TMS Muse of the Week: Jacqueline Bisset

(via youtube.com)

The concept of the MILF [‘mom I’d like to f*ck’] is a complicated label. It’s a glorification of the older woman, or specifically a mom, who might even be the same age as your mom. But ultimately, it’s primarily, simply a sexual trope for men [and lesbians to a lesser extent]. Most women who have the reputations of playing MILFs, like Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson in Mike Nichols’ The Graduate (1967) and Jennifer Coolidge as Stifler’s Mom in Universal’s American Pie comedies (1999-2012), aren’t actually entirely comfortable with the image. Anne’s son, Max Brooks has described his mom as closer to a mousey librarian in real life than a cougar; while Jennifer has shared stories over the years of high school and college boys hitting on her once they recognize her in public. An actress who doesn’t seem to mind the attention from the younger men is Jacqueline Bisset. One of the big sex symbols from UK cinema in the mid-20th century, Jacqueline has played many wives, mothers and independent women throughout her career. Though she could have been pigeonholed because of her good looks, she actually has a nice variety of genres and collaborators on her resume.

The starlet began her career as eye candy in romps like Richard Lester’s comedy The Knack…and How to Get It (1965), Joseph McGrath’s segment of the epic 007 spoof Casino Royale (1967), and Stanley Donen’s romcom Two for the Road (1967) and action-thrillers such as Peter Yates’ Bullitt (1968) and Gordon Douglas’ The Detective (1968). Jacqueline fortunately found more interesting and challenging roles through Euro filmmaking, starting with Roman Polanski’s Cul-de-sac (1965) and most notably as the superstar in François Truffaut’s Day for Night (1973). She spent the 1970s in star-studded hits like George Seaton’s Airport (1970) and Sidney Lumet’s Murder on the Orient Express (1974) before making pop culture history with her famous underwater, wet T-shirt sequence in Yates’ aquatic adventure The Deep (1977). Unlike a lot of actresses who hit their late 30s, Jacqueline didn’t stop being cast as desirable women. She had a poise and sophistication about her that curbed any possibility of her being second fiddle to Raquel Welch or Brigitte Bardot. When the English woman debuted, she seemed a little too good for just sex appeal, and by the time she was well into stardom, too intriguing for generic wife and mom roles.

(Douglas Kirkland)

Already cast as a beautiful, slightly older woman in James Neilson’s rather forgettable teen comedy The First Time (1969); it wasn’t a surprise Jacqueline didn’t have any problem paired opposite younger men by the time she was close to 40. In her personal life, she lived up to her sophisticated, bachelorette rep by never marrying or having children. If you look up her longest, most serious relationships [including with former co-star Michael Sarrazin and ballet legend Alexander Godunov], the actress got older, but the boyfriends not so much. Her Wiki page have the men in her last two relationships listed as two full decades younger than her. In a 1984 TV interview uploaded on YouTube, the reporter mentions then 39-year-old Jacqueline once said she loved being 30, to which she quickly adds with a smile: “Yes, and I will say I love being 40 and probably 50 too.” Another interesting thing about Jacqueline is that she’s one of the few screen actors to never bother attempting a fake accent for certain characters, choosing to keep her English sensibilities exposed at all times. I think this ended up working in the star’s favor, as it gave her a bit uniqueness when she appeared in Hollywood movies opposite largely Americans.

By the 1980s, Jacqueline’s MILF status was in its way with dramedies like George Cukor’s Rich & Famous (1981) and Lewis John Carlino’s Class (1983). Both underperformed with both critics and audiences, but solidified that Jacqueline was a natural at playing a temptress. I’ve generally found it amusing that while The Graduate popularized the older woman/younger man trope in comedies, the movies the classic inspired were not nearly as good. For some reason, the young man in these knock-offs are always in high school too rather than right out of college like Dustin Hoffman’s Ben Braddock too. Take Class, which has Jacqueline in the token Mrs. Robinson role, Andrew McCarthy in the Ben role, and Rob Lowe as the son and best friend, rather than the second love interest like Katharine Ross’ Elaine Robinson. In a Q&A just this past season at the Sarasota Film Festival, Jacqueline recounted that her role in Class was much meatier in the original script, and editing and re-writes during filming made the movie come across as a cheap cash-in. I can see her frustration, since when you watch the film, it feels closer to Bob Clark’s Porky’s (1981) than it does The Graduate. Nowadays Class is mainly remembered for featuring quite a few future famous faces including Andrew, Rob, Virginia Madsen and John Cusack.

Over the years, Jacqueline continued to make interesting film and TV choices; which included nominations for Best Supporting Actress at the César Awards with Claude Chabrol’s French crime drama La Cérémonie (1995), at the Emmys and Golden Globes for CBC’s mini-series “Joan of Arc” (1999); and a win in the category at the Globes for the BBC mini-series “Dancing on the Edge” (2013). The big moment at the GGs also got a bit of extra media attention for a rather long-winded and unprepared speech Jacqueline sprung on the spot a bit awkwardly. The legend took the press and memes with a good sense of humor and, watching the speech now, she’s clearly just excited to finally win her first major award. Honors like this show Jacqueline really was more than just a sex icon or celluloid fantasy at the end of the day. Would someone coasting off their looks be cast in classics like Bullitt and Day for Night? Let’s end this piece saying here’s to Ms. Bisset.