Movie Stats:
Released 1989 (USA)
American, in English (very minimal Hebrew, both translated
and not)
Director – Bruce Beresford
Stars – Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd
Plot Summary:
Set in Georgia circa 1950s-1960s. After elderly Daisy
Werthan (Tandy) has an accident in her car, her son Boolie (Aykroyd) hires her
a chauffeur, Hoke Colburn (Freeman), much to her consternation.
Warnings:
None
Bad Stuff:
A lot of the music is super 1980s-cheesy.
It lacked the emotional punch I expected it to have.
Good Stuff:
Solid acting from all the main players. I especially enjoyed
Aykroyd’s performance as the good-natured, put-upon Boolie.
It’s very sweet and amusing.
The Verdict:
There’s nothing wrong with this movie. As I said, it’s very
sweet, if not especially exciting. Like a lot of the 80s winners, it’s a movie
about life – about the passage of time, and about how we and our relationships
change as we grow and age. It’s not earth-shattering or titillating, but it’s
the kind of movie that practically anyone will find relatable.
I actually like this film. It’s charming. In comparison to
the “greats,” however, it falls far short. I don’t understand why it won Best
Picture. It’s simply not good enough for that kind of award. Because of that, I
don’t feel comfortable giving it a rating in the 4s, even though it’s very
enjoyable. While I would recommend that you watch it if you’re in the mood for
something endearing and heart-warming, I would tell you not to anticipate being
wowed.
I give the movie 3.75 stars.
What percentage of best picture winners would you say have "wowed" you. I ask because I wonder if the wowing wears off after a while.
ReplyDeleteI'd say it's more like there is usually one movie per decade that is a "wow" movie (two if I'm really, really lucky). I don't have one for the 20s (only 2 to choose from, neither very good), but here are the others: 30s - "Gone with the Wind"; 40s - "Casablanca"; 50s - "On the Waterfront"; 60s - "In the Heat of the Night"; 70s - "The Godfather"; 80s - "Platoon."
ReplyDeleteEach decade has a lot of "You know, that was a really great movie." It also tends to have a lot of "That was good, but not any better than movies I've seen that haven't won an Oscar" (I would put "Driving Miss Daisy" in that category). Sometimes it has a few "I'm not sure why anyone thought that was remotely good." And, very occasionally, it will have a "Watching that movie made me wish I'd never started this project."