Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Flick Pick: Always

Always
(Universal, 1989)

A Guy Named Joe was a longtime favorite of both director Steven Spielberg and lead Richard Dreyfuss, discovered mutually as they worked together on Jaws fifteen years earlier, and they both wanted to remake it. What makes Spielberg a legendary director is that even on relatively modest non-blockbuster works like this, he gets things absolutely right. Casting Holly Hunter and John Goodman were masterstrokes, Brad Johnson plays his part to perfection, a bit part with Roberts Blossom was inspired, and Audrey Hepburn's cameo in her last film role was the cherry on top of this perfect little romantic dramedy. All the details are done to perfection, none of them get in the way of the story, and Spielberg's instincts in doing this film are the epitome of expert filmmaking. As a rule, I'm not a fan of remakes, but I make the occasional exception when the new surpasses the old. As in this case. 

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