[Save the Tiger] asks us to accept Harry's own justification for what he does -- that American materialism has turned him into what he is. And this is a moral hustle that must have enchanted the movie executives who financed this picture.

Avildsen has a particular talent for recreating lifelike situations. Here, his camera works like a magnet, picking up each squalid detail.

The only thing that saves "Save the Tiger" is Lemmon's highly believable dramatic performance.

(Lemmon's is a ferocious turn, and he’s especially extraordinary in a late scene where Harry has spent the night with a hippie hitchhiker, played superbly by Laurie Heineman...