spankymac

This is an extended soap opera, but it isn't atrocious. Not much appears to be left from the original novel, but it is worth watching if you like this sort of thing. If you were expecting James Bond, you'll be disappointed, but there's still a nice mystery underneath, and the acting is okay. Fans of Alistair McLean will find little to recognize here; the action scenes are subdued, the bad guys aren't particularly menacing, and there isn't any sexual tension among the players, except maybe a little between Désirée Nosbusch and Linda Hamilton, which never really comes to fruition. Still, it was significantly better than I was led to believe by one of the other reviews in this forum, and the whole thing tightens up admirably in the last half hour.

Production values on this bit of nostalgia aren't terribly high, and many of the supporting characters aren't very believable, but this little movie is a joy to listen to. Lum and Abner are just as funny as they are on the radio.

It's very clear that later shows owed a debt to these two great comedians; where would the Beverly Hillbillies and Andy Griffith been without them? Lum and Abner did a lot to bring rural America into focus, and to pioneer the "country-bumpkin-does-well-despite-himself" genre.

This is one of several movies starring the denizens of Pine Ridge, Ark. I haven't seen the others yet, but I'll be looking for them.

I love this movie; it's hard to believe it's almost twenty years old now. I won't compare it to Cyrano, except to say that it doesn't have the depth and the tragedy of the original, but it has a charm all its own. Martin was a writer before he was a big star, and the screenplay here demonstrates how good writing can really go a long way, even in a romantic comedy.

Martin plays C. D. Bales with such a great sense of style...he's offbeat, even quirky, but he's also the epitome of 'cool.' He's clearly a man who, in terms of depth of character and intellect, is miles above his fellow townspeople, and yet he cares about them and serves them with a genuine passion. He handles every crisis with panache except his own crisis: his awkwardness about his appearance.

Daryl Hannah does well as Roxanne, an astronomer who catches the eye of most of the men in the small Colorado town in which the movie is set. It was also nice to see Shelley Duvall in this, along with a very funny supporting cast. The landscapes also merit comment: director Fred Schepisi makes good use of the hilly backdrop. All in all, this is a wonderful romp, worth watching again and again.