The Accidental Tourist

The Accidental Tourist is a quiet and contemplative film that adults rarely have an opportunity to experience from an American perspective. Macon (William Hurt) is a Baltimore travel writer whose son was accidentally killed in a robbery. His wife Sarah (Kathleen Turner) leaves him when Macon withdraws to a somnambulist response, a favored routine to life that is Macon's family way. Macon's brothers (Ed Begley, Jr. and David Ogden-Stiers) are 40+ year old bachelors and living with their spinster sister, Rose in the family home. With the addition of the now separated Macon, the siblings are reduced to an eccentric routines of alphabetizing the pantry and discussions of who could be calling while the phone rings.

Into Macon's sedentary and uneventful pattern comes Muriel Pritcherd (Geena Davis), a dog trainer who takes hold of Edward, Macon's misbehaving Corgi, and inserts herself into their lives. A latent Annie Hall dresser whose mismatched clothing and late 50s car screams woman of a certain age with free spirit tendencies, Muriel gives new options to Macon through her unpredictable character and a small son, who takes immediately to him. Edward the dog even manages to behave and the little family becomes a new and invigorating experience for Macon, whose own relatives have long ago lost any sense of independence or initiative. With the unheard of occasion of the spinster sister's wedding to Macon's publisher, (Bill Pullman), Macon and Sarah are reunited and Muriel is dropped for the familiar situation of a convenient reconciliation. When Macon's work takes him to Paris, Muriel accidentally finds they are on the same plane and hotel. Although he is reluctant to interact with her, Muriel is storming the walls of resistance as before. Macon's situation is made more complicated with the appearance of his ex-wife, whose presence is both familiar and upsetting to a Macon-Muriel-Sarah menage.

How this trio resolves the situation is filled with wonderful and literate conversations between characters which ring true to the adult situation of marriage and changing lives, goals, and the unexpected. For an American film this kind of complex story telling is almost a lost art in today's car chase, adolescent fart humour, and situational absurdities. However, with long silences and occasional comic relief from the dog, the film is both contemplative and entertaining as it unfolds with bittersweet truisms.

William Hurt gives one of the most intensely interior performances on record. He is indescribable moving. His emotional paralysis becomes the palpitating centre of this gorgeous Lawrence Kasdan film. I saw the film, when it first come out, on a big huge screen that allowed me the strangely unique privilege of entering a man's soul. In the surface, nothing. Less than nothing, William Hurt floats through his daily existence, surrounded by his quirky family, his wounded, distant ex wife but first and foremost, his impenetrable loneliness. The character never utters a word who could confirm that, and yet is there, ever present, if you look deep, deep into his eyes. The scene in which he almost lets himself go in Geena Davis's arms is as cathartic as anything I've ever seen in any modern American movie. A couple of days ago I saw it again on a normal TV screen and all of the above wasn't there. Still a gorgeous film, a funny, melancholic romantic comedy but what about the interior masterpiece of William Hurt's performance? Gone. Did I imagine the whole emotional ride? Possible but unlikely. I took my VHS copy to a friend's house with a phenomenal home entertainment centre and a massive screen. William Hurt's performance was back. His is a performance conceived and designed for the big screen. One hundred per cent cinematic. The TV screen is far too small to allow us into a man's soul. If you haven't seen it I urge you to see it but in a big screen, the biggest you can find. Now let me leave you with this little tip. Look into William Hurt's eyes when he is in the taxi in Paris and sees the boy, who reminds him of his own son, walking down the street. It is the best performances by an actor in one of my favourite film moments of all time.

the Accidental Tourist is among the best movies ever made in the world.Maybe it is not absolutely the best, but as to me it is the most well understood one. that probably is the reason why i love it so much. When i watched it, i can even felt what Macon Leary was feeling inside---i could feel the complicated mood when he called Sarah in his hotel in Paris, i can understand that his heart has already belonged to Muriel when he said it's OK to Sarah, who asked for his opinion on the newly bought sofa. he was a captious guy!and i can also read his heart when he close the door to Muriel, not willing to take her on his trip the next morning. Also i can read the deep love for Muriel on his smiling face when he met Muriel at the gate of the hotel at the end of the movie. I can't agree with some people who think this movie lacks energy. it might appear to lack, but u could have felt the passion in their hearts if u can understand them. this remind me of another movie--Once Upon A Time In America, which is also said to lack energy, but i can feel the great passion in Noodles and Deborah's heart when they "quietly" meet in the bar after Noodle was released from the jail. only a few words from Deborah can make me feel that! Just as sometimes the clothes do not make the man, sometimes the movie is not what it appears! there is seldom any good movies from which we can not feel the passion!

I agree to almost every word reviewer Takatomon wrote. One of this movie's greatest merits is that it deals with issues in life in a unpolished and natural way. It's easy to understand how this movie can be overlooked by the majority of viewers as this movie isn't for the majority of viewers. That is, the majority that's expecting to be entertained in the Hollywood style of film making. With that I mean those "strong" performances we all want to see from characters as Hoffman in "Rain Man" or Hanks in "Forrest Gump". Or vast visuals, filmed in the broadest scope, or action packed sequences. Not in "The Accidental Tourist". What you do get is William Hurt in what I think is one of his best roles as Macon Leary, writer of travel guides and Geena Davis in an exquisite role as the pet store owner. I've admired actors for the way they can portray mentally or socially challenged people (Rainman, Forrest Gump, Of mice and men, etc.). These parts tend to win the Oscars. But I'd rather give one to Hurt for his portrayal of Macon Leary because this character doesn't show obvious signs of any handicap. Actually Macon is very plain. What can be more difficult than acting out a role of a person who's personal qualities don't jump at you right away? "The Accidental Tourist" is a movie of high quality and should be given a fair chance.

as he writes his travel column. His column is a metaphor for being the "passive observer" who travels and critiques places, but never truly appreciates them...not until Geena Davis comes along, at any rate.

Hurt plays Macon Leary, a man who has existed, but not truly experienced life. Kathleen Turner is the estranged wife, due to the accidental death of their young son, a tragedy which causes Hurt to withdraw. As another reviewer mentioned, one should watch this excellent film several times, as there is much innuendo and insight into human behavior. Bill Pullman portrays Hurt's publisher, who is amused and intrigued by his eccentric family.

What a cast! Ed Begley Jr., Amy Wright, Hurt and David Ogden Stiers are all siblings (over age 40), who still live in their grandmother's house, complete with 1930's wallpaper, a pantry that is alphabetically organized by the sister, and a phone that is never answered because they "don't need it". Pullman is priceless as he visits Hurt for dinner, and falls in love with Rose (Amy Wright) for her old-fashioned persona.

Macon's dog is comic relief, but also the liaison with Geena Davis, an offbeat dog-trainer. She is quite good, and insinuates her way into Macon's ordered world. She is a single mother struggling, and Robert Hy Gorman is excellent as her young son, Alexander. Macon finds himself growing attached to Davis, her son, and her wayward life. He helps the son with schoolwork, and realizes he can still be open to new relationships. Even after all the tragedy.

Kathleen Turner attempts reconciliation,and offers Macon a stable ordered life of commonality. Davis offers instability, excitement and unpredictability. Which will he choose? This is not just a romantic drama, it is a serious character study about control, relationships, and difficult choices. It is one of the few films in which the difficulties of marriage are sensitively addressed, and the acting is superb.