Nearly lost to time and obscurity, as an unfortunate result of its absence on home video and subsequent disappearance from any kind of cultural conversation, HealtH is a forgotten gem from that prolific and chameleonic filmmaker Robert Altman. It contains all the ingredients of an ensemble-driven Altman effort, from its expansive cast to its laid-back comic rhythm to its Something to Say About Society, which in this case is a scathing attack on the opportunistic and ruthlessly political world of multilevel marketing – roughly a decade or more before such a thing became a regular topic of conversation in the public eye, mind you. This is a fine, scrappy and very funny picture, perhaps less meticulously directed than its filmmaker’s best-known works, but worthy of his name and a revitalized reputation.
The film’s curious title comes from the organization at the center of its loose and unstructured plot: Happiness, Energy and Longevity through Health (HealtH for short). Its many employees, representatives and sponsors have gathered in St. Pete Beach, Florida, to elect a new president. Altman, who co-wrote the screenplay with Frank Barhydt and star Paul Dooley, traces the many comings and goings – the scandals and infighting – of the proceedings by way of a truly inspired, top-flight cast. At the center of it all are the four candidates for the election, each of whom is as strange as all three of the others.
Gloria Burbank (Carol Burnett) comes from the White House, sent to represent the government in its attempt to get in on the HealtH phenomenon in an official sort of way. Esther Brill (Lauren Bacall) is a lifelong virgin whose devotion to a human’s well-being has inspired a self-promoted title of “first lady of health,” despite a crippling case of narcolepsy that she is desperate to keep a secret. Isabella Garnell (Glenda Jackson) is something of a political huckster, claiming to be in opposition to all materialistic behavior but stealing her speeches from Adlai Stevenson, constantly recording herself and others without a single whiff of sincerity in what she does or says. Dr. Gil Gainey (Dooley) is the one who actually seems to have ideas for HealtH and for his product (a powdered kelp) but his political strategy is all for the show of it, such as appearing to “drown” himself for the publicity.
The ultimate outcome of the election barely matters to Altman or to us. The movie is far more about the hucksterism and show-business frivolity of it all, which is precisely the right decision. A convention like this can only bring about the silliest and most superficial of personalities, which is why all these suckers and snake-oil salespeople can wander in and out of each other’s orbit and barely wonder why their careers are suddenly upended. We learn a little bit about each of the main players, with Burnett’s Gloria eventually having Altman’s central attention. She was once married to Harry Wolff (James Garner), a political strategist who now works for Esther, while Esther herself has employed her loser brother Lester (Donald Moffat) to arrive on the scene as supposed government insider “Colonel Cody” to disrupt things. Another disruptor arrives on the scene in the dirty political trickster Bobby Hammer (the great Henry Gibson, from Altman’s Nashville), whose enjoys a strange subplot in which he spreads rumors about the “true” gender identities of Esther and Isabella in a bid to disorientate Gloria and inspire some major, public flub.
This is not a particularly deep or nuanced satire, but it is a funny one, particularly in how Altman incorporates a significant, real-life figure into the action. Dick Cavett, the late-night host whose show was ubiquitous throughout the 1970s and much of the 1980s, has been hired by the convention as an emcee, but even Cavett plays a satirical, comically heightened version of himself here. His interviews with figures like Gloria and Isabella and Esther are truly hilarious, even though Cavett plays everything so straight that it just feels like an episode of The Dick Cavett Show. There’s no real destination in HealtH other than those election results – just a quick glimpse at the next occupants, which makes for a great set-up and punch line – but Altman and his cast ensure we’ll have a good time getting there.
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