Me, Natalie

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Me, Natalie is a 1969 American comedy-drama about Natalie Miller, a shy girl from Brooklyn who moves to Greenwich Village and falls in love with an aspiring painter named David Harris. Patty Duke stars as Natalie.

Plot in simple terms:
Natalie has always felt plain. Her best friend Betty is popular and pretty. Natalie tries to be a cheerleader, but she fails, and so do other plans for social success. Her Uncle Harold tells her that someday a man will see her inner worth, not just her looks, but Harold then dies after marrying a flashy go-go dancer named Shirley. Natalie learns that Shirley and Harold really loved each other, and that beauty doesn’t guarantee happiness.

Natalie’s parents worry because she has been expelled from college and has no job or steady boyfriend. They try to set her up with dates, even attempting to arrange a marriage. Natalie eventually moves out to Manhattan after finding Shirley has died of a drug overdose. She rents Shirley’s vacant apartment in Greenwich Village and takes a job as a cocktail waitress at a club.

Her downstairs neighbor, David Harris, is an architect who has left his job to pursue painting. At first, Natalie thinks David is a “sex pervert” for using nude models, but he finds her face interesting and asks her to model for him. Their friendship grows into romance, and Natalie helps boost his artistic dreams while he helps her feel more confident.

Everything changes when Natalie learns that David is actually married with two young sons. After a confrontation, he promises to leave his family and be with Natalie. She waits for him, but eventually she decides she must take responsibility for her own happiness and leaves him.

The film uses paintings by Nathan Wasserberger for David’s work.

Reception:
critics were mixed. The New York Timescalled it “an artificial mess of wisecracks and sentimentality.” Roger Ebert found it conventional but pleasant, with a standout performance by Duke. TV Guide called it somewhat bland, though Duke is excellent.

Trivia:
It marks Al Pacino’s film debut.

Home media:
Me, Natalie was released on DVD in 2016 and on Blu-ray in 2020.