Five Wives, Three Secretaries And Me . Austin Chronicle . 03-30-98

Five Wives, Three Secretaries And Me

DIRECTED BY: Tessa Blake

REVIEWED: 03-30-98

This film is a fascinating, intensely personal glimpse into the life, loves, and highfalutin' shenanigans of Houston oil lawyer Thomas Blake, who just happens to be the filmmaker's dear old dad. Despite its title, the film is as much about Tessa's life and formative years as it is her father's. Throughout the film, she captures rare glimpses into her aged father's monied, to-the-manor-born lifestyle, as well as a portrait of his irascible, inborn racist tendencies (exasperated to the breaking point when Tessa returns from college to announce that her new beau is black), and the surrounding members of her very extended family, including several of Thomas Blake's ex-wives who now make it a habit to dine together whenever possible. It's as much a sociology lesson as a personal memoir, revealing that Houston's landed gentry is just as wacky as the rest of us always thought, though Blake's father remains a bit of an enigma, to his daughter as well as the audience. Thoroughly engaging, Blake's lengthy documentary footage and interviews with her dad (and just about everyone who ever knew him) are like sparring matches between two friendly boxers - she's just as eager to explain herself and her motivations as he is, though not nearly as cagey. It's a rare invitation to see how the other half lives, and not surprisingly, it turns out to be pretty much like the rest of us, albeit with a greater cash flow.

--Marc Savlov

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