Educating Rita - **+ out of ****

"Educating Rita" is a good film that should have been groundbreaking. It has two excellent actors in the main roles, a screenplay with great dialogue, ideas, and scenes, and a director that is perfectly capable of this material (despite doing three Bond films with two different actors in the title role). However, I left feeling somewhat disappointed and wanting more in the bad sense.

The film follows Rita White (a deliciously saucy Julie Walters), an older British hairstylist who wishes to finish her education in the field of English. Dr. Frank Bryant (Michael Caine performing another role that seems to be written for him) is the instructor in which she's assigned, but he's bitter, an alcoholic, and sardonic as hell. Rita faces struggles at home with her husband (Malcolm Douglass, playing the line between comic idiocy and crafting an uneducated character) who isn't necessarily crazy about the idea of her going back to school. This is handled well, beginning comically and reaching the boiling point at a part that makes sense. She also worries about what her fellow students think of her since she fears being viewed as an idiot. Dr. Bryant helps her to overcome these problems through literature and getting her to say brilliant things in response to these works.

This is a movie that is meant for an adult, literary-conscious audience, but that in itself may be its major flaw. For instance, my favorite line is the following:

Frank: "In reply to the question, 'Explain how you would resolve the many staging difficulties inherent in a production of Ibsen's "Peer Gynt,"' you wrote, "Do it on the radio.""

For those of us that have studied "Peer Gynt," the joke is fabulous, but for those that don't, you probably feel like someone who walked in on the punchline but missed the set-up. It helps to know that Henrick Ibsen's "Peer Gynt" is quite literally a novel written in play format because Ibsen could convey his thoughts and ideas the best through plays. His 'play' was never meant to be performed because some scenes are ultimately impossible to stage (in one sequence, Peer Gynt is chased up and down a mountain, pursued by creatures that are very small and undergoes a physical transformation into their form). The play is also extremely long, running five acts, so a simple performance would probably take around 5-6 hours. Although it could be made into a movie today (perhaps a quite effective one, if some problems were resolved, but that's another essay), what remains static is that Ibsen never intended for it to be performed on-stage. The joke is that the question asked how you would solve said staging problems, and Rita responds in the most logical way. It's not a lazy answer, but it is one that Ibsen would approve of.

I could go with every joke presented in a similar fashion, but you get the point. In order to grasp everything, you have to know these works, and if you don't, you're simply going to be out of the loop because they never explain them. That's left for you to reflect upon after reading.

This is definitely the film's major flaw, so if you're a well-read movie-goer, you'll love their discussions. While they only talk about the books and plays a few times, they are very good scenes for those of us that understand what they're saying. There were a couple other flaws present in the film overall, but by now you should know if this is your kind of movie or not. I can safely say that I had to fight for a while to settle on a star rating because of what I've mentioned, but the thing that transcends the film's problems is the charm of the actors. These are wonderful roles that go far and beyond the "Odd Couple" motif, leaving you feeling like you've studied under a Dr. Bryant before or that you've noticed someone like Rita on campus.

This is a very intelligent film, and I recommend it to those of you that are up for a charmingly smart comedy. The Academy recognized Michael Caine, Julie Walters, and Willy Russell's adapted screenplay from his play of the same name, and although these nominations were criticized, I was glad that this movie was watched by more people by getting said nominations. After spending much of my academic career studying quite a few of the works they discuss, having a critic like Rita respond is quite refreshing. I remember writing a long essay on how Jean Genet's prison time influenced his writing for "The Balcony," and I keep wondering how Rita would respond to the work or my little essay.

Rated PG in 1983. Contains some strong language, a drunk Michael Caine, and a disturbing scene.

Buy it here.