razorwirekiss-1
I was 25 when it came out and I saw it in the theater in England. I loved it. I loved Kevin Kline and I loved the writing. Now I'm 50 and I re watched it for the first time in years. Still beautiful but now? It resounds within me somehow. How quickly time passes. The changes we go through. All the little miracles we never notice. I now live in California, married to a woman who fixed my sunglasses at LensCrafters when I just popped in there one day without a thought. A moment in my life that turned into miracle. A teenager for a child. Bills, work and life flying past. No plan, just life. This film has no pat answers, no resolution as such. Just struggles, the overwhelming power of love and the fleeting freight train that is our lives blasting along.At 25 it was a sweet movie. At 50? It's a glorious fable of existence.
SnoopyStyle
Mack (Kevin Kline) lives a comfortable life in L.A. with his wife Claire (Mary McDonnell) and son Roberto (Jeremy Sisto). One night after a Lakers game with friend Davis (Steve Martin), his car breaks down in a bad neighborhood. He is threatened by young thugs when tow truck driver Simon (Danny Glover) comes to the rescue. Davis is a producer of violent films and he gets shot during a mugging. Claire discovers an abandoned baby. She is suffering from an empty nest and brings the baby home. Mack is drawn to his flirtatious secretary Dee (Mary-Louise Parker). Simon lives alone and has a deaf daughter. His sister Deborah (Tina Lifford) lives in a rough neighborhood and her son Otis is being pulled into a gang. Their house gets shot up. Mack sets up Simon with Jane (Alfre Woodard) from the office.This starts with a very memorable turn by Danny Glover. His little speech is a poetic plea for civility. The varied characters from varied backgrounds all have compelling lives. I am reminded of Oscar winning Crash (2004) except I like this one better. I feel drawn into each character's world. Unlike Crash, I don't feel manipulated. These characters have more reality and more humanity. Every one of them is trying to live within this interconnected world.
Gunn
This film is truly a Masterpiece in every sense of the word. Although it is filled with metaphors, the film itself is a metaphor for 20th century life in urban America. It has scary scenes, beautiful scenes, heartwarming scenes and even some funny scenes. The cast is brilliant and the cinematography, set direction, direction and especially writing are superb. How this film slipped by audiences and high praise is beyond me. It could be that the title, which is a metaphor, confused people. That happened with the Shawshank Redemption which was discovered on DVD years after it hit the screens for about a week. I'm beginning to think that titles are equally as important as media promotion of a film. I am purposely, here, avoiding a plot synopsis in order to allow possible viewers the gift of enjoying the surprises of/in this film. It is a treasure and if you do not enjoy and understand it, I feel bad for you. And, if you have seen it before, I highly recommend seeing it again and again and again....
edwagreen
This film shows interpersonal relationships and their effects on the cast.We are given a grand tour of urban violence, the lack of male domination in the black family, resulting with children who can come and go as they please without retribution.Nearly everyone here is vulnerable to all sorts of violence with Kevin Kline, landing in a difficult neighborhood when he car dies on him. Rescued by Danny Glover, the two form a basic relationship as Kline becomes immersed with Glover's problems- a sister with 2 children living in a violent neighborhood, desperately seeking to get out, Kline's relationship with his secretary, his wife finding a baby and wanting to adopt it, his teenage son coming into a meaningful relationship with a girl during a stint at summer camp.We're evidently seeing moral decay similar to what we saw in 1958's "Some Came Running." As was the case with the latter film, "Grand Canyon" is wonderfully done.Steve Martin is fabulous as Kline's friend, shot during a mugging and whose views on violent films temporarily changes only to revert back to the way of making money at any cost.
AD
