Joan Hackett

Only When I Laugh

Actress Georgia (Marsha Mason) gets out of treatment for alcohol addiction, only to be greeted by a host of interpersonal problems. Her two best friends are dragging her down with their self-involvement, but her friends are the least of her worries. Stress levels skyrocket when Georgia's angst-ridden teenager, Polly (Kristy McNichol), needs a place to live, and her ex-husband (David Dukes) pressures her to star in a new film that spills secrets about their defunct relationship.

The Group

Eight young women from the Vassar College class of 1933 rush out into the world to find exciting lives, but discover nothing is quite as they dreamed. Rather than blazing trails in art, science and literature, the friends are each variously burdened with disappointing relationships, children, aging parents and unemployment. Kay Strong (Joanna Pettet), the center of the group, gradually loses faith in the promise of their lives and, as war approaches, becomes unhinged.