What's Up, Doc? 1972. USA. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Screenplay by Buck Henry, David Newman, Robert Benton, from a story by Bogdanovich. With Ryan O’Neal, Barbra Streisand, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars. 35mm. 94 min.
In Bogdanovich’s most ebullient film, Ryan O’Neal stars as Howard Bannister, a duller-than-dull musicologist, and Barbra Streisand as Judy Maxwell, an up-for-anything young woman who unsettles the life of Howard (and everyone else she comes into contact with). The Bringing Up Baby–style plot is a mere starting point for a contemporary screwball comedy that incorporates a Buster Keaton-esque chase, stellar supporting turns by a gallery of brilliant comic players—including Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Austin Pendleton, and Liam Dunn (as the world’s most put-upon judge)—and 1970s-era sets, designed with purposeful ugliness by Polly Platt. In an early example of how carefully Bogdanovich tailored his films to his stars’ personalities, Streisand is given several chances to belt out classic tunes, including a knockout version of “You’re the Top” over the opening and closing titles. –Peter Tonguette