MovieChat Forums > The Way We Were (1973) Discussion > Never Work Today - Spoilers!!!

Never Work Today - Spoilers!!!

posted 17 years ago by sammygkelseye
7 replies | jump to latest

I soooo wanted to like this movie. I like Streisand's acting, if not her personal beliefs and I have always thought Robert Redford was sexy even though he's old enough to be my dad!

I just cannot believe Hubbell would walk out on his wife and daughter at the hospital. What kind of man (jerk!) does that? And especially with how Hubbell's character was throughout the movie. He may not have had the strongest principles compared to Katie but he certainly didn't seem like the type to leave his wife as soon as she gives birth (or actually before - she asked him to stay until she had the baby).

And then at the VERY end I thought "Well, at least they share custody and see each other when dropping her off." NO! That's why it would never fly in today's society. I can be a confident woman who stands for my beliefs and still insist my child's father be in her life and pay child support. I suppose the child support probably wasn't an issue for Katie and the whole thing would have made the ending less "romantic" but I found myself with a bad taste in my mouth after the movie ended. For the rest of the weekend, I was thinking, "Shame on you, Hubbell!!"

[–] SammyAnnie 17 years ago

I always thought that Katie and Hubbell decided that it would be best for them to split. At that time they knew that they were so different they couldn't stay together. It wasn't said, but I believe that both of them decided to not have Hubbell be around to see his daughter. I don't think he wanted not be their for his daughter, because the audience can see that her cares for her when he asks Katie how their daughter is doing.

Their situation may work today in certain cases, but it depends on the parent's relationship.

[–] sammygkelseye 17 years ago

I'm sorry. Let me better clarify why I think it would never work today.

The mother would be demanding the father pay child support whether or not he see the child. True, not every woman would demand that but I believe most would.

Also, secrets were a lot easier to keep prior to wide-spread use of the Internet. Someone may actually have to tell Rachel that the man she knows as "dad" is not her biological father or she may ask why he's not in any of her baby pictures but once she knows the truth, I'm sure she would start searching for Hubbell. Of course, this could all be in the sequel "The Way We Will Be" (ha, ha).

[–] SammyAnnie 17 years ago

I agree totally. Technology has made everything much more visible.

As for 'The Way We Will Be' I'm actually making a screenplay (for fun) that is the sequel to 'The Way We Were.' I thought about naming it 'The Way We Are,' but decided just using the orginal title instead (TWWW2).

[–] cjdancegirl 12 years ago

Maybe if they had twins the could have done the parent trap method.

[–] raspell 11 years ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDfdzcLD1s4

Read this and it will explain. There was a scene cut where Hubbell would have been blacklisted due to Streisand's previous involvement with communist party. Discussion of this starts mid 6:00 minutes.

[–] Kassie24 11 years ago

He should have been in his daughter's life, that was cowardly, pathetic

[–] Piperson 11 years ago

Thank you, Raspell for that link to the deleted scenes. If the scene where Hubbell tells Katie that someone has informed on her for being a communist had not been cut, it would have changed our perceptions of Hubbell's character and of why they broke up.

If we had known that any association with Katie would have been disastrous for Hubbell then we could have at least understood why he felt himself unable to visit his own daughter. Instead we are left with the feeling that he is a deadbeat.

Watch that youtube clip if you are puzzled by the end of this film.