Film

A New Leaf

Name: A New Leaf
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Released: 1971
Cast: Walter Matthau, Elaine May, Jack Weston, George Rose, James Coco

Comedy

A Manhattan playboy bankrupt and desperate hatches a murder plot against a wealthy, clumsy botanist—except she's genuinely kind and he discovers something resembling a conscience. Elaine May's directorial debut is a romantic comedy that pivots beautifully between dark scheming and real tenderness, funny without ever winking at the audience. For anyone who loves character-driven comedy with bite and heart.

TMDb rating

3.7

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A chic, melancholy romance between a society girl and a writer who sees through her façade. Like A New Leaf, it finds genuine emotion beneath the surface gloss and refuses easy sentiment.

But The pacing feels slow by modern standards, and some of the supporting characterization hasn't aged perfectly well.

The Philadelphia Story1940

Sophisticated, witty banter paired with real vulnerability. A woman on the eve of her wedding learns something true about herself and what love actually requires. Both films believe comedy and sincerity belong together.

But It's a product of its era in ways that show. The class assumptions feel very 1940s, and the resolution might frustrate modern viewers.

Harold and Maude1971

Released the same year, it shares A New Leaf's tone: absurdist, tender, unpredictable. An unlikely romance blooms between two misfits, funny but never cruel, weird but deeply humane.

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Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from A New Leaf

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Graduate1967

A story about a man who must learn not to be selfish; this one is about a man learning he was selfish all along.

A young man adrift is seduced by an older woman, then falls for her daughter. It's the inverse of A New Leaf's premise: here, the young person is passive and confused, not predatory and then redeemed. Both films question what it means to grow up and stop using people.

But The satire is now almost fifty years old and sometimes feels dated. The famous ending divides viewers sharply—some find it perfect, others find it incomplete.

Withnail & I1987

Two failures stumble through a world indifferent to them with perfect comic timing and genuine affection for each other. Like A New Leaf, it's funny because the characters are real, not because the jokes are pushed.

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My Man Godfrey1936

A screwball comedy where a wealthy eccentric hires a tramp as her butler, and both of them are smarter and kinder than they initially appear. The same belief that people contain multitudes.

But The pace is frenetic by today's standards and the Depression-era dialogue can feel arch and mannered.

Sabrina1954

A chauffeur's daughter falls for a wealthy man, but the film is less interested in the romance than in how she becomes herself. Elegant, funny, with real stakes beneath the champagne bubbles.

But Audrey Hepburn's charm can overshadow the plot, and the gender dynamics, while progressive for 1954, feel dated now.

The Thin Man1934

A husband and wife who genuinely like each other solve a murder while drinking martinis and bantering. The chemistry between William Powell and Myrna Loy is electric, and the jokes still land.

But It's a mystery, so plot matters, and the solution is intricate in ways that can feel convoluted. Very much a product of its time.

Moonstruck1987

A widow in Brooklyn falls for her fiancé's brother despite her better judgment. It's funny, romantic, and genuinely wise about family, desire, and the mess of being alive and wanting.

But The magical-realism touches and operatic emotional swings won't work for everyone. It's unapologetic about its sentiment.

The Egg and I1947

Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray as a married couple learning each other in the Pacific Northwest. Small, character-driven, funny about compromise and affection without being saccharine.

But It's obscure for a reason. The plot is thin, and if you need narrative momentum, this will feel slow and slight.

Contempt1963

Both are about the gap between how we see people and who they actually are; one comedy finds hope there, one does not.

Godard's film about a marriage collapsing during the making of a film. Nothing happens the way you expect. It's about desire, boredom, and the impossibility of really knowing another person. A New Leaf finds comedy in similar territory; this finds tragedy.

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A Christmas Story1983

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Ostensibly a holiday film, it's actually about childhood, family dysfunction, and the strange tenderness of people who irritate each other endlessly. Like A New Leaf, it's warm without being soft, funny without being mean. Totally unsentimental about sentiment.

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