Breezy (1973)

Directed by Clint Eastwood. Starring William Holden, Kay Lenz, Marj Dusay, Roger C. Carmel, Joan Hotchkis. [R]

Holden’s middle-aged divorcé finds rejuvenation and the “gospel of life” in a May-December romance with free-spirited teenager Lenz. Holden hits the routine emotional marks like an old pro, and Lenz is fresh-faced and just on the right side of hippie-dippy, but there’s not much here to take interest in, and the ending strikes a sour cop-out note. Director Eastwood strains for delicate sensitivity but more often lands on the banal (playing that sappy “Breezy’s Song” over and over on the soundtrack certainly doesn’t help). It’s Clint’s first film as director in which he didn’t star (and only one until 1988’s Bird), though he can be spotted as an uncredited extra.

47/100