dougdoepke
Utterly charming romance-comedy. Young, divorced mother Emma (Fields) buys run-down ranch turning it into a horse barn and training corral. With only her adolescent son to help, she's having a rough go of it. Aging town druggist Murphy (Garner) strikes up a friendship, but age difference keeps them apart. Still, the personality attraction is there. Then, out of nowhere, her no-goodnik ex (Kerwin) shows up wanting to move in. Emma is on guard, but he is the boy's father. So how will things work out in the hardscrabble Southwestern setting.The petite Fields is utterly winning as the gritty Emma. If you can buy her restoring and maintaining a ranch house and grounds pretty much by herself then the rest is easy. Garner, of course, is Garner, but with a little more edge than usual. There's no Maverick here (except for the poker game), still the natural charm surfaces when needed. It's a rather laid-back screenplay, in no hurry to get where it's going. But the dialog is superbly calibrated, the humor more subtle than snappy or obvious. Also, small town atmosphere is well integrated into events, especially the community dance with its ordinary-looking people. And scope out that hay bale contest, seeing who can roll a hay bale fastest. And catch Charles Lane as the cranky old man. Here he's already 80, and lived to 102!—with a career that started in 1930.This is really Fields' film. You can't help rooting for her small winsome woman against such big odds. But it's hard to imagine anyone else in either of the two leads. All in all, the film's a fine character study with comedic overtones and should not be missed.
tavm
After 30 years of only hearing about this one, I finally watched Murphy's Romance on Netflix disc with my mom just now. It's a nice drama with some humorous touches throughout. Sally Field plays a divorced mother with a young boy (Corey Haim) who's befriended by James Garner as a druggist who occasionally spends time with them. Ms. Field also has an ex-husband who comes by and tries to rekindle his romance with her. I'll stop there and just say both me and Mom enjoyed the light touches of many scenes. It took a while for something to be going on but it was never boring. Oh, and if you're a big fan of It's a Wonderful Life like I am, you'll probably get a kick of one of its players-Charles Lane-appearing here as an old man who takes a ride in James Garner's car and thinks he's going too fast even though he's only driving at 30 miles! He's also in a later dance sequence with a woman near his age. So on that note, I highly recommend Murphy's Romance.
pc95
"Murphy's Romance" starring Sally Fields and James Garner is an unremarkable mid-80s drama. Seeing it at the library, I honestly could not recall hearing of it around its release time, but caught it recently, and wasn't hugely disappointed or enamored either. Of it's strengths, Garner turns in an excellent sagely and patient performance, while Fields comes off as neurotic. Along for the ride is the late Corey Haim, popular in the 80s, has a smaller role though quite a bit of screen-time. Directed by Martin Ritt, the movie is watchable in the sense of an OK TV drama. Scenes with Garner and Fields are touching, but there's too much of an age gap to detect any actual chemistry. 5/10 - basic melodrama.
Blueghost
I saw this film on a whim. I had no real knowledge of what the film was about. All I knew was that Garner and Field were in it, and they were known to put their names to some fine work. So, when it aired on HBO I took a chance on it, and I was very delighted with what I saw.This is old fashioned film making with lots of heart and a decent cast and crew. You can tell. The shots are professional, and not over done. There are few overstated moments, and the story moves along at a nice pace.This film comes from a time when Hollywood didn't have to placate to the aging boys of America by throwing in lots of foul language, nudity, obvious and strong sexual references and body function jokes. All the adult humor is there, but it's placed in a more respectable and grown up perspective.The acting is solid. The location perfect, and the characters are right on the mark. In other words, it's a fine little film. A small film with some big names to tell a very endearing tale of tried and true feelings that everyone feels. A reminder to all about what life is all about.I guess the best clue I can give is this; it's like my cousin says, after a while age is just a number.
AD
