Quirky, sad and funny adult contemporary drama about the toll that grief can take upon partners, family and friends.
Macon (William Hurt) is a travel writer with the nom de plume of 'The Accidental Tourist' who specialises in writing guides to hassle free travel for the business man on the go. He arrives home to the news that his wife Sarah (Kathleen Turner) is divorcing him, unable to move forward with her life after the death of their young son. After a broken leg leaves him incapacitated, Macon moves in with his eccentric family (Ed Begley Jnr, Aimee Wright and David Ogden Stiers) and falls into the orbit of Muriel (Geena Davis), a quirky dog trainer that helps Macon deal with his grief.
Early in this film Kathleen Turner tells Hurt that his character Macon is 'muffled' and it's an apt description. We know that he grieves for his son, but it is in his own way, limited at time by his muted emotion. It's a testament to Hurt's performance that we can feel the hurt (no pun intended) flowing underneath his distanced exterior. I'm not sure it's entirely convincing though, while we understand, grow accustomed to and are even able to laugh at the walls around his character - there are times where his actions are less eccentric and more straight up uncaring asshole. But I suppose that too is representative of the grieving journey, the acceptance that it is ok to need that space and that time, but sometimes also that human connection to breakthrough.
The breakthrough here is Geena Davis who is an absolute delight. Funny, quirky and energetic and also such the obvious choice that it's immensely frustrating to see Hurt flit back and forth between relationships. Also for a guy that is SO emotionally stunted - he sure does have a lot of women (well two anyway) vying for his attention. Davis does get the raw end of the stick here, Macon's family obviously feeling she is below his station, but I think at times the film itself might also carry that view, and that she should be so gracious that Hurt shines his light upon her.
Macon's family the Leary's bring most of the eccentric humour to the film, with their invented card game vaccination (surely due for a comeback in our post 2020 covid reality) and meticulous shelf stacking a source of laughs. Look out for a fresh faced Bill Pullman (before he learned Dick Laurant was dead) as Macon's publisher and daring Turkey taste tester.
Writer/Director Lawrence Kasdan once again teams Hurt and Turner after their pairing in Body Heat. It's a credit that even though Turner is the 'competition' for our favoured gal Davis, she is never played as the villain. She too has her own grief and her own methods to cope by.
'The Accidental Tourist' is quirky and funny but I also found it at times as cold and distanced as it's protagonist. It deals with some heavy subject matter, but manages to do so in a mature, thoughtful and non-manipulative way.
Quirky, sad and funny adult contemporary drama about the toll that grief can take upon partners, family and friends.
Macon (William Hurt) is a travel writer with the nom de plume of 'The Accidental Tourist' who specialises in writing guides to hassle free travel for the business man on the go. He arrives home to the news that his wife Sarah (Kathleen Turner) is divorcing him, unable to move forward with her life after the death of their young son. After a broken leg leaves him incapacitated, Macon moves in with his eccentric family (Ed Begley Jnr, Aimee Wright and David Ogden Stiers) and falls into the orbit of Muriel (Geena Davis), a quirky dog trainer that helps Macon deal with his grief.
Early in this film Kathleen Turner tells Hurt that his character Macon is 'muffled' and it's an apt description. We know that he grieves for his son, but it is in his own way, limited at time by his muted emotion. It's a testament to Hurt's performance that we can feel the hurt (no pun intended) flowing underneath his distanced exterior. I'm not sure it's entirely convincing though, while we understand, grow accustomed to and are even able to laugh at the walls around his character - there are times where his actions are less eccentric and more straight up uncaring asshole. But I suppose that too is representative of the grieving journey, the acceptance that it is ok to need that space and that time, but sometimes also that human connection to breakthrough.
The breakthrough here is Geena Davis who is an absolute delight. Funny, quirky and energetic and also such the obvious choice that it's immensely frustrating to see Hurt flit back and forth between relationships. Also for a guy that is SO emotionally stunted - he sure does have a lot of women (well two anyway) vying for his attention. Davis does get the raw end of the stick here, Macon's family obviously feeling she is below his station, but I think at times the film itself might also carry that view, and that she should be so gracious that Hurt shines his light upon her.
Macon's family the Leary's bring most of the eccentric humour to the film, with their invented card game vaccination (surely due for a comeback in our post 2020 covid reality) and meticulous shelf stacking a source of laughs. Look out for a fresh faced Bill Pullman (before he learned Dick Laurant was dead) as Macon's publisher and daring Turkey taste tester.
Writer/Director Lawrence Kasdan once again teams Hurt and Turner after their pairing in Body Heat. It's a credit that even though Turner is the 'competition' for our favoured gal Davis, she is never played as the villain. She too has her own grief and her own methods to cope by.
'The Accidental Tourist' is quirky and funny but I also found it at times as cold and distanced as it's protagonist. It deals with some heavy subject matter, but manages to do so in a mature, thoughtful and non-manipulative way.
