The Savages Talented Writer, Tamara Jenkins

A Blind Deal Allowed Writer to Make a Modern Black Comedy

Mar 4, 2009

Nine years after her autobiographical debut film, The Slums of Beverly Hills, hit theaters, Tamara Jenkins's sophomore film, The Savages, was finally released.

Tamara Jenkins was given a “blind deal” with Focus Features and producer Ted Hope. She was allowed to write about anything she wanted for The Savages, with just two conditions: it had to be a modern story, and it had to have humor.

The Savages is a difficult film to classify, because the story is about serious subject matter. But somehow, Jenkins managed to mix in a bit of comedy, so this story of siblings being forced to deal with their father, who has dementia and is being kicked out of his home, doesn’t feel as heavy as it probably should. Throw in the fact that the father abused them as kids, and you could have quite a depressing film.

Dark Comedy Focuses on Sensitive Subject Matter

The film stars Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Wendy and Jon Savage, with acting veteran Philip Bosco as their father, Lenny. When the film begins, the audience sees Lenny living in Arizona in the home of his girlfriend, Doris (Rosemary Murphy). Doris has a caretaker, Eduardo (David Zayas) provided by her family, and he and Lenny, very apparently, do not care for each other.

When Doris dies, Wendy and Jon are forced to reunite with their estranged father and find a new home for him. The siblings argue about where to put him, with Jon favoring a shabby nursing home within distance of his home, and Wendy wanting to appease her guilt and put Lenny somewhere more expensive. They argue, and Jon reminds her that “we’re taking better care of him than he ever took of us.”

Jenkins Struck Gold with Hoffman and Linney

Hoffman and Linney were on Jenkins’ short list for actors that she wanted to play the roles, but she still wasn’t sure what their chemistry would be like together. After bringing them to her apartment for rehearsal, she overheard them talking in the other room and remembered thinking to herself, “They sound good, I think this is going to work.”

"The film could have easily been made with other actors, and I know they had many offers to finance the movie very quickly with a much bigger budget if they replaced Phil and I with other, more commercially dependable people,” Linney said. “I’m so deeply grateful to both Tamara and the original production team for wanting us both.”

The eccentric, darkly comedic The Savages can currently be seen on video. As for the talented Jenkins, she has no projects she’s currently working on.

The copyright of the article The Savages Talented Writer, Tamara Jenkins in Romantic Films/Comedies is owned by Jennifer L Mashuga. Permission to republish The Savages Talented Writer, Tamara Jenkins in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.