As disjointed as it is, HEALTH is still light years more clever than a lot of movies that get wide release so it's a real head scratcher why it sat on the shelf for so long...and is pretty much forgotten now. Assembling his standard large cast, director Robert Altman makes some pointed comments on the hypocrisy of many health food aficionados. Lauren Bacall and Glenda Jackson are well-used as rivals vying for president of a national health organization. Bacall is the best thing in the movie as she claims to be in her eighties --- and has a dog in his forties to boot! She's also senile and kept alive by a sex-starved nurse and a shady manager. Jackson is the clipped tongue naturalist who views herself some sort of Jesus figure for the Health conscious set. Carol Burnett is terrific as a government representative who grows more and more wary of the health movement the more she is exposed to it. Her interview scene with Dick Cavett, as himself, is priceless. James Garner plays Bacall's manager and he's appropriately caddish. Henry Gibson is a hoot as a political dirty trickster. Paul Dooley and Alfre Woodard have a few funny moments as well.
Review of HealtH
