The Lonely Lady

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The Lonely Lady
The Lonely Lady movie poster
Directed by	Peter Sasdy
Produced by	Robert R. Weston
Written by	Harold Robbins (novel) Ellen Shepard
Starring	Pia Zadora Lloyd Bochner
Music by	Charlie Calello
Cinematography	Brian West
Editing by	Keith Palmer
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	1983
Running time	92 min.
Country	U.S.A.
Language	English
Gross revenue	$1,223,220 (USA) (sub-total)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Lonely Lady is a 1983 film directed by Peter Sasdy and adapted to screen by Ellen Shepard from the novel written by Harold Robbins. Some consider it one of the worst films ever made mainly because of its clichéd storyline. Its plot and bad acting won it a Razzie.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Jerilee Randall (Pia Zadora) is a simple schoolgirl living in the San Fernando Valley who dreams of becoming a famous writer. She meets the son of a famous screenwriter, Walter Thornton (Lloyd Bochner), at a party. She goes home with the son, along with some other friends. During a late evening pool party, Jerilee is sexually assaulted with a garden hose nozzle by one of the "friends" (Ray Liotta). Walter Thornton arrives after the assault has taken place and saves her from further attacks. A friendship develops between them, and they soon marry. The marriage begins to fall apart when she rewrites one of his scripts and improves it greatly (albeit by merely adding the word, "Why?"). Divorce is inevitable when Walter scorns Jerilee during an argument and accuses her of enjoying her prior garden hose assault. As the years pass, Jerilee has several affairs while trying to get her screenplay produced, including with an Italian lesbian gorgon who leaves Jerilee's hair in a tizzy. Jerilee finally has a nervous breakdown in a sequence where she sees the callous people of her past appear as faces on the keys of her typewriter. The film ends with Jerilee finally successful and winning a prestigious award for her screenplay of a film called the "The Hold-outs". At the live awards telecast, she admits to her ex-husband Walter Thornton (in attendance) that she has never learned "the meaning of self-respect." Jerilee Randall then refuses to accept the award, and walks out of the auditorium with her newfound dignity.

[edit] Availability

Although the film was available in the past on both VHS videocassette and laserdisc, it has never been released on DVD. For that reason, both the videocassette and the laserdisc are somewhat collectable.