Murphy's Romance

Emma Moriarty (Sally Field) is a divorced 33-year-old, mother to Jake (Corey Haim). She moves to the small town of Eunice, Arizona to fix up a run down horse ranch and train horses. She befriends the local druggist Murphy Jones (James Garner). Her ex-husband Bobby Jack Moriarty (Brian Kerwin) shows up and she lets him stay. He promises to be better but he continues to be a thieving cheat. The two men starts competing for Emma.

This is better than most May to December romantic movies. Garner is utterly charming. The beauty is their hesitation. The characters know their age difference and keep pushing away the romance. Sally Field is just as charming. Her horse riding is probably the most impressive thing in the movie. Garner and Field make an adorable couple despite their age difference.

James Garner and Sally Field make an appealing couple involved in a May-December romance. This theme has been done before in films but Garner and Field bring a freshness that gives the production credibility as they form a casual friendship that intensifies as time passes. Field's troublesome and immature ex-spouse shows up to try to win her back and his presence causes an awkward, strained triangle that resolves itself in due course. Garner is a relaxed middle-aged pharmacist who is comfortable with himself and takes each day as it comes. Field is determined to make a new life for herself and her son as a horse trainer in a small Arizona town. Brian Kerwin and Corey Haim as Field's ex-husband and young son are good in supporting roles.

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.

James Garner (Oscar-nominated) stars as a small town pharmacist in this very good motion picture. Sally Field and her teenage son (Corey Haim) move to the small Texas town and Garner and Field slowly fall head-over-heels for each other. The film is a showcase for Garner's sometimes hidden talents. This is his show and his Oscar nod was well-deserved. Sally Field proves to be a very capable supporter once again as she shares and also steps away from the spotlight throughout. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Sure, this is a romantic comedy, but I wouldn't call it a chick flick. It's a great story, and all the principals work effortlessly towards making the film just downright entertaining.

Garner is at his best as an understatedly charming small-town pharmacist who becomes entangled in the life of a fiercely independent single mother with a deadbeat ex-husband. Field hits all the right notes with her character, but I can't tell if she's stepping back, or she just doesn't know how to play against Garner's lackadaisical style. Brian Kerwin gives his best screen performance as her ex, and sure, he plays a deadbeat, but he just oozes sex appeal.