A PERFECT COUPLE

In A Perfect Couple, Robert Altman takes a quirky stab at the burgeoning world of video dating, a novelty at the time that now feels like a cultural time capsule.  The film pairs Alex (Paul Dooley), a middle-aged Greek-American man smothered by his domineering family, with Sheila (Marta Heflin), a shy, ethereal backup singer in a bohemian rock group akin to The Starland Vocal Band. Following a rained-out first date, the story captures the tentative hopefulness and awkward charm of people searching for love in unconventional ways. Altman's satirical eye is certainly present, but here it's softer, more curious than cutting.

The chemistry between Dooley and Heflin is one of the film's real strengths. Alex’s buttoned-up awkwardness plays surprisingly well off Sheila’s vague, almost ghostly passivity, though her tendency to stare blankly in some scenes can make her character feel frustratingly opaque.  Still, following their uncomfortable first date, their romance has a sweetness that grounds the movie’s more eccentric tangents.  Altman captures the early sparks of their relationship with warmth and wry humor, even as he complicates that journey with detours into family squabbles and extended musical interludes.

Speaking of music, the band that Sheila lives with, "Keepin’ 'Em Off the Streets", is featured heavily, sometimes to the detriment of the story.  The performances are energetic and occasionally mesmerizing, but Altman allows the focus to drift too far, making the film feel episodic and distracted. The band often seems to hijack the movie, leaving the central relationship lost in the noise.

Alex’s oppressive family dynamic, particularly his overbearing father and sister, is sketched with a sharpness that feels more in line with classic Altman satire.  Featured in the family is one of Altman's frequent actor choices, Henry Gibson (Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In)!  These family scenes hint at a large array of cultural tensions, but they remain underexplored. It's as if Altman can't quite decide what he wants the film to be... a romantic comedy, a musical, a family drama, or a social commentary.  So he tries a little of each.

A Perfect Couple isn’t a bad Altman film by any stretch; it's got moments of charm, humor, and genuine connection. But it also feels unfocused, a lesser entry in a filmography full of riskier, sharper work. It was pleasant to watch, but unlikely to linger with me for very long.