Line #15 Film/ANewLeaf


1	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a_new_leaf_movie_poster_1971_10202597011.jpg]]
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3	''A New Leaf'' is a 1971 BlackComedy film written and directed by Creator/ElaineMay, who also co-stars with Creator/WalterMatthau.
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5	Henry Graham (Matthau) is a spoiled, pompous man who has spent all of his inherited wealth and has no way of earning a living for himself by working. Days away from having to forfeit his property, he decides to marry eccentric but rich botany professor Henrietta Lowell (May), and then plots to murder her.
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7	The film had a TroubledProduction, going 40 days over its shooting schedule and more than $2 million over its budget. After months of post-production and editing, Creator/{{Paramount}} demanded that May produce a rough cut; when she refused, the film--which at that point was supposedly three hours long--was taken out of her hands. Studio head Robert Evans had the running time reduced to 102 minutes and removed a few of the film's darker elements, including a subplot in which Henry poisons two men who have been blackmailing Henrietta.
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9	Though well received by critics, it was only a modest commercial success.[[note]]It took in around $5 million, which actually made it one of the top 20 earning films of 1971, but that was only enough to barely turn a profit.[[/note]]
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11	For more on Elaine May's battles with film studios, read about ''Film/{{Ishtar}}''.
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13	----
14	!!"There's some carbon on the Tropes":
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16	* BigEater: Uncle Harry
17	* BlackComedy: Subjects such as attempted murder and suicide are played for laughs. [[spoiler:In the director's cut, successful murder is also played for laughs.]]
18	* CannotSpitItOut:
19	** Beckett goes through extreme contortions to avoid using the word "broke" to describe Henry's financial situation.
20	** Henry has some trouble proposing to Henrietta.
21	* CatchPhrase: "There's carbon on the valves" for Henry, "heavens!" for Henrietta; even used in tandem at one point.
22	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Henrietta when it comes to anything not related to botany. Henry quite unexpectedly turns out to be good at being her [[CloudcuckoolandersMinder Minder]].
23	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: After Henry gets introduced to a couple named [[UnfortunateNames Hitler]] at a party.
24	-->'''Henry''': Excuse me, are you by any chance related to the Boston Hitlers?
25	-->'''Dr. Hitler''': No, we're from Glen Cove.
26	* CuteClumsyGirl: Elaine May takes it [[ExaggeratedTrope up to eleven]] as the socially inept Henrietta. She forgets to remove price tags from her clothes; has to be vacuumed after she eats; spills multiple cups of tea in one sitting; and accidentally ''puts her head through the arm hole'' of a Grecian nightgown.
27	* DoubleMeaningTitle: Refers to both the new fern species Henrietta discovers and the changes in her and Henry's lives.
28	* FourthDateMarriage: Per his agreement with Uncle Harry, Henry has six weeks to get married and meets Henrietta with only a few days left, so he's forced to speed up the courtship.
29	* HyperCompetentSidekick: Harold the butler, for Henry.
30	* IronicHell: [[spoiler:Henry staying with Henrietta is this]] in the director's cut of the film.
31	* TheKlutz: Henrietta is a classic example.
32	* SelfDeprecatingHumor: [[http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2013/01/nichols-and-may-reunion-exclusive This article]] suggests that Elaine May was poking fun at her own [[TheKlutz Klutz]] and {{Cloudcuckoolander}} tendencies with Henrietta.
33	* SheCleansUpNicely: Henrietta on the honeymoon, except for the part of not knowing how to wear a nightgown.
34	* ShownTheirWork: May consulted with a botanist for the screenplay, so the botany references are all accurate. There's also a ShoutOut to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_H._Wagner W.H. Wagner]].
35	* ThemeNaming: Henry, Henrietta, Harold, Harry, Professor Heinrich.
36	* UpperClassTwit: Henry, though he's forced to go to extreme measures to avoid becoming an ImpoverishedPatrician.

Context Film / ANewLeaf