I am a huge fan of Elaine May, both as a writer–and as a genuinely hilarious actress.  But, strangely, almost no one ever talks about what I consider one of her two best movies, In the Spirit.  Or, maybe this is not strange, since despite the fact I have been recommending this movie to people for years, I only know two other people on the planet who love it–and they happen to be my parents.  But, what can I tell you–we laugh our heads off every time we see it.  I’m not sure even how to begin to describe the story, but it captures a wonderfully accurate version of my adored New York City, and explores female friendship, and Melanie Griffith gives her best performance ever in a tiny cameo–well, shoot, if you can find a copy, grab it and run.  (Unless it’s my copy, upon which, I will chase you down.)

 I may frighten off anyone who happened to read this when I say that Marlo Thomas is Ms. May’s co-star in this movie, but she is also extremely funny in this film–and, well, it’s in my top five favorite movies of all time, I think.  Since it was something of a commercial flop, it’s pretty hard to find, but you could always try here.  I don’t think they have issued a DVD yet, but boy, I hope they do.  I remember seeing this movie with a close friend the night it opened in Boston, and the theatre was pretty much sold out–and several hundred people were grimly silent for the next hour and forty minutes, and one person (yes, that would be me) cracked up the entire time–to the point that people stared and pointed and made snide and cruel remarks about said unfortunate person.  My friend hated it so much that I was afraid she might stop speaking to me forever, but luckily, we are still good pals.

 If you can’t find In the Spirit, another overlooked gem is Elaine May’s star turn with Walter Matthau, in A New Leaf , back in 1971.  This one is also tough to find, although you might luck out on Ebay, or one of my favorite sites, Half.com, or you could try this.

I gather Elaine May is not everyone’s cup of tea, but when I was a child, my mother used to play her Nichols & May records all the time (and if you can find one of those in CD format, let me know, and I’ll buy it from you immediately), and so, I was brainwashed to like her from a very early age.  My mother also got me hooked on the deadpan brilliance of Bob Newhart, particularly this famous comedy set.

And another oddball movie I adore–which also seems to annoy most people who see it–is the very sadly obscure Hot Millions, starring Maggie Smith and Peter Ustinov, with Mr. Newhart showing up in a small, but pivotal, role as a smarmy, annoying–and delightful–character.

Maggie Smith has, of course, never given anything but a brilliant performance in her entire life, and as British actors go, is second in my affections only to the positively incomparable Diana Rigg as Emma Peel.

I love Emma Peel almost as much as I love The Team That Makes Me Crazy.