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Play It As It Lays (1972) is an American feature film released by Universal Pictures. It tells the story of a young wife and actress whose career, marriage, and life all seem to be crumbling at the same time, and stars Tuesday Weld, Anthony Perkins, and Adam Roarke. The movie was adapted by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne from Didion’s 1970 novel of the same name, and directed by Frank Perry. Filming took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, Malibu Lagoon State Beach in California, and in the Mojave Desert, California. Weld was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Drama for her performance.

Plot
As the film opens, Maria Wyeth (Weld), an ex-model and B-movie actress, strolls on the grounds of a mental hospital, recalling the traumatic events which led to her breakdown. Her marriage to a self-engrossed independent film director, Carter Lang (Roarke), is crumbling, partly because she resents him for having their daughter Kate committed. Neglected and unable to find work in film, Maria engages in a series of one-night stands and becomes pregnant, but agrees to have an illegal abortion so that her husband won’t take Kate away permanently. Her only real friend is B.Z. (Perkins), Carter’s producer, who is a closet homosexual involved in a sham marriage. B.Z. tells Maria that her actions are merely a way of trying to discover “thee answer,” or meaning of life, and that she will eventually realize that the answer is nothing. Although Maria disagrees at first, by the end of the film she realizes that B.Z. may well be right, and she comforts him while he commits suicide.

Critical reception
The film received a 4-star contemporary review from Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times, and currently holds a 55% “fresh” (or positive) rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 373 reviews. The film has never been released on DVD in the United States.

Cast

 * Tuesday Weld as Maria Wyeth
 * Anthony Perkins as B.Z.
 * Adam Roarke as Carter Lang