's a bad critic because he loves everything. Harold and Maude is a dark comedy with morbidly funny suicide attempts and an unlikely connection between two characters who both happen to enjoy going to funerals.

Despite the fact that Harold is such a disturbed person, I think we can all relate to his character. I've often felt more inclined to chop off my hand or burn myself alive rather than sit through another date. Also, sometimes it seems it'd feel better to be dead than it does to be alive. Maude is able to understand and feel this as well, but she puts a new spin on it. You don't want to kill yourself with regrets, so live life without holding back, and don't hold back just because you're afraid of feeling stupid. "If you want to sing out sing out." Maude somehow sings the Cat Stevens song as if she wrote the lyrics herself. For such a morbid movie, Harold and Maude leaves you with an optimistic outlook on life and a feeling of wanting to do more, love more, and live more.