Pleine lune sur Blue Water

Dreadful! Any film that contains a sequence (usually 'poignant') of a character (typically a middle-aged man) watching home movies of happier days is a picture that shamelessly courts clichés. "Full Moon in Blue Water" begins with such a scene--before we even know who the characters are or what the central circumstance is (frankly, I was more curious who was shooting the home movies of Gene Hackman and his wife frolicking on the lake). Hackman plays a widower who is still grieving his wife's death by drowning after several years; he runs a tired old lakefront bar on the Texas coast, but is unknowingly sitting on prime real estate that the County commissioner wants to scare him off of. Director Peter Masterson keeps this nitwit story rolling along, but somewhere late in the second reel I felt he and the cast had nothing more to offer. Elias Koteas as a not-too-bright bar-employee nearly shows up the heavyweight stars (not just Hackman, but Teri Garr and Burgess Meredith to boot); unfortunately, his role is made impossible by a ridiculous turn of events. The action is kept very busy, yet the characters never take shape and some of the dialogue is really ugly. Garr made a lot of bad film choices after her Oscar-nominated turn in "Tootsie", but what drew Hackman to such a thin, innocuous project? *1/2 from ****

Lately I've been on a Gene Hackman 1980's kick. Hoosiers, many folks think is the best portrayal of a sports coach, maybe the best sports film ever made. Twice in a Lifetime is a middle-aged love story of betrayal in a blue-collar family and it ranks up there as the best of Hackman's work. Then there is a less successful film, Full Moon in Blue Water.

No one in the movies in the last thirty years portrays the middle-age everyman, the tough, and hard working, Joe like Hackman. He's certainly not a romantic idol, but he is manly enough to woe Ann Margaret in Once in a Lifetime and Teri Garr in Water. In addition, Garr is very good as a faded honky-tonk town girl with widower, Hackman in her sights. The trouble, Hack is still in love with his missing spouse. He spends most of his days watching old home movies of the lost wife while his saloon business goes to pieces. Also, he must deal with a stroke victim, the father-in-law, Burgesss Meredith, the quintessential old coot.

Somehow the viewer will not believe that a capable character like Hack would let a business go to sleazy Real Estate snakes without a bar brawl. The idea that Hack would moon about the ex for a year while busty Garr is all over him; well, it doesn't add up.

Saw this on the Talking Pictures (UK) channel, for older films and TV.

Some very ill-informed reviews on here, 2 from Moonspinner and Claudio especially. Nothing wrong with this film, it's one of many reflecting small-town life in USA, with characters who are perhaps lost, or aimless, but trying to make the best of their lot.

So, sure, there were no car chases, no shootings, no spaceships, no fantasy nonsense with people riding horses that can fly, or people turning into bats and/or back again, just regular people.

Hackman (just died this year I gather, RIP) and Garr are excellent, as they invariably are, GH can play pretty much anything, and Garr could have been born for this role, plus the support cast hit the right notes.

Can the coastal bar survive, will it be saved by the intended new bridge bringing more custom? About my only criticism would be the Title, which makes it seem like some twee nature film?!

A bit on the slow side, well very slow actually, but it's worth sticking with it to the very end, but only just worth it. Great acting from all concerned and with a very interesting mix of very odd characters. I would not have liked to have paid to see this in the cinema as it's so slow that my interest in it would have lapsed well before getting to the end, it's an OK watch on TV however.

Even for fans of Mr. Hackman it not a must see film of his so if you are one you are not missing anything great by never seeing it.

I'm struggling a bit to get to the required 600 character so this is just filler to get there.

Just a few days after the news that Gene Hackman had passed away I watched this movie, strangely enough this movie was completely unknown to me, I can't remember ever seeing it in the video store.

Actually a kind of standard drama story without really getting too heavy because there is also some humor in it.

Floyd can't get over the death of his wife, his bar is a failing business and a real estate shark is after his company.

The roles are nicely filled with Burgess Meredith as his old father-in-law who is in a wheelchair and provides many comic moments, Teri Garr gets to play the new girlfriend and there are a few other characters like the sheriff and Floyd's assistant.

Nice light drama with some comic elements in it.