What Up?

Up The Sandbox (1972) was a rare flop for Barbra Streisand.  And now, having finally seen it, I can understand why.

Back then, Streisand was the biggest female star around, but what the audience wanted were musicals, comedies and romance.  What they didn't want was this weird, surrealist mixture about a bored housewife slipping into fantasies, including a dalliance with Fidel Castro and blowing up the Statue of Liberty with black revolutionaries.

In fact, I'm surprised someone didn't stop her.  She was powerful enough then to pick her own projects, but I'm sure plenty around her knew this wasn't for her--or anyone.  Though it was made in a time when mainstream Hollywood was willing to take chances, so maybe they said why not?

I can see why Streisand was intrigued--it was a chance to deal with issues of the day, particularly the changing place of women.  And Up The Sandbox had its fans--many liked her performance. But the film, directed by Irvin Kershner (who had just made the fascinating but flawed Loving, and would, of course, go on to direct The Empire Strikes Back), is a mess.

Perhaps the novel by Anne Roiphe pulls off the mix of realism and fantasy better, and expresses the political content more smoothly.  But I think this film has to be considered an experiment gone wrong.