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Section 2 Chicago Tribuno, Tuosday. March S. 1977 *Thomas and Charles Grodin are husband and wito in Thieves./That Girl' gets ripped off by the lifeless 'Thieves'By Gene SiskelMow* criticTHE VAST MAJORITY ol the movicfioing public hates pic* turcs that wallow In tho anguish of cvcrdoy living, “if 1 want to see unhappiness, goes the complaint. 1 don't have to pay S310; I just visit mybrother-in-law Bernle.That attitude is unfair when applied to quality unhappy film* like Five Easy Pieces. But It makes perfectly good .sense In the face of Thieves, a portrait of unhappy people, people unremittingly sad in a variety of tedious situations.Thieves is the story of a miserable New York City couple. Sally (Mario Thomas) and Marlin (Charles Grodin, the oil company explorer in the new King Kong) are in their 30j and work at secondary schools. Their marriage is shot They arc shot as individuals, too.All the life has run out of them. They stand in pools of their own unhappiness. What’s w rong?Well, Ifcey live In New York City, for starters. That means they’re constantly being ripped otf by Junkies and less violent thieves. They live in a concrete high-rise that overlooks the East River. Apartment 19-B.That means they arc uncomfortably close — yet terribly distant — from their similarly depressed neighbors.The guy in 18 B. one floor below, is constantly complaining about having hi* balcony furniture ripped off. The slovenly woman across the courtyard in 21-N is forever disappointed that her bedmates don’t notice the color of her eyes. The apartment building Is photographed to. look like a concrete mausoleum.THE CRAMERS BELONG in a mausoleum. Sample bedtime dialog: Maybe it's time w e had a kid of our own. Maybe it’s time we went to sleep. That cocveriation could hold • key to what's wrong with the Cramers.Sally is pregnant, ar.d she doesn’t want to have a baby by Martin because she doesn't love him anymore. That's why ahe decide* to file for divorce. At least I think she files for divorce. The scene of Marlin reading a tetter from Sally's attorney could be one of the film’s fantasy aequences. I’m not sure.As for Martin, he hat regretted intoTRIBUNE MINI-REVIEWMlsary hatea company*V»THIEVESDact»d kt Mrr: prrwXy fcv Hsr* Otrtfnw 6n M* iimi pa*ir, |*o*-C'C‘ifr*4 by Arv J. Offla Mi MwiMlft; «IM lay CnH iWUfj fcf »CU mmrnr M pvtfuc«i fryMfTW. a hf«!R*u^t mim at Cmai ani r*«»aL NM Paim CUT*4*r Ot-rm.............................Utr*Cnmm...........................Chm)«i OmhmM MCOfVfIMI»»U»»»HIM|IIUMU»H HmMCMmM•*«l ia#r ....................Cohort ...... He*childhood reminiscences. He visits tho old, now deserted movie theater where he used to hang out at n member of a New York slreet gang. From the empty stage he thanks an old girlfriend for providing good times. Unshaven and unkempt, he looks like a derelict.•’Thieves was written by Herb Gardner. the talented playwright who hit the movie scene 11 years ago with A Thousand Gowns, a wonderful film portraying unhappy New Yorkers fighting the system. With Thieves. the fight Is gone; only the misery remains.Fans of Mario Thomas will be disap* inted If they hope to see a reprise of r sunny That Girl television sitcom character. Thieves plays like a 'That Girl episode in which Mario gots raped, has a mental breakdown, and (hen has her purse snatched while the bsttom falls out of her shopping bag. Good grief. No, make I hat bod grief.FILM NOTES: Tht Film Center at the Art Institute Is presenting a series of films on Tuesdays made by women. Today’s program oilers (wo short films, one about Frida Kahlo, a Mexican painter, and another about poet Mirabel Lesue. Show times arc 5:30 and 7:30 p.ra. Admission is 11.50.Best revivals this week at commercial theaters include Cabaret at the Esquire Theater; The Red Shoes at the Three Fenny; 'The Godfather Part II at the Tiffin: at the SlarlltoDrive-In; ’’Cooley High paired with • Sparkle at the Normal, and Clint Eastwood In Play Misty (or Me at the Chicago, Coronet, and La Grange theaters.
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