Alex in Wonderland

REVIEW
What do you do when your filmmaking debut is a huge box-office success? Mazursky's response was this meandering trifle which poses the very same question -- following, as it did, on the heels of his surprise hit Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. Sutherland offers a nice portrayal of Mazursky's alter ego Alex, a hippie-dippie director whose initial triumph makes him a hot property at the studio, but whose conscience bristles at the thought of becoming another Hollywood lapdog. Mazursky's loosely scattered narrative, along with a cameo by Federico Fellini, makes it clear that he yearns for the freedoms enjoyed by European directors. The result, sadly, is a jumble (many Americans of the era tried to imitate the European style with little success), but the subject is of enough interest to film enthusiasts to be worth a look. Burstyn is excellent as Sutherland's wife.