One of America’s greatest comic legends, Elaine May, made her debut as writer and director with the wonderful A New Leaf. Unanimously acclaimed, but unavailable for many years, it now stands as an unorthodox classic alongside Harold and Maude and M*A*S*H* as a key film in the new direction of American screen comedy in the 1970s.
The great Walter Matthau stars as Henry, a once-rich playboy who has spent his entire inheritance. Desperate to marry for financial gain, he meets Henrietta (Elaine May), a shy, awkward, though independently wealthy botany professor. What follows is a giddy tale of dubious legal advice, ruthless skullduggery and ferns in an unorthodox romantic comedy stuffed with deadpan hilarity and brilliant comic invention.
