The Big 10

I watched 10 for the first time in years.  The Blake Edwards film made quite a stir when it was released (40 years ago!).  Everyone was talking about Bo Derek, the unknown in the title role.  And it made an unlikely romantic lead of Dudley Moore.  It also put Ravel at the top of the charts.

The plot, if you've forgotten, is about George (Moore), a successful composer in his 40s who's dealing with getting older.  He's got a girlfriend, but when he spots a beautiful young woman (Derek) who's about to get married, he becomes obsessed with her, even following her to her honeymoon in Mexico.  Through plot machinations, he actually gets a chance to sleep with her, but ultimately pulls back and returns to his girlfriend.

10 is Blake Edwards dealing with the open sexuality of America in the 70s--in a film made possible by the end of censorship in the 60s.  Yet I find the film frustrating, since it seems to me Edwards is still playing by the old rules.  Dudley fights so hard to get Bo, and then decides to give her up once he's got a chance.

Imagine if this film were made in France, or Italy.  Most likely George would sleep with the young woman, and both of them would return to their lives, carrying the wistful memory of a brief fling.  But Edwards is playing by the Hollywood rules where you don't mess around, at least not without being punished.  In the film, Derek asks Moore why is he making such a big deal about sleeping together.  In a way, 10 is an older man--Blake Edwards was in his 50s when he made the film--telling the younger generation (or his idea of it) sex should mean something.

Dudley Moore's girlfriend is played by Julie Andrews, who was Edwards' wife at the time.  When they married, by the way, he was in his 40s and she was 13 years younger.  Of course, being a big director, Edwards must have been surrounded for years by younger actresses who wanted his attention.  Is 10 his message to them? Or a reassurance to his wife?