First Roles: "Taking Off" with Kathy Bates (plus Carly Simon, Georgia Engel)

Join Portland Movie Club members Kyle and Clay for the First Roles group discussion! This group focuses on the initial on-screen appearances of celebrated Hollywood icons. For this meeting we've chosen a film with several notable first appearances. We will be discussing Miloš Foreman's 1971 film "Taking Off," featuring the big-screen debuts of Kathy Bates, Carly Simon, Jessica Harper, Georgia Engel, and Vincent Schiavelli.

Here's how it works:

1. We'll meet at Lucky Lab at 4pm (map) There will be a Portland Movie Club sign at our table.
2. Grab some food and drinks and we'll spend some time discussing this masterpiece with us (NOTE: Just like a book club, we watch the movie before we meet, streaming links below).

Movie Spotlight: "Taking Off"
Taking Off (1971) was Miloš Forman's first English language film, and his first collaboration with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière. While originally conceived as another hippie movie, Taking Off became a sympathetic satire of both sides of the notorious Generation Gap of the 1960s-70s. A couple in the suburbs of New York City (Buck Henry and Lynn Carlin) are distraught when their teenage daughter suddenly runs off. They search all over the city, and find that there is a community of parents in the same position, who are willing to go to great lengths to find and relate to their children.

Featured First Roles:
Viewers will easily recognize a teenage Kathy Bates (credited as Bobo Bates), who is one of many young people auditioning for stardom alongside the prodigal daughter. She plays acoustic guitar and sings a song written by Bates herself. Carly Simon is also in the audition, and sings an obscure original that has become something of a mantra to one of our hosts. Vincent Schiavelli, who became a regular in Forman's films, makes a memorable first appearance in a scene I dare not describe. And somewhere in the film is Jessica Harper, future star of Suspiria (1977), though our host has yet to spot her.

Availability:
Sadly, this movie was not a financial success and remains obscure in the United States. Good quality DVDs and Blurays can only be ordered from overseas, and even the mighty Movie Madness collection only has a VHS of the film.
Thankfully, The Internet Archive exists, and the film can be streamed at the link below. If for some reason that viewing method does not work for you, send a message to host Clay V who can provide you with a link to an alternative streaming option.
https://archive.org/details/taking-off-1971?