THE POWER (1968) *** Dream flick for anyone who ever wanted to see George Hamilton attacked by an old lady with a fly swatter, scrimmage (without a plane) against Air Force jets on a desert firing range, get in a fight covered with bubble bath, or go nauseaus on a merry-go-round. In other words there's something for everyone. I don't know why they classify obviously true stuff like telekenesis as sci-fi but there's nothing determinedly realistic about the script, and the climactic scene is a triumph of entertainment, sixties jubilance, and avant-garde film-making so ahead of its time that we'll never catch up. Also Hamilton is one of the all-time champions at looking disgruntled, which the script offers him ample opportunity to do; and at looking like he thinks he's way smarter than everyone else but trying to be patient, which he always does whether the script calls for it or not. Even without her make-up Yvonne De Carlo is compelling in a drunken Munster sort of way (especially her eyebrows), and Suzanne Pleshette also mimics her television role (as Mrs. Newhart) by sensibly drinking bourbon to the max when the goal is to stay awake. Trance of a disoriented film. Very kooky, somewhat wonderful, very California.
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