I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I came across this play after hearing a reference to it in a conversation I had with one of my gay friends. I immediately went online and found a DVD version. I've since watched it half a dozen times or so.People keep going back to Valerie Perrine's "nude" appearance in the play but really it's a distraction from the actual content. The dialogue written by Bruce Jay Friedman is sharp, poignant but badly needs revising to meet today's world as opposed to 1973. The two gay characters are not how you would portray the gay community today. Yes, queens exist in the gay community but I do believe they would be portrayed differently, with different songs, different attitudes and slightly different behaviors.Valerie's character is a bit of an "airhead." And I think in today's feminist culture, that character would badly need to be updated with a kind of woman who offers more than just good looks. Bixby's character should also be revised because he's blatantly sexist and admits as much in some of his references and in his monologues. The power of this play really comes down to Bixby's character and how he realizes that he's now come full circle and is atoning before God all of this "sins" and now wants to lead a good and just life and just when he's ready to do so, he dies of a heart attack in a Chinese restaurant. It's a question we all mull from time to time. We wrestle with our own personal and spiritual demons. Have we lived a good life? Could we have done better? What would you say to "god" if h/she actually presented him/herself to you? And is there any need for atonement? Should you even care? And what if you're stuck in purgatory. Is a steambath the opportune place for you to redeem yourself before god? And what if you have no faith to begin with? How will god convince you that h/she is god? These are the questions that Tandy's character faces and they are brilliant questions.And the ending is powerful. We all leave this life, ultimately, ALONE, and we must prepare ourselves and hopefully, we have enough time to have done so before our lives end. It's just that Tandy's character needs to be updated and revised to reflect today's world and not 1973.Some of Bruce Jay Friedman's dialogue is just dated, pure and simple. People today wouldn't understand or get references to the 1930's at all and I would update some of the other characters as well.God as a Puerto Rico janitor is brilliant and I wouldn't change much other than having him work with an Apple computer instead of the piece of junk that's used in the '70's version.This play at its core is fantastic. It just needs an rewrite to reflect the times we live in TODAY. Matter of fact, I'd love to rewrite this play and see it get produced!

This is basically a play without audience laugh track (thank the steamroom attendant for that!) on DVD. There is basically only one location in the entire show: the steambath! And to make matters worse, it's a satire! Now this combo would normally be enough to keep me from watching, but since it's starring Bill Bixby, I had to get this! Well, I was really glad I picked this one up! Bill Bixby is sublime in the role of Tandy, a man who walks into the steamroom to find out he's just died and he's trapped here for the rest of eternity! As if that weren't bad enough, he's going to have to share it with a couple of half-naked singing (and dancing!) gay guys, a cantankerous old drunk, and to top it off, an obnoxious Puerto Rican who is the steamroom attendant (José Pérez). Oh! He also turns out to be God! A God who gives outlandish commands to a machine simply to wreck havoc in the world for his pure entertainment! (How's that for satire?!)To lighten things up a bit, in walks the necessary all-purpose blonde bimbo (Valerie Perrine). Tandy's mood perks up a bit. Especially when she takes a shower right in front of everyone!Tandy pleads with the janitor: he just wants his life back! But this God is the classic version of a random and unjust God. (And that's what makes this a fascinating and thought provoking movie!) He just won't hear it! The end monologue, delivered by Bixby, is quite moving, and a climax that is not only impressive, but also splendidly well acted.This is an irreverent and thought provoking DVD that is definitely not for the religious zealot! And for those who might get offended, be forewarned, there IS brief nudity: a couple of butts here (the gay guys') and a couple of breasts there (Perrine's). And no, it's no sleazy, it's just the towels coming off!José Pérez is noteworthy and absolutely perfect for this part! Valerie Perrine is entertaining and also the right choice here. As for Bill Bixby, he delivers his lines with flair, and even though some of them are a bit edgy, he retains a primordial class through and through which softens up the impact of those words and makes his character every bit likable. Not only that, Bixby's inherent charisma unassumingly compels the audience to watch his stellar performance until the very end.This gets my 10/10 vote. We're lucky to have this DVD. It deserves to be seen, if only to make one ponder the meaning of life, the obsolete concept of a religious "God", and for the incredible talent of every actor here, particularly that of Mr. Bill Bixby!

I only saw this film once, but I have never forgotten the warm and deeply Spiritual connection I felt to it. I have been asking video stores for years to get it, but to no avail. Would love to own a copy of it someday.

I agree wholeheartedly with those who like this movie. I too watched it on PBS in the early seventies with a group of my friends and we all thought it was hilarious--even profound. Bruce Jay Friedman is one of the cleverest and most imaginative writers around. Check out his stories in the volume Black Angels if you want to see more of his work. Steambath is an unacknowledged gem. It ranks right alongside the black humor of Vonnegut, John Irving and T.C. Boyle. It should be resurrected.