Travis McGee

I loved the chemistry with Sam Elliott and his wife,Katherine Ross.But the performance that gets overlooked,which I remember,and would like to have a copy of,is Vera Miles,as the discarded wife (widow,which we find out).She underplays and her interaction with Travis McGee,(Sam Elliott) is so skilled coming from a veteran leading lady.I loved how she ironically summed up her marriage, and her role in the missing husband's life with no pity or bitterness. This must have been one of her last acting roles.You never hear anything about her.Although,I think she is still alive. I believe, I saw that she might live in retirement in Florida -(don't quote me,just a rumor.)How could I get a copy of this?

This is an adventure movie from the early 80's, not fabulous, but it stands on its own merits. Sam Elliott is believable, ruggedly handsome and sexy as the key player, and Katherine Ross looks the best I ever saw her ( that translates into beautiful for men, I think). The rest of the cast fades into the background against their beauty together. Add gorgeous scenery and a glorious sea and it is a delicious movie. Nothing too much of anything, just enough of it all to be enjoyable.

However, the real reason to watch "Travis McGee" as now showing on cable and satellite on the Mystery Channel is to discover...Travis McGee!! You see, Travis is much more than a movie character aptly and sexily played by Sam Elliottt. He is the protagonist of 21 wonderful books written by the late author, John D. McDonald. The book series started in the early 60's ( before most of us were even born) and ended only with the author's death in the late 80's. Each book stands on its own, just as this movie does, but as a collective work, the series is the story of OUR society in the US, as seen through the eyes of a playboy/hero.

Not only do we see Travis ( Sam Elliott) performing his magic with the ladies and his brilliant BS with the men, we get an idea of what it would be like to live in a simpler life, the life Travis chose on his boat. He was a rebel against credit cards, phone records, beaurocrats in general,and the despoiling of natural beauty along the coastline of Florida, specifically.

There actually is a slip at Bahia Mar, in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, F-18, known to all Travis fans as HIS slip for the Busted Flush ( his beloved houseboat)... It sits empty in Ft. Lauderdale, a memorial to a man who touched so many lives, yet never was.If you are ever in the area, check it out. With the price of large boat slips in the area, it is a fit testimony to the power of the written words of John D. McDonald, and his ability to make you believe that Travis will come floating by with a sexy white gleaming smile in deepwater tan smile for us all.

Watch the movie for the enjoyment, then read the books for the JOY!

Where is the Busted Flush? Where is Miss Agnes? Where is Florida?!?

Caught this movie on Starz's Mystery channel, and was really excited about it. I figured I'd never get an opportunity to watch either of the two McGee movies, since they were made for TV and were never on video. But I got to see this one, and was disappointed.

It's not that they got the story wrong, the plot came directly from the book. It's been years since I read "The Empty Copper Sea" but the plot sequences came right back to me, they were perfectly recreated. It's also not that I disliked Sam Elliot as Trav, I'm a big fan of his, and did a great job in the role. I could even excuse the mustache that Trav doesn't have (if you've seen "the Contender", you know that Sam Elliot looks downright foolish without the mustache).

It's the things I mentioned in the first line that really bugged me. Another one is Meyer, this guy was not him. Not at all. The reason I sat down to watch this movie was not to see the plot on screen. I read the book, I knew the plot, and it was kinda slow for a screen story anyway. The reason I wanted to watch this movie was to see the Busted Flush itself out on the water. I wanted to see the Florida coastline, I wanted to see slip F-18, I wanted to see that mangled blue Rolls Royce pick up truck Miss Agnes.

I don't know why they inexplicably decided to move the story to California. I guess California was in style, and Florida was out. This was the year before Miami Vice came out, so Miami wasn't cool yet. Who knows. Maybe also it was a budget thing, shooting near LA was cheaper for them. That could also explain the lack of the Busted Flush and Miss Agnes, too expensive to recreate those things as the book describes them.

All in all though, a fine adaptation of the plot of the book, just not a good adaptation of the world of the book/books. Light on the details that are so memorable, and a little light on the social commentary that made McGee so special.

Think4Yourself thinks... (1 star). How can you take a great book series by John D MacDonald with one of the most iconic characters in fiction and miss the whole essence of the character? All you had to do was translate any of the novels to a screenplay and you would have had a great success. Instead, you decided to rewrite the story into your typical action movie stereotype and just use the name so you could attract a few more viewers. Yuck.