Plot-- Having neither money nor feelings, an aging wastrel better figure out how to get money quickly or he's in big trouble. Thanks to his quick thinking manservant, he looks to marry a rich woman. Soon he settles on a lonely, inept young woman who specializes in both botany and ruining rugs. So what will happen now.Well, I guess the movie's a comedy thanks mainly to May's touchingly clumsy funny girl. Still, it's a hard movie to get a handle on. Matthau's coldly calculating fortune hunter hardly cracks a smile the whole time, even in social situations. Between the two, they're hardly a promising comedy mix. Yet, the mix works even as Graham (Matthau) pores over a poisoning book on his wedding night, while poor Lowell (May) can't even get her gown on straight. No, the movie may not be a knee-slapper, but it is unusually charming in its own way. In fact, May manages to make her character one of the most uniquely winning that I've had the good luck to see. Then too, casting the familiar faces of Coco and Weston conveys a hint of tongue in cheek even as they play a couple of mean guys.The ending is appropriate as the movie's title suggests. At the same time we can't be sure what the emotionally destitute Graham will do. After all, he wants status, but without the responsibilities.Apparently, May was the creative hand (writer and director) behind this unusual comedy-drama. Too bad she was also behind the monumental flop Ishtar which appears to have slowed her promising movie career. No, the movie may not be a knee-slapper, but it is humorously different. Thanks to May, we're left with a memorable portrayal that I'll think of every time I check the carbon on my car's cylinders.

Recently I've caught a number of Walter Matthau films on cable. Matthau was long a favorite of mine since I first really noticed him as more than a character actor (which was probably when my mother and I went to see "The Odd Couple", which doesn't seem quite so funny now, but had us in stitches back in 1968). Seeing some of Matthau's old films recently reminded me of just how good he was, after taking him for granted for so many years. He could do character roles (as most of his early career was; and many were impressive) or starring roles. He could do drama (such as "First Monday In October") or comedy.This particular film -- "A New Leaf" -- is one of Matthau's best. Certainly, as with almost any film, more than one actor could play the starring role. But Matthau had a certain persona which allowed him to make this role in this film his own. Had anyone else been the star, it would have been a VERY different film. What Matthau could do with dead pan was amazing. The early scenes in this movie, where Matthau's character learns that he is dead broke are just hilarious. Hilarious writing, to be sure, but also hilarious because of that Matthau persona. I can't think of another actor who could have handled those scenes in that way. Yes, Matthau was relatively unique...and that's why we liked him so much as to make him a major star in an everyday body.And that's true about this film, too. It's interesting to read the Wikipedia article about the film, which was Elaine May's creation. Thankfully, the big bosses at Paramount didn't allow her to have her way with the final film. Would we really want to sit through 3 hours of a film in which Matthau actually becomes a murderer? I don't think so...and neither did Matthau. May's version would have justified murder (which isn't usually very funny), while this version shows redemption (of both main characters, though mostly of Matthau's character). But what is good about this film is that it doesn't seem to be a rehash of a lot of other films. Like Matthau's performance, the film is relatively unique. Oddly enough, as widely respected as the film was at the time (in terms of reviewers), it was not very successful at the box office. Yet, I still see it as a gem.In addition to Walter Matthau, the movie also stars Elaine May in as good a role as she ever had on the big screen. I always saw May as a "niche" actress, and this is her niche. It was nice to see an actor -- James Coco -- who I had pretty much forgotten about; he's funny here. George Rose is excellent here as the butler. Jack Weston -- one of those character actors who usually played pretty much the same part -- is perfect here as the shady lawyer. And, it's interesting to see a relatively young Doris Roberts, although her part is not large.I'm quite enamored with this film, although it still only get's my "7" for being a very watchable and enjoyable film. But I highly recommend it.

... as I remember seeing it on TV in the 1970's when I was still in high school. In every way imaginable I saw myself as Henrietta -awkward, shy, clumsy, dismissed by everyone. Forty years later I still recognize that awkward person Elaine May is portraying. Yet Henrietta seems completely clueless that she is perceived this way, which was something I found hard to buy, but it does make her more endearing and make this film more about Henry's journey as he marries this totally helpless yet wealthy creature in order to get out from under his financial problems and discovers he has to take over every aspect of her life outside of her profession as botanist in order to preserve her wealth and his rarefied sense of order. You might say Henry dislikes his new wife so much because he initially sees himself as her - he says so at the beginning of the film when he finds out he has no money. He confides in his gentleman's gentleman that he has no talents or ambitions other than being rich. This is not the case, but this is how he sees himself. This really IS the case for Henrietta yet she does not see herself that way. So, in a really quirky way they are made for each other.How did Henry know that he would be the beneficiary of Henrietta's estate if he should manage to either kill her or arrange "an accident" and get away with it? Someone with so much money and so many hangers-on as Henrietta would almost certainly have a will prior to their meeting. A set-up by Henrietta's crooked lawyer (also only interested in her money) and Henry's uncle (Henry is on the hook for a loan from him that will mean the forfeiture of all of his assets should he fail) made to make Henry look like the fortune hunter he is backfires and Henrietta changes her will and leaves everything to Henry, with the entire sad tail of Henry's poverty just endearing him even more to her!Elaine May has always been an underrated talent, and as for Walter Matthau, what can I say? In 1968 he makes "The Odd Couple" and has me believing he's a the world's biggest working class slob, oblivious to his financial condition as long as poker night happens, and three years later he's got me believing he's the world's biggest snob interested only in savoring the finer things in life and dedicated "to traditions that were dead before you were born" - to put it in the words of Henry's (Matthau's) gentleman's gentleman. If you have a chance, give it a look. It is full of subtle dry humor executed to perfection by the cast. Only after the cynical 70's began could such a film be made. Maybe if it had been made after Watergate the public would have been cynical enough to appreciate it at the box office.

Since others have recounted the wonderful plot (shades of Kind Hearts and Coronets, but with only one intended "victim"), and others have mentioned how brilliant Walter Matthau's comic performance is, I would like to add how amazing and brilliant Elaine May's zany performance is. She wrote, directed, and was the female star of the movie, in a time when only a few men ever wore so many hats.This movie is SO worth watching. It took a little time for me to settle in to the odd unusual rhythms - it's almost a half an hour before Ms. May appears at the tea party and turns the film upside down.The little girl who is "touching things" at the wedding is priceless. The loafers who are cheating Henrietta, her lawyer (Jack Weston in a comic tour-de-force), so many funny lines, situations, and laughs - the odd thing is the affection that builds between Henry and Henrietta WORKS. Not sure if the 3 hour May version would be better or even as good - perhaps we will never know, but this cut of the film is near perfect and so worth watching! I wish Elaine May had made more movies; her voice was so unique and enchanting. I am one of the few people in this world who loves "Ishtar", and of course "The Heartbreak Kid" is a total gem - I haven't seen "Mikey & Nicky" unfortunately, but would love to see it. She scored as an actress many times, esp. in Woody Allen's "Small Time Crooks" (the first funny half of the movie in particular).If you get a chance to see this movie, give it a chance - it's worth the time and effort to find it!