We all rushed out to see Little Murders in 1971, only to find a fashionable kind of existential New York stage nihilism being played out in a black comedy form. Where's Poppa? isn't as despairing as that so-called comedy, but has similarities. Gordon Hocheiser's NYC is a nightmare land of bizarre people, including himself and his lady love. With nobody to identify with, we instead laugh defensively at the the cruel and ugly goings-on. Gordon fantasizes a court banishing Mom to live in a bathroom, or the police coming to arrest a dog which has conveniently eaten her.

Where's Poppa? is also wrapped up in what's commonly known as liberal guilt. Gordon's brother Sidney (a wonderfully demented Ron Leibman, from Slaughterhouse - Five) keeps running through Central Park, where he's repeatedly beset upon by the same gang of rather upscale black thugs, including a young Garrett Morris:

"You remember Cornel Wilde? You remember The Naked Prey? Well, you better start prayin', 'cause you gonna be naked!"

That incident is mirrored when Sidney, wearing Gordon's ape suit, takes a taxi back home. The NYC cab driver chooses a man in an ape suit over a black woman vainly trying to get a ride.

Gordon and Louise try to see some kind of happy life together, but she's a borderline trauma case because her patients always die, and her first marriage ended after 36 hours because her husband defecated in the bed. Gordon spends much of the story close to emotional collapse, dragging himself around the apartment, or barely staying coherent while defending Vincent Gardenia's kidnapping football coach. His attempts at abandoning mom in Paul Sorvino's hellhole of a rest home are equally disturbing.

As you can see, this was not the laugh riot for Savant that audiences have reported for 32 years. After his bomb The Comic, Carl Reiner's reputation was made on this movie, and it must have been solely for the Outrageous factor. I enjoyed the main laughs, such as the much quoted 'tush scene' where Ruth Gordon pulls Segal's pants down to kiss his behind. I also was pleased to see a rare movie appearance by the wonderful Rae Allen, who sang Shoeless Joe from Hannibal Mo in Damn Yankees. She plays Ron Leibman's uncooperative wife.

MGM's DVD of Where's Poppa? is a flat transfer that either isn't perfect, or is just making do with a film that isn't always in perfect focus. Colors are lacklustre, but again, the picture may always have looked like this. The visuals are so hard to nail down that one b&w fantasy sequence looks more like a kinescope than film.

The most interesting feature for Where's Poppa? fans will be the alternate ending. (spoiler) Instead of finishing the film as Gordon and Louise ditch mom at Happytime Farms, it continues for another scene in which a phone call from mom causes Louise to leave once more. Gordon returns to the old folks home, breaks down mom's door, and climbs into bed with her. I've never seen the film before now, but I remember reviews that talked about this scene when the film was new, so I don't know if it was widely shown or not. It'll be horrid or hilarious, depending on your general reaction to the show.

On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, Where's Poppa? rates:
Movie: Good,
Video: Fair
Sound: Good
Supplements: trailer, alternate ending
Packaging: Keep case
Reviewed: December 15, 2002