Elaine May’s Typical Vibe
Signature vibe

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Elaine May has 10 titles in the CriticCrunch catalog across a career spanning the 1970s through the 2010s.
Recurring themes

After running out of funds, Henry Graham, a carefree playboy, plots to marry and murder wealthy botanist Henrietta Lowell.
Dir. Elaine May · With Walter Matthau, Elaine May, Jack Weston
A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen partner agree to put up a false heterosexual front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée's conservative parents.
Dir. Mike Nichols · With Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane

Joe Pendleton is a quarterback preparing to lead his team to the superbowl when he is almost killed in an accident. An overanxious angel plucks him to heaven only to discover that he wasn't ready to die, and that his body has been cremated. A new body must be found, and that of a recently-murdered millionaire is chosen. His wife and accountant—the murderers—are confused by this development, as he buys the L.A. Rams in order to once again quarterback them into the Superbowl.
Dir. Buck Henry, Warren Beatty · With Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, James Mason

Nick is desperate, holed up in a cheap hotel, suffering from an ulcer and convinced that a local mob boss wants him killed. Terrified, he calls Mikey, his friend since childhood and a fellow gangster. So begins a long night…
Dir. Elaine May · With Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, Ned Beatty

Three days into his Miami honeymoon with needy and unsophisticated Lila, Lenny meets tall, blonde Kelly. This confirms his fear that he has made a serious mistake and he decides he wants to be with Kelly instead.
Dir. Elaine May · With Charles Grodin, Cybill Shepherd, Jeannie Berlin

A loser of a crook and his wife strike it rich when a botched bank job's cover business becomes a spectacular success.
Dir. Woody Allen · With Woody Allen, Tracey Ullman, Michael Rapaport
The misadventures of four groups of guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Dir. Herbert Ross · With Jane Fonda, Alan Alda, Maggie Smith

In this adaptation of the best-selling roman à clef about Bill Clinton's 1992 run for the White House, the young and gifted Henry Burton is tapped to oversee the presidential campaign of Governor Jack Stanton. Burton is pulled into the politician's colorful world and looks on as Stanton -- who has a wandering eye that could be his downfall -- contends with his ambitious wife, Susan, and an outspoken adviser, Richard Jemmons.
Dir. Mike Nichols · With John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton

A comedy that takes place in the 1960s during turbulent times in the United States when a middle class suburban family is visited by a guest who turns their household completely upside down.
Dir. Woody Allen · With Woody Allen, Miley Cyrus, Elaine May
Two terrible lounge singers get booked to play a gig in a Moroccan hotel but somehow become pawns in an international power play between the CIA, the Emir of Ishtar, and the rebels trying to overthrow his regime.
Dir. Elaine May · With Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Adjani
Top Collaborators
Directors with 2+ shared titles, ranked by frequency