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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