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She's unforgettable in The Exorcist, lovable and dubious in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, and positively eerie in Requiem for a Dream, but the great thing about Ellen Burstyn, who turns 80 today, is that she's seemingly a perfect fit for every role she plays. That even includes her 40-second part in the TV movie Mrs. Harris, for which she garnered the most bizarre (and accidental?) Emmy nomination in history. Fortunately, Burstyn's reputation remains sterling, and now it's time for us to answer the tough question: What's her greatest onscreen moment?
I'm going with a softer moment from a movie that can only be described, at best, as three-star fare. In Same Time, Next Year, adapted from Bernard Slade's play, Burstyn reprises her Tony-winning performance as Doris, a housewife who carries on a once-a-year affair with George (Alan Alda) in Northern California. The two grow somewhat close in their 26-year relationship, but the film version of this Broadway hit comes off mostly as quaint and slightly uneven.
Still, Burstyn is fiercely believable even in a role that finds her often bemoaning her own self-consciousness. It also captures the essence of Burstyn's stage actress credibility, which is a big part of why she's awesome. In one of my favorite moments early in the movie, Doris complains that she heard her husband telling his army buddies that his time with them was "the best years" of his life.
George wonders why that offends her, since "a lot of guys feel that way about their service."
Burstyn whines back, "Harry was in the army for four years, and three of them were spent in a Japanese prison camp!"
I love it.
Please be aware: If you watch this movie, you will hear Alan Alda announce that he has "a terrific hard-on" early in the film. Just know that.
What are your favorite Burstynian moments? If you say AIDS-afflicted Jay Mohr's mom in Playing By Heart, you get a hug from me. If you say Mrs. O'Neil in the god-awful Dying Young, I have to escort you off the internet.
