Interspersed throughout "When Harry Met Sally . . . " are snippets of elderly couples finishing each other's sentences as they recall cute, romantic moments when they fell in love.
If New Yorkers Burt and Linda Pugach, subjects of the documentary "Crazy Love," had been included in the montages, it might have gone like this:
Burt: "It was 1957. She was 20, I was 32."
Linda: "He wasn't much to look at, but he was a lawyer with a Cadillac and a private plane, plus he owned a nightclub, so I gave him a shot."
Burt: "We dated for a while, then she broke it off when I admitted I was already married."
Linda: "Then I got engaged to another man, but Burt wouldn't give up."
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Burt: "I told her if I couldn't have her, no one would."
Linda: "So he hired a thug to pretend he was a deliveryman and splash lye on my face, blinding me forever."
Burt: "I did 14 years at Attica. When I got paroled, I begged her to marry me."
Linda: "The perseverance in this guy. How could I say no? We've been together 33 years now. The rascal."
Those may not be direct quotes, but they match the bluntness and tone of the Pugaches' interviews in the film, directed by Dan Klores, with actor Fisher Stevens credited as co-director.
Burt and Linda open up with surprising frankness and honesty about their sordid past, including a mid-1990s incident in which Burt was accused by a mistress of threatening to blind her in a similar way.
The film lassoes you in with "ya gotta hear this" prurience. And indeed, the Pugaches have garnered their share of tabloid headlines, which the directors trot out.
The subject matter is trashier than even daytime talk shows, but nevertheless compelling. You'd think a couple with such a bizarre back story would be private, but the Pugaches seem to embrace the limelight. Burt and Linda are open books as they explain their seemingly inexplicable actions and motivations. They act like any other bickering couple of codgers, shooting down assumptions along the way.
Burt is crazy! Actually, a court-ordered psychological evaluation found him sane. He's just vindictive and cruel. Linda degrades herself by sticking with this guy! Possibly, but she's of sound body and mind. Even her friends who can't stand Burt grudgingly admit she should follow her heart, however strange its path.
The theme that emerges is that love must be experienced to be understood, and even then, it's not so easy. Love is, after all, crazy.
***
• Rated: PG-13 for language including sexual references, and mature thematic elements.
• Directors: Dan Klores and Fisher Stevens.
• Family call: Not for young kids.
• Running time: 92 minutes.
