Six Weeks

Some critics saw this movie as tedious and contrived, and the first time I saw this movie, I agreed with them. But upon my second viewing, I noticed something: The performances are brilliant. The lead actors broke one of the rules of romantic movies (the man should always be taller than the woman), and it gave a sense of realism to the movie that was refreshing. Dudley Moore is an incredible actor, and this is a must-see for any die-hard fans. If you feel disappointed after you watch it, wait a few months and watch it again, you'll be glad that you did.

I don't even remember when and where I first saw this movie but I always loved it as a young girl. It has an old fashioned quality about it. The lead adult players to not end up in bed and I like that. I loved Katherine Healys performance in this and I was shocked to see that it was her only film role. She didn't have that prototype hollywood look, that has to be the only reason she didn't become a huge star. I think the is adorable and very talented.

I used to watch this movie on cable and when I got older I just had to buy it on VHS. Since then I have probably watched it at least once a year. Today as I was flipping channels, I came across it and it just warmed my heart. WE (the Womens Entertainment channel) is running it now and I watched with the commercials and all.

I recommend it.

Worth seeing only for Katherine Healey, the thirteen year old girl, who is the real lead of the film. Strange that we haven't seen her in other movies.

She is Niki, a thirteen year old daughter of a rich woman (Mary Tyler Moore), but sick of leukemia, who wants to do something with her life, before it's too late. By chance she meets a politician, Patrick Dalton (Dudley Moore) who is running for Congress, and persuades her mother to support him financially. As he takes fancy in Niki, she tries to bring him and her mother together, in spite of the fact that he already has her own family.

The magic in the film lies in Healey's performance, which makes us want her project to succeed, even though Patricks own family are quite sympathetic. It is quite strange, that Hollywood has left such a talent alone after this movie.

I had to rent this the other day to evoke memories of when my mom and I would watch it on HBO seemingly every night. When it hit cable I was about 9, and they couldn't stop playing it. It had been about 15 years since I had seen it last, so I had to check it out as an adult and see if it held up. Can't say that it did. Somehow as a kid, I found it engrossing, to be able to watch it every time it was on. But now, it drags far too many times, especially in an endless "Nutcracker" stage exhibition. Some elements were still effective, mostly the performance of young Healy, as an ahead of her time 12 year old who becomes infatuated with Moore, who is running for congress. Though married, he becomes somewhat involved with the girl and her mother (the other Moore). There's a plot element that others have given away, but I'll leave for you to find out. It prompts the two Moores to give the girl a fun-filled couple of weeks of making some dreams come true. It all culminates in a weekend in New York, complete with familiar touristy stops along the way. The the finale in the subway car, the scene that stuck with me the most over the years. Despite on the whole not being a success, there are many plus points to mention, like all three performers doing a great job. Again, young Healy the standout, in her only film role to date, which stuns. The ironic casting of two leads with the same name, and the originality of the traveling husband and the widowed mother not falling into the cliche`d bedroom scene. Their half-hearted romance is very different from typical films. A big surprise is the score from...Dudley Moore! Who knew he knew his way around a piano so well?! He does get a little soap opera-ish at times, but overall he can grab you with the melody. Unfortunately, these things come too far apart to give the film a recommendation.

I absolutely LOVE this movie. Is it a tear-jerker that will pull on your heartstrings? Yes. Is it a little manipulative with your emotions at times? Sure, but in this world of Lifetime movies that have totally screwed up the perception of how powerful an old-fashioned emotional love story can be, it is very easy to overlook this very well made little gem of a film.

The performances of the three leads are stellar and that vaults the story passed what could be complete dreck in lesser hands. Dudley Moore and Mary Tyler Moore give two of the best performances of their careers and it's sad that not too many people know about or remember this one. The young girl who played Mary Tyler Moore's daughter, Katherine Healy, only made this one film and was never heard from again. Too bad, since she showed quite a bit of promise. It would have been nice to see what she would have done after this. She was very mature for her age and I would love to know whatever happened to her.

I truly believe that if the powers that be see fit to one day release this on DVD, more people would give this film a chance. I hope that happens so that more people can experience what I have loved for many, many years. Plus I only have it on a very well-worn VHS tape and fear losing it forever if it were to ever break.