Breathing Lessons

First, Ann Tyler is one of my favorite authors, and I have enjoyed all of her books from the decades-old ones to her most recent ones and she may be retired now. "Breathing Lessons" is one I read at least twice, and one of her best. When the VHS of the Hallmark adaptation showed up at the local thrift store I just had to buy it and spend a quiet Saturday evening viewing it.

For anyone who'd never read the book this movie would come across as a less-sacharine-than-usual Hallmark movie with stronger acting. Joanne Woodward was a great choice for the Maggie character and it's also a pleasure to see James Garner in a leading role as her not-quite-henpecked husband. Most viewers would probably find the subject matter to be just a series of vignettes about a couple going through late middle age.

However, huge liberties were taken with the story to shoehorn it into a 90-minute Hallmark format. Without giving too much away for anyone interested in reading the wonderful book, it has way more scope and follows an arc lasting months instead of just chronicling a couple of days in the life of Mr. and Mrs. Moran.

The significance of "Breathing Lessons" becomes a throwaway line from Fiona, when in the book it's way more relevant and standout. Of course, if the movie had truly followed the book all the way it would have been a mini-series and not just a Hallmark movie. Still, it's enjoyable and heartwarming and does manage to pull together a nifty little ending.

Though pretty faithful to Anne Tyler's Pultzer Prize winning

novel, and despite the excellent Joanne Woodward & James Garner

in the leads, this TVM adaptation is disappointingly bland. What

was hilarious in the book is only mildly funny, and what was

abrasive and infuriating is all too cosy.

This movie is hilariously funny. I was on the ground laughing through most of the movie. But it's not a pointless kind of hilarious. I'm a big fan of both Joanne Woodward and James Garner so this movie was heaven for me. I enjoyed every minute of it. Woodward and Garner were great together! Almost every word out of Woodward's mouth had me in hysterics, and every look and reaction of Garner's was equally as funny. And the scene when Woodward sings "Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing" at Serena's husband's funeral is a CLASSIC! And, ofcourse, the scene on the road where Woodward pops her head out of the window and tells some old guy his tire's falling off...now that is funny. She feels so bad after seeing who was in the car that she makes Garner turn back.

This movie is everything you could want in a movie- a ton of comedy, a tad bit of drama to give the movie some meaning, and even a little bit of suspense. Not to mention high class performances by Garner & Woodward. See this movie!!!!

I enjoyed this Hallmark TV presentation when it first aired back in 1994 and I have enjoyed it just as much upon repeat viewing on video. The work of veteran performers Woodward and Garner is always a joy to watch , and the pacing and story are enjoyable to watch! I think this is a great piece of work from all involved.

So it was TV movie - I only saw it fairly recently but feel I must write something about it. Some of the comments on here indicate that the viewer has never read anything by Ann Tyler (my favourite writer). She writes about ordinary people who have their strengths and weaknesses, their hopes and dreams. And that's what this couple were like. One viewer found the Joanne Woodward character irritating - and so one might if you view her out of context. The wonderful thing about Ann Tyler is how she gets into the heads of ordinary men and I presume women. The Joanne Woodward character brings an optimism and 'romance' to the relationship with the Garner figure. I enjoyed the movie - just like I enjoy Tyler's novels - I'm always disappointed when I get to the last page, just want to know more. If you've not read her stories give her a try. The movie is a reasonable introduction.