Anyone not knowing what PETE 'N' TILLIE was about would think they were about to see a riotous comedy--and for at least half of the time they would be right, since the stars are WALTER MATTHAU and CAROL BURNETT.The first half dealing with the meeting and dating of Pete and Tillie almost seems like a reprise of Matthau and Elaine May in THE NEW LEAF. Plenty of wisecracks. But then, they marry and things take a turn for the worse when their young son becomes ill from leukemia and passes on. Since Tillie takes it worse than Matthau, there's an emotional segment there for Burnett and she handles it well as a serious actress. GERALDINE PAGE has a nice cameo as the woman who gets them acquainted at one of her parties.A few other things happen after they decide to divorce, but the viewers are left wondering whether they will or won't get together again. I won't tell you here, you have to find out for yourself.It's better when it's striving for laughs but, on the whole, it's an uneven blend of comedy and drama that works most of the time.

Time has not been kind to PETE-N-TILLE,a 1972 film starring Walter Matthau and Carol Burnett. I remember seeing this film in the theaters when it was released and thinking how good it was, but as the years have worn on and I have seen this film several more times, it comes off as a muddled and confusing film that isn't sure if it wants to be a comedy or a drama. Matthau and Burnett play middle-aged singles who court, marry, have a child, and find their marriage tested by tragedy. The movie makes jarring switches from fall-down hilarity to soap opera tragedy in the blink of an eye and it's hard to keep track of what we are supposed to be feeling. Director Martin Ritt has also kept a tight rein on his two stars, making sure they never go over the top; however, I think this is to the film's detriment. There is one hysterically funny scene of a knock down drag out fight between Burnett and her best friend, played by Geraldine Page (who inexplicably received an Oscar nomination for this), but other than that, this is a muddled and confusing film barely watchable because of the natural charisma and legendary reputations of its stars.

I checked this movie out from the library, because it's a free video rental. I liked the three major actors in it, so I figured it couldn't be that bad. And it wasn't all that bad. It just could have used some editing. It was long in some parts and moved too fast it places where it shouldn't have. Ironically, with two comic leads some of the more funny moments come with Geraldine Page, who was then the First Lady of the American Theater. She also had a fairly memorable film career in which she recieved 8 Oscar nominations, not winning untill the eighth try! She earned her fifth nomination for this film, but unfortunatly her character is wasted! She only has about four scenes, alothough memorable, the movie doesn't make the best use of her talents.

Don't let the presence of the wonderful comic actors Walter Matthau and Carol Burnett mislead you into thinking this might be a comedy with some merit, it's not. It's not even a comedy, even if it tries to be at first.Plot: Two sad losers court gingerly, fall in love, get married, have a kid, ...........Neither funny enough nor sad enough to watch.