I Ought to Be in Pictures

Director: Herbert Ross

Overview

Neil Simon based his screenplay for I Ought to Be in Pictures on one of his more serious theatrical pieces. Walter Matthau is top-billed as Herbert Tucker, a struggling screenwriter who suddenly finds his 19-year-old daughter, Libby(Dinah Manoff), on his Hollywood doorstep. Having deserted his family years earlier, Herbert isn't keen on having his daughter around to cramp his lifestyle, which at this point consists of drinking his meals and telling lies to his faithful girlfriend, Stephanie (Ann-Margret). Libby takes it upon herself to put Herbert's life in order. There are plenty of angry outbursts and recriminations between father and daughter before the tearful, upbeat conclusion. Incidentally, Dinah Manoff is the daughter of actress Lee Grant, who'd previously co-starred with Walter Matthau in Neil Simon's Plaza Suite -- which, like I Ought to be in Pictures, was directed by Herbert Ross.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/31/2015
UPC:	0024543039440
Original Release:	1982
Rating:	PG
Language:	English
Time:	1:47:00
Sales rank:	30,333

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Dinah Manoff	Libby Tucker
Walter Matthau	Herbert Tucker
Ann-Margret	Steffy Blondell
Lance Guest	Gordon
Lewis Smith	Soldier
Martin Ferrero	Monte Del Rey
Eugene Butler	Marty
Samantha Harper	Larane
Santos Morales	Mexican Truck Driver
David Faustino	Martin
Shelby Balik	Shelley
Bill Cross	Truck Driver
Virginia Wing	Auto Cashier
Larry Barton	Harry
Michael Dudikoff	Boy on the Bus
Gillian Farrell	Waitress
Jennifer Shull	Actor
Jose Rabelo	Groundskeeper
Norberto Kermer	Groundskeeper
Calvin Ander	Rabbi
Muni Zano	Motel Cashier
Allan Graf	Baseball Fan
Art LaFleur	Baseball Fan
Nomi Mitty	Baseball Fan
Charles Parks	Baseball Fan
Wayne Woodson	Baseball Fan
Tom Wright	Baseball Fan

Technical Credits

Herbert Ross	Producer
Roger M. Rothstein	Executive Producer
Neil Simon	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Made at a point in Neil Simon's life when he was churning out one screen adaptation after another, but had just come off of two failures, I Ought to Be in Pictures falls short of its writer's potential. As a motion picture, it's highly superior to Only When I Laugh and Chapter Two but miles behind The Odd Couple and Plaza Suite. It has at its center a few satisfactory performances by Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and especially Dinah Manoff, who - in resuming her stage role - proves that she can hold her own onscreen vis-a-vis her veteran co-stars. But aside from a few amusing moments generated solely by Matthau's clever line readings ("What a break for me!") the script simply isn't funny; it generates nary a single laugh. And while the dramatic arc at the center - with father and daughter dropping their guards and growing close - feels plausible, the young woman's key decision to return to New York City in the last 15 minutes isn't at all credible; it's as if Simon, desperate for an ending, resorted to this to tidy things up, despite the fact that it makes no sense for either Manoff's Libby or Matthau's Herb. Compounding the film's mediocrity is the fact that it's so visually dull. It suffers from dreary, drab cinematography (by David M. Walsh) and so many claustrophobic settings that we're constantly hit with reminders of the movie's stage origins.