Happy Birthday, Gemini

Happy Birthday, Gemini
Directed byRichard Benner
Screenplay byRichard Benner
Based onGemini
by Albert Innaurato
Produced byRupert Hitzig
StarringMadeline Kahn
Rita Moreno
Robert Viharo
Alan Rosenberg
Sarah Holcomb
David Marshall Grant
Timothy Jenkins
CinematographyJames B. Kelly
Edited byStephen Fanfara
Music byRich Look
Cathy Chamberlain
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • May 2, 1980 (1980-05-02)[1]
Running time
107 minutes[2]
147 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Happy Birthday, Gemini is a 1980 comedy-drama film written and directed by Richard Benner and starring Madeline Kahn, Rita Moreno, Robert Viharo, Alan Rosenberg, Sarah Holcomb, David Marshall Grant and Timothy Jenkins. It is based on Albert Innaurato's play Gemini.[1][3]

Plot

Set in the backyard of a blue-collar neighborhood early in South Philadelphia in the summer of 1973, the comedy-drama focuses on the 21st birthday celebration of Harvard student Francis Geminiani. In attendance are his divorced father Fran and Fran's widowed girlfriend Lucille, next-door neighbor Bunny Weinberger and her overweight son Herschel, and Francis' classmates, the wealthy WASP Hastings siblings; Judith (who seeks romance with Francis) and Randy (the object of Francis' unexpressed affection), who have arrived unexpectedly, much to their friend's dismay. All are dysfunctional to varying degrees, and the interactions among them provide the play with its comic and dramatic moments.

Cast

Reception

Leonard Maltin awarded the film two stars.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Canby, Vincent (2 May 1980). "Film: 'Gemini' Transferred to Screen:Growing Pains". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b Maltin, Leonard (2017). Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide: The Modern Era. Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN 9780525536192.page 588
  3. ^ Arnold, Gary (3 May 1980). "'Gemini': Crass of '80". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 December 2020.