Unhook the Stars (1996)

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The film starts out very well with Mildred's daughter, a rebellious teenager, leaving her widowed mother's home. Mildred forms a bond with next door neighbor, played in a wonderful performance by Marisa Tomei, a crude low-life with an even lower-life husband. He walks out on her and Mildred agrees to watch their young child while Tomei works.This all sounds good. Mildred finds romance with Gerard Depardieu at a bar while with the Tomei character. Mildred's son and daughter-in-law want her to join them in San Francisco. Fine.Suddenly the writing goes awry. Tomei reconciles with her husband who comes back as a changed man. Mildred suddenly sells her house and by the picture's end, we don't know where she is going to. Also, since the Tomei and Mildred's daughter had so much in common, it would have been nice to see them in the same scenes together.

Gena Rowlands, sturdy and glowing, gives an admirable performance in an unconvincing role. She plays an elderly widow who forms a shaky bond with her neighbors, a hard-partying single woman (Marisa Tomei) and her young son. Directed and co-written by Rowlands' real-life son Nick Cassavetes, who gives his talented mom some lovely scenes to play, the film thankfully does not pander to commercial tastes. Still, it's too bad the language is so trashy--and the Tomei character so unappealing--making the second-half of the picture tough to get through. Supporting player Gerard Depardieu, who also co-produced, has a surprisingly sweet role as a lovestruck trucker, and the memorable finale is thoughtful and well-realized. ** from ****

I saw this movie about a year before Star Wars: The Phantom Menance came out. It's an enjoyable movie, non-formulaic and with some good acting. I particularly enjoyed Jake Lloyd's performance, which is why I looked forward to seeing him as Anakin Skywalker. Boy, all I can say is that direction must make a huge difference. He was much stiffer and forced in SW:TPM than in this movie, in which he was natural and sweet. Worth a rental just to see how talented this kid actually is.

This is a nice little film that will bring a smile to your face. An excellent character study too, of an aging woman on a crossroads in her life. Gena Rowlands is excellent as that woman, and Marisa Tomei too is good in her usual "on the edge"-performance. Unfortunately, this film has some major flaws. In fact, this film is a bit too "normal" and predictable. I mean, I've seen SHE'S SO LOVELY too, another film by Nick Cassavetes and was surprised to see how edgy and surprising that film was. I guess I expected to see that here too. Also, there were some less convincing characters in this film. It's a shame to see how little Gerard Depardieu gets to do here. He's a great actor(just watch JEAN DE FLORETTE), but in Hollywood he always gets to play the part of "some French/Canadian drifter", most notable for his accent. That's just a terrible waste of talent. And then there was the young Jake Lloyd. Boy, was he unconvincing. There are so many good child actors these days(though some less talented ones too), but young Lloyd here is not one of them (for now) in my opinion. And does that boy ever smile? Not a very likeable character in this film.But anyways, you'll surely like this film. It's not a masterpiece, but if you like the leads(Rowlands and Tomei), you'll be pleased. They carry this a long way. 7/10