I realized something over the weekend; of all the films Barbra's made -- and she should have made more -- the most innocuous may be "For Pete's Sake." Seriously, the silly summer comedy is more famous for being the movie that brought Barbra together with Jon Peters than anything else. She needed a short haircut and wanted a wig; Jon created it. They met and fireworks went off.
But what about "For Pete's Sake"? Well, not much. It was Marty Erlichman's first credit as executive producer, so Barbra was doing something for her personal manager. And it was a chance to be directed by Peter Yates, who did better work on films like "Breaking Away" and "The Dresser." And, if you want to get nostalgic, it was probably Barbra's last time spending time in Brooklyn. They filmed there for about a week.
So, while it's fashionable for Barbra fans to kvetch about "All Night Long," maybe it was "For Pete's Sake" that really is Barbra's biggest waste of time. Coming after "What's Up, Doc?" and "The Way We Were," before "Funny Lady" and "A Star Is Born," she probably should have done something better.
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I remember Barbra telling Jonathan Ross that she 'didn't like' For Pete's Sake. I have a love/hate relationship with this film. On one hand, I think she is adorable in the film, yet while watching it recently I thought to myself, "Why on earth did you ever make this film?" She is also heard to say she did it as a favor to Marty Erlichman, who really wanted to 'exec produce' a Streisand film. Then there's that nasty four or five (not ever clear) deal with Ray Stark signed back in 1965.
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