Portnoy's Complaint (1972)

Directors

Ernest Lehman

Cast

Richard Benjamin, Karen Black, Lee Grant, Jack Somack

The story

The film focuses on the trials and tribulations of Alexander Portnoy, a Jewish man employed as the assistant commissioner of human opportunity for New York City. During a session with his psychoanalyst (who never speaks during the film), he explores his childhood, his relationship with his overbearing mother, his sexual fantasies and desires, his problems with women, and his obsession with his own religion. Via flashbacks, we learn about his affairs with Bubbles Girardi, the daughter of a local hoodlum; leftist Israeli Naomi, whom he attempts to rape; and gentile Mary Jane Reid, whose nickname "Monkey" reflects her remarkable agility at…

Genres

Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.

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