O'HARA'S WIFE

US, 1982, 87 minutes, Colour.
Ed Asner, Mariette Hartley, Jodie Foster, Tom Bosley.
Directed by William S.Bartman.

O'Hara's Wife is an odd piece of Americana. It seems an 180s throwback to a type of film that was very popular in the 140s: Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Heaven Can Wait and the various films which dealt with benign ghosts. However, the atmosphere and pace is very much 1970s-'80s Los Angeles. 0'Hara is played (quite effectively) by Ed Asner. His wife is the attractive Mariette Hartley. Daughter is Jodie Foster. Friend is Tom Bosley. However, the film is a strange mish-mash of realism and fantasy, humour and serious and sentimental themes. If it were merely a portrait of O'Hara, it would have been quite a passable telemovie. However, the whimsy and the offbeat theme intrude too much into what is a family story, a crisis in a man's life. It is more a film designed for the television audience. As a cinema movie, it is a misfire. Some people might be attracted by the whimsical aspects of the film: others may find it merely tiresome.