# Used People > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Used_People > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Used_People.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Used_People > Source revision: 1343343518 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 1992 film by Beeban Kidron Used People Theatrical release poster Directed by Beeban Kidron Screenplay by Todd Graff Based on The Grandma Plays by Todd Graff Produced by Peggy Rajski Starring Shirley MacLaine Kathy Bates Jessica Tandy Marcello Mastroianni Marcia Gay Harden Sylvia Sidney Joe Pantoliano Cinematography David Watkin Edited by John Tintori Music by Rachel Portman Production companies U. P. Productions[1] Largo Entertainment[1] Distributed by 20th Century Fox[1] Release date December 16, 1992 (1992-12-16) Running time 115 minutes Countries United States[1] Japan[1] Language English Budget $16 million[2] Box office $28 million[3] ***Used People*** is a 1992 [romantic comedy](/source/Romantic_comedy) film directed by [Beeban Kidron](/source/Beeban_Kidron).[4] The film stars [Shirley MacLaine](/source/Shirley_MacLaine), [Marcello Mastroianni](/source/Marcello_Mastroianni), [Bob Dishy](/source/Bob_Dishy), [Kathy Bates](/source/Kathy_Bates), [Marcia Gay Harden](/source/Marcia_Gay_Harden), [Jessica Tandy](/source/Jessica_Tandy), [Doris Roberts](/source/Doris_Roberts) and [Joe Pantoliano](/source/Joe_Pantoliano). The screenplay by [Todd Graff](/source/Todd_Graff),[4] adapted from his 1988 [off-Broadway](/source/Off-Broadway) play *The Grandma Plays*,[5] takes a humorous look at a highly [dysfunctional family](/source/Dysfunctional_family) living in the [New York City](/source/New_York_City) [borough](/source/Borough) of [Queens](/source/Queens%2C_New_York) *circa* 1969. It is an international co-production between Japan and the United States. ## Plot In 1969, Pearl Berman has just returned home from her husband Jack's funeral, her grief disrupted by her many relatives animatedly discussing which parkway offered the best route to the [cemetery](/source/Cemetery). Pearl's family tackles any and every subject – from [body odor](/source/Body_odor) to [toilets](/source/Toilet) to [Tupperware](/source/Tupperware) to [borscht](/source/Borscht) – as if it is worthy of a major debate. Into a household filled with [kvetchers](/source/List_of_English_words_of_Yiddish_origin#Kvetch) steps Joe Meledandri, a distinguished [Italian](/source/Italians) who years ago met Pearl's wayward husband in a bar, and convinced him to return to her. He has desired her ever since, and now that Pearl is a [widow](/source/Widow), Joe feels the time is right to make his move. He invites her for coffee, his first step on the road to seduction. What remains to be seen is if he can overcome family objections to religious differences and if he is willing to accept Pearl's daughters: the lonely, overweight Bibby and the pretty but psychologically unstable Norma, who dresses up as celebrities to escape the grief that has overwhelmed her since the death of one of her children and divorce from her husband. At her father's funeral, Norma dresses up the way [Jackie Kennedy](/source/Jackie_Kennedy) appeared at the funeral of [her husband](/source/John_F._Kennedy), appears as [Marilyn Monroe](/source/Marilyn_Monroe) as she serves her surviving son his breakfast, and also impersonates [Faye Dunaway](/source/Faye_Dunaway) and [Barbra Streisand](/source/Barbra_Streisand), among others, and those are just some of the crazy relatives who come as part of the package. ## Cast - [Shirley MacLaine](/source/Shirley_MacLaine) as Pearl Berman - [Kathy Bates](/source/Kathy_Bates) as Barbara "Bibby" LaSelle - Emma Tammi as Young Bibby LaSalle - [Jessica Tandy](/source/Jessica_Tandy) as Freida - [Marcello Mastroianni](/source/Marcello_Mastroianni) as Joe Meledandri - [Marcia Gay Harden](/source/Marcia_Gay_Harden) as Norma Schulman - [Asia Vieira](/source/Asia_Vieira) as Young Norma Schulman - [Sylvia Sidney](/source/Sylvia_Sidney) as Becky - [Joe Pantoliano](/source/Joe_Pantoliano) as Frank - [Bob Dishy](/source/Bob_Dishy) as Jack Berman - [Charles Cioffi](/source/Charles_Cioffi) as Paolo - [Louis Guss](/source/Louis_Guss) as Uncle Normy - [Helen Hanft](/source/Helen_Hanft) as Aunt Ruthie - Irving Metzman as Uncle Al - [Doris Roberts](/source/Doris_Roberts) as Aunt Lonnie - [Lee Wallace](/source/Lee_Wallace_(actor)) as Uncle Harry - Matthew Branton as Swee'Pea - Gil Filar as Mark - Maia Filar as Rhonda ## Principal production credits - [Producer](/source/Film_producer) – [Lawrence Gordon](/source/Lawrence_Gordon_(producer)) - [Executive producers](/source/Executive_producer) – [Michael Barnathan](/source/Michael_Barnathan), [Lloyd Levin](/source/Lloyd_Levin) - [Original music](/source/Film_score) – [Rachel Portman](/source/Rachel_Portman) - [Cinematography](/source/Cinematography) – [David Watkin](/source/David_Watkin_(cinematographer)) - [Choreography](/source/Choreography) – [Patricia Birch](/source/Patricia_Birch) - [Production designer](/source/Production_designer) – Stuart Wurtzel - [Art director](/source/Art_director) – Gregory P. Keen - [Costume design](/source/Costume_design) – Marilyn Vance ## Reception As of October 2019, *Used People* holds a rating of 44% on [Rotten Tomatoes](/source/Rotten_Tomatoes) based on 16 reviews.[6] In her review in *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*, [Janet Maslin](/source/Janet_Maslin) observed, "As directed by Beeban Kidron, [the film] makes an international issue out of an Italian-[Jewish](/source/Jew) courtship. It also slathers the ethnic equivalent of corn onto every sentimental scene."[7] [Roger Ebert](/source/Roger_Ebert) of the *[Chicago Sun-Times](/source/Chicago_Sun-Times)* wrote, "The movie is by turns serious, satirical, bittersweet, maudlin, satirical, romantic, and farcical... MacLaine is a pro and survives the material... We care about her enough, indeed, to wonder if meeting the Mastroianni character is really the best thing that could have happened to her. He doesn't often seem like a real human in this movie; he's more like an all-purpose writer's device. The odds are against any sane person being able to behave like this man... what the movie could not overcome, for me at least, is the lack of any convincing romantic chemistry between [the two]."[8] *[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))* stated, "A modern, absurdist sensibility informs the [soap opera](/source/Soap_opera) *Used People*... which harks back to '50s weepies... MacLaine's precise acting is laudatory and balanced by a very sympathetic turn by twinkle-eyed Mastroianni, in his best English-language role by far. The support ensemble is excellent."[9] Rita Kempley of *[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)* said, "*Used People* wants to be *[Moonstruck](/source/Moonstruck)* with [matzo balls](/source/Matzah_balls), but it's less an eccentric romantic comedy than an icky, three-layered [Jewish mother](/source/Jewish_mother_stereotype) joke... it's rich in character if rather trite in theme and scene."[10] In *[The New Yorker](/source/The_New_Yorker)*, Michael Sragow observed, "Life goes on – for the audience, seemingly forever — in yet another ethnic comedy-drama ... In the end, love conquers everything from religious differences to mental illness: everything, that is, except the forced eccentricity and bickering stereotypes in Todd Graff's script."[11] In his review of the [videotape](/source/Videotape) release, Ty Burr of *[Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly)* rated the film C− and added, "Everything's in italics in this Jewish *Moonstruck*... MacLaine honks nasally ... Mastroianni talks in [spumoni](/source/Spumoni) [aphorisms](/source/Aphorism)... the score oompahs with grating merriment as characters parade cutesy tics instead of human traits. With stars as gifted as Jessica Tandy, Sylvia Sidney, and Kathy Bates drowning in the tough-talking treacle, it's one of those movies that gives New York a worse name than it already has."[12] The film grossed $18 million in the United States and Canada,[13] and $10 million overseas for a worldwide total of $28 million.[3] ## Accolades Marcello Mastroianni was nominated for the [Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy](/source/Golden_Globe_Award_for_Best_Actor_%E2%80%93_Motion_Picture_Musical_or_Comedy) and Shirley MacLaine was nominated for the [Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy](/source/Golden_Globe_Award_for_Best_Actress_%E2%80%93_Motion_Picture_Musical_or_Comedy). The [Casting Society of America](/source/Casting_Society_of_America) nominated Mary Colquhoun for the Artios Award for Best Casting for a Dramatic Feature Film.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## Home media Initially distributed by [20th Century Fox](/source/20th_Century_Fox) on its initial release in 1992, VHS 1993[Warner Home Video](/source/Warner_Home_Video) released a DVD on March 22, 2011, as part of the [Warner Archive Collection](/source/Warner_Archive_Collection). ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-afi_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-afi_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-afi_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-afi_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-afi_1-4) ["Used People"](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59427-USED-PEOPLE). *[American Film Institute](/source/American_Film_Institute)*. Retrieved December 9, 2015. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Gritten, David (December 19, 1992). ["A Director's Coming of Age : Beeban Kidron Moves Into Big Budgets and Top Stars With Bittersweet Dramatic : Comedy 'Used People'"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-12-19-ca-2060-story.html). *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*. Retrieved December 9, 2015. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-gross_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-gross_3-1) Klady, Leonard (January 3, 1994). "Warner Bros. tops hot box office 100". *[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))*. p. 42. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Used_People_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Used_People_4-1) ["Used People"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130617020839/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/18623/Used-People/#credits). *[Turner Classic Movies](/source/Turner_Classic_Movies)*. Archived from [the original](https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/18623/used-people#credits) on June 17, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2016. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [*The Grandma Plays* at the *New York Times*](https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE6DE173CF937A35753C1A96E948260) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Used People"](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/used_people/). *[Rotten Tomatoes](/source/Rotten_Tomatoes)*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [*New York Times* review](https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E0CE0D71E3EF935A25751C1A964958260) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [*Chicago Sun-Times* review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/used-people-1992) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** [*Variety* review](http://www2.variety.com/ref.asp?u=IMDB&p=H2BE&sid=VE1117796059) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** [*The Washington Post* review](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/usedpeoplepg13kempley_a0a34e.htm) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** [*The New Yorker* review](http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/used_people_kidron) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** [*Entertainment Weekly* review](https://web.archive.org/web/20090421084541/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,306756,00.html) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Used People"](http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=usedpeople.htm). *[Box Office Mojo](/source/Box_Office_Mojo)*. ## External links - [*Used People*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105706/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) v t e Films directed by Beeban Kidron Vroom (1988) Antonia and Jane (1990) Used People (1992) Great Moments in Aviation (1994) To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) Swept from the Sea (1997) Cinderella (2000) Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) Hippie Hippie Shake (unreleased) Authority control databases International VIAF National United States --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Used People](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Used_People) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Used_People?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.