Right Angles

By R.C.

IT'S MY TURN Directed by Claudia Weill Screenplay by Eleanor Bergstein

It's My Turn confirms what Starting Over suggested: that Jill Clayburgh is Hollywood's most adorable klutz. Her skinny limbs jut out at odd angles, like folding yardsticks. Her face seems the work of an impish sculptor who added an Emmett Kelly nose to those handsome features. Her hair has declared war on itself. She hunches over her food as if protecting it from invaders, and swallows champagne in one gulp, as if it had an egg in it. She moves like an awkward little girl who in her mid-30s is still Daddy's favorite. She is very dear.

Kate Gunzinger (Clayburgh), a Chicago math professor, is at a crossroads in her professional and personal life. Does she accept a more prestigious position in New York and leave her amiable goof of a lover (Charles Grodin)? Does she commit herself to a charmingly direct ex-baseball player (Michael Douglas)? Both men try to help her decide, but it's her turn. Does she go left, right or back to Square 1? Curiously, the movie sees Kate not so much at a turning point as jogging on a treadmill where you meet the nicest people. For this reason, the film could serve as the basis for a superior sitcom.

If It's My Turn were a triple-A ball player, the scouting report might read:"Excellent singles hitter, moderate speed, covers a lot of ground, good prospect for the majors." Screenwriter Bergstein has a flair for funny lines that arise from the characters, and Director Weill has drawn fine performances from a large, likable cast. Some movies show, others reveal. It's My Turn is a minor revelation.

--R.C.

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