Breezy (1973) review

Teenage hippie Breezy (Kay Lenz), who's staying in Los Angeles despite being originally from the town of Intercourse in Pennsylvania, catches a ride from divorced real estate agent Frank Harmon (William Holden) and then starts hanging around him and living in his home, where her relentless enthusiasm clashes with his middle-aged surliness.  This May-December romantic drama seems like an odd project for Eastwood - then in his early 40's - to take on as a director, and the premise is predictable, but Lenz is a Manic Pixie Dream Girl (who carries a guitar she doesn't play) and Holden puts in a wonderful performance as someone who's conflicted about whether he should be involved with a young lady less than half his age.  Although they'll probably never watch it, this would make Gen Z - who tend to find age-gaps in relationships to be grotesque - want to hurl, yet it was written by a female screenwriter (the late Jo Heims) and the movie makes it clear Breezy actually has genuine feelings for Frank, so it's not as if he's a groomer or predator.  And if it only lasts a year, that's okay - there are more odious guys she could be hooking up with.