Darling Companion

Here's The Lowedown on "Darling Companion" (A Drama DVD review)...Liked It!

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Genre: 6 Movie: 6

What's it about?

Beth (Diane Keaton) saves a bedraggled lost dog from the side of the freeway on a wintry day in Denver. Struggling with her distracted, self-involved husband Joseph (Kevin Kline) and an empty nest at home, Beth forms a special bond with the rescued animal.

What did I think?

Not the fastest moving film ever made, but it was a nice touching story. It seems to be all about this stray dog, when in fact it was about a family healing itself through an outside source. This movie is worth the rental, if you are in the mood for a quiet film with a good family element.

I don't understand all the hate on most of the reviews I've read. There are no special effects, but there are some heavy hitter stars in this movie, and a pleasing storyline. Of course we all know how it's going to end. But the movie, especially for us Boomers, touches on a lot of subjects that we can relate to when it comes to the aging process. And how society can be in a hurry to move us along. Make room for the younger up and coming. The area where this was filmed, Utah and Telluride, are very familiar to me, and a joy to see. This isn't heavy drama, there is no nudity, the plot is not too involved. It's a great movie to take your 80 year old mother-in-law to on a Saturday afternoon. That's what we did, and she loved it. So take Grandma to the movies this week. You'll enjoy the movie, and Grandma will appreciate you taking the time to do it. See you at the movies. :)

"Lassie, don't come home."

Will movies never cease to amaze me? How could the creativity behind the pleasing ensemble film Grand Canyon, Lawrence Kasdan and his wife, Meg, be responsible for the insipid drama, Darling Companion?

A lost dog? The hunt curing and binding the principle couples? Please!! Only surgeons, veterinarians, and their wives could have the time and resources to stay at a Colorado lodge to look for a lost dog. Of course, the dog is just the metaphor for the lost romance, to be found, of the couples, mostly Beth (Diane Keaton) and Joseph (Kevin Kline).

It's difficult to describe how banal their interaction is, especially since Keaton overacts, flailing her arms at emotional moments, and Kline appears to wish he hadn't made this movie with his lines appropriate for a high school world premier.

But then, Sam Shepherd, the world-class playwright, has to endure his thankless role as the curmudgeonly sheriff, and Diane Weist can only showcase her world-class cheekbones. Richard Jenkins as her silly love interest, well, he's had a whole lot better than his comic-relief buffoon.

But then the writing Kasdans didn't have to worry about crafting each line since it seems every other line is a scream calling for lost dog, Freeway. When the most conflict you'll get is Joseph's enslavement to his cell, you have an idea that there are no new ideas. I suggest the real conflict is Beth's over dramatizing, which Joseph calls her on.

Once again a film relies on the faded glory of its Hollywood royalty to tell a silly tale about older folk. I'm thinking I might enjoy the second edition of The Expendables, whose 65-year-old Sylvester Stallone is a has been, knows it, and makes no pretense about making a warm and fuzzy film.

Lawrence Kasdan is a renowned A-list Hollywood director who scored immediately with major hits like "Body Heat" and "The Big Chill" while writing monster hits for George Lucas. This quirky movie about a lovable stray dog is clearly a pet project of his, pun intended.

I infer that writing so many blockbusters may have proved frustrating for him, so he and his wife Meg scripted this sentimental ensemble piece that's strictly cute and folksy. None of the thrills or audience manipulation of a "Star Wars" sequel of Indiana Jones.

I enjoyed some of the foibles of the vast cast of quirky people, but other than the dog gimmick there's nothing compelling to watch, just actors pretending to be "little", ordinary people with ordinary problems.

Alright, Kasdan, you're sick of genre movies. But relationship movies, let's start with "Annie Hall" since Diane Keaton is the lead here, have so much more than you're willing to provide here. It must have been obvious when you got Sony Pictures to bankroll this baby.

You have to have a heart for animals to be able to watch this and really enjoy it. There is some eye candy for male viewers (though her story line tries to go beyond that and the actress carries that weight effortlessly), but it's Diane Keaton, the Dog and Kevin Kline (in that order), that really hold the movie together.

Substories and romantic interludes, marriage problems, but also the absurd (superstituous) are being handled decently. It still might feel a bit too much for some viewers though. Kline just about holds his own in a very slim outlined character outlet, that he has to work with. Clichés abound and an ending that is so over the top (literally), that you'll probably cry (for better or worse).