Walter Matthau stars as the formerly rich and constantly deadpan Henry Graham. Once a playboy and reckless with his inherited fortune, Graham now finds himself out of luck and out of money. He has difficulty understanding this dire situation and cannot comprehend the simple fact that his cheques keep bouncing. He has repetitive and restrained conversations with his Lawyer (William Redfield) which sets the comedic tone for the movie and presents Graham as a stubborn and helplessly adolescent character. The careless protagonist comes to the conclusion that he must marry into money to regain his wealth and continue living the reckless and irresponsible life he desires. This realisation prompts Henry to visit his tight fisted and filthy rich Uncle Harry (James Coco) to borrow $50,000 dollars so he can afford to swindle and deceive a wealthy dowager. Enter the hapless and clumsy botanist Henrietta Lowell (Elaine May), who Graham attempts to seduce within six weeks, else he will feel the wrath of his unforgiving uncle.

A New Leaf benefits from the excellent and self-sacrificing direction from Elaine May. She allows Matthau to take centre stage and remove focus from the slapstick and haphazard antics of Henrietta. Writing, starring and directing such a precise and funny script is a major task, but May tackles the story without forgetting the restrained charisma of its star. Matthau is left to shine, with straight talking, but hilarious dialogue, while May presents the screwball nature of the story by portraying the underappreciated and inept Henrietta. Most of laughs come from the sharp and precisely paced script. Matthau delivers his dialogue in understated tones and his po-faced expressions give weight to the snappy dialogue.

The tile of the movie alludes to the changes that Henry Graham must make to his personality if he is to succeed in life. Being a stubborn middle aged man, it is not obvious throughout the movie if he ever will. Never-the- less A New Leaf is definitely a movie which justifies it a DVD and Blu-ray re-release and deserves to takes its place among classic American comedies of the 1970’s. It may not be as iconic as M*A*S*H or as diverse as Harold and Maude, but it does produce many laughs and highlights Elaine May as a great comedy talent in American cinema.