Institute History
Description
Robert Altman’s Beyond Therapy is a unique combination of varied and diverse elements: it is a French-style farce, written and directed by an American, set in Hew York, but shot in Paris and it features an outstanding Anglo-American-French cast. It comes together with rapid zaniness, a tribute to Christopher Durang’s witty adaptation of his stage play. Altman again surprises us with yet another fresh and original work.
Beyond Therapy is principally the story of Bruce (Jeff Goldman), a sexually confused young man who place an ad in a lonely hearts column—only to find himself in a very complicated situation involving his gay lover, his lover’s mother, his psychiatrist, the woman who answered the ad, her psychiatrist . . .and the staff of a French restaurant. One of our most original and provocative directors, Altman has continually breathed new life into old genres (revitalizing the western with McCabe and Mrs. Miller or subverting film noir, with The Long Goodbye), and has developed a particularly admirable talent for ensemble directing. Here, the cast is remarkably strong, led by Jeff Goldblum (The Big Chill and, most recently, The Fly), Christopher Guest (Spinal Tap), Glenda Jackson (Reuben,Reuben).