Based on the novel by Joan Didion, Tuesday Weld plays the lead character Maria in the film Play It As It Lays. As an actress, she is beautiful, thoughtful, and rewarded according to how well she serves the Hollywood system. However, she is met with manipulation from her partner and finds out the limitations of being a woman in a man’s world. 

Anthony Perkins plays B.Z., a gay director who befriends Maria. We become trapped in the L.A. of the early 1970s where homophobia reigns supreme and when abortion was not yet legalized. Also feel free to freak out at how cheap all the prices were. 

The film is edited so superbly. Also, driving through the storm drains could have given James Cameron the idea to do the same for Terminator 2: Judgment Day. 

Watching Play It As It Lays is a good opportunity to rediscover Tuesday Weld. I am ready for a Tuesday Weld renaissance. Are you?

Film Forum is showing a new 4K restoration from March 7-13, 2025. 

Vegan alert:
-Maria peels a hard-boiled egg while driving 
-Maria drops a shrimp into a drink
-Chicken leg and a bucket from Kentucky Fried Chicken 
-Finished yogurt cartons 
-Cheese soufflé
-A dog (ShiShi) runs out when the door opens 
-Maria gets a hamburger (existentially)
-Rattlesnake stories (insinuated that one is killed or on display)