Los enredos de la vida

This picture gets out of the gate well, but has a lot of difficult sustaining itself on a one-dimensional plot-line. In the first scenes, Jeff Daniels and Don Johnson establish a rapport as two best buddies who get involved in Halloween hijinks in their small Vermont town. Instead of continuing on a course which involves more of their shenanigins, it becomes obvious that this is a movie of family strife and man-woman relationships (as well as best buddy relationships). That is not so bad, but the movie is so unrelenting in it's pursuance of these themes, that it soon bogs down until you can no longer care what happens next in the Don Johnson-Susan Sarandon, and Jeff Daniels-Elizabeth Perkins relationships: you just wish they would get involved in something else. The same mood continues right to the end - I was certain that some catastrophe would create a climactic ending that would bring the two rocky relationships to a happy ending, but it wasn't to be. For this is one of those slice-of-life movies which tries to mirror everyday life, and in everyday life there are few catastrophies, only the unrelenting march of life. To the movie's credit though, this slice-of-life approach is not all bad, there is always something very comforting in a movie which successfully captures this mood. It, and other movies of it's ilk, make the statement: "This Is How It Is In America, No More And No Less!". Also to lt's credit is the strong cast. Susan Sarandon is, as usual, in fine form, and Don Johnson, as her somewhat unstable mate, captures the essence of the beleagured American husband. Jeff Daniels is good as the stabilizing influence to both of them, although this is about all he does. Elizabeth Perkins is not up to the calibre of the other three, though, and her character becomes the most tiresome of them all. Justin Henry, is a little bland as the teenage son tortured by the strife between his parents.

While Susan Sarandon performs well as an embittered and alienated wife, it's nothing to save this dreary, painfully long drama about marriage and failing relationships. Every adult is crotchety and awkward, even fighting at family dinners/holidays in front of guests or strangers. I imagine all relationships have their disappointments, but it's downright bizarre the way these couples rehash arguments at the most inopportune moments. Wiley is the worst character in the entire film. While on a vacation with his friend and son he complains about his wife and kids stating that he doesn't want them any more - again, this is while on vacation with his own son, after a pretty notable scene. There's a lot of tension later on in the film between father and son, which is understandable given the separation, but his behaviour towards the boy is always insanely irresponsible, aggressive and almost criminal. The entire cast of characters disappoints, there aren't any light moments to recover from the constant bickering. I would not recommend this film unless you really like Sarandon.

"Sweet Hearts Dance" is about a two couples...one married, one not. Beyond that there's little worth mentioning. Although the film sports a good cast and is an okay production, it is a movie in need of a story as it wanders from chapter to chapter exploring the vicissitudes of a quartet of people who are probably much less interesting that yourself. In a word....boring.

Don Johnson, Susan Sarandon, Jeff Daniels, Elizabeth Perkins, Kate Reid, and Justin Henry star in this movie of how a couple's marriage becomes a lot easier when the truth is revealed. Don Johnson stars as Wiley Boon, a hard-working husband and father who has lived in the same Vermont town all his life. Now things are getting bitter between him and his wife Sandra (Susan Sarandon) just as Wiley's best friend Sam (Jeff Daniels) is falling in love with a local school teacher (Elizabeth Perkins). This is a great movie that every married couple should watch.

I read some of the other reviews here, and quite a few of these people don't understand the reason for this movie at all.

It is not meant to titillate, amuse, or thrill you. It is a spot on slice of life movie about a couple who love each other, but don't understand why their lives are driving straight into the doldrums. They don't know how to communicate about it, and all they really need to succeed in their relationship is to do just that.

There is a strong object lesson here that if watched and grasped, could save most marriages that fail for similar reasons.

This is not to say that the movie is without charm to entertain, it has plenty. But I didn't give this movie a 9 for its straight entertainment value, I gave it a 9 for its relationship educational value.