Heartburn is a 1986 film based on Nora Ephron's semi-autobiography about her second marriage to Carl Bernstein and his affair with Margaret Jay. Directed by Mike Nichols, the film stars Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson. (Mr. Nicholson replaced Mandy Patinkin, who was fired after one day of shooting.) Typical of a Nichols production, Heartburn has a host of interesting actors in small parts, including Caroline Aaron, Karen Akers, Stockard Channing, Jeff Daniels, Joanna Gleason, Steven Hill, Dana Ivey and Catherine O'Hara, plus once and future Oscar winners Miloš Forman, Mercedes Ruehl, Maureen Stapleton and -- in his film debut -- Kevin Spacey, as the subway thief who steals Streep's wedding ring.
The theme from the soundtrack, "Coming Around Again," as well as the end titles song, "Itsy Bitsy Spider", were written by Carly Simon for this film and were included in Simon's 1987 album Coming Around Again.
Despite the film's failure at the box office, Miss Streep has more than once identified this as a favorite film role.
A number of fantasy sequences were filmed but cut from the finished print. Presumably these went further down the road suggested by the two moments in the released movie in which Rachel, watching a "Masterpiece Theatre"-style program, imagines that the Alastair Cook-esque host (played by John Wood) is narrating the story of her own life.
The film is about two journalists, Rachel and Mark, who met at their friend's wedding, suddenly fell in love in each other, and eventually got married. Rachel moved with Mark to Washington, D.C. Their home was not complete, however, until they finally have their first child. Rachel thought she had the best marriage, but discovered that Mark was having an affair with someone in their circle while pregnant with her second child.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Stockard Channing | Julie Siegel |
| Jeff Daniels | Richard |
| Miloš Forman | Dmitri |
| Joanna Gleason | Diana |
| Steven Hill | Harry Samstat |
| Anna Maria Horsford | Della, Harry's Maid |
| Richard Masur | Arthur Siegel |
| Ron McLarty | Detective Andrew O'Brien |
| Jack Nicholson | Mark Louis Forman |
| Catherine O'Hara | Betty |
| Mercedes Ruehl | Eve |
| Kevin Spacey | Subway Thief |
| Maureen Stapleton | Vera |
| Meryl Streep | Rachel Louise Samstat/Forman |
| Kenneth Welsh | Dr. Appel |
1986 films | American films | Comedy-drama films | Romantic comedy films
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the
"Heartburn (film)".
Home Page • arts • business • computers • games • health • hospitals • home • kids & teens • news • physicians • recreation• reference • regional • science • shopping • society • sports • world