Unbecoming Age

In her forty years old birthday, the boring and serious housewife Julia (Diane Salinger) is gifted with a bottle of magic bubbles and her wish is to forget her age. She is granted and changes her behavior, acting like a young woman and bringing happiness to her daughter, her son, her psychiatrist and her mother-in-law. Her husband Charles (John Calvin) does not accept her new personality and threatens her with the divorce. However, in a supermarket Julia meets Mac (George Clooney in the beginning of his successful career), a young man who falls in love with her. This fable is a wonderful screenplay, showing that you shall never let the child inside you die, no matter your age. Diane Salinger, who has a wonderful voice, fits perfectly to the role of Julia, but unfortunately John Calvin has a very weak performance as Charles. This is a low-budget movie, but with some improvement in the screenplay, a better actor in the role of Charles and some adult situation between Julia and Mac (such as an affair), it would probably be a wonderful fairy tale. Anyway, it is a good entertainment for the whole family. The English title in Brazil is `The Magic Bubble'. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): `Jovem Para Sempre' (`Young Forever')

Unbecoming Age (1992) aka: The Magic Bubbles Diane Salinger shines in this fantasy/age film and gives the necessary depth to her role as Julia. She has just celebrated her 40th birthday and is so miserable with her life that she wishes she wasn't 40. Her wish comes true and she changes into a person who doesn't remember how old she is; only enjoying life to the full. This of course upsets hubby, but everyone else she endears herself and helps them to enjoy their own lives.

The character of Julia is one you can really get to like; she's a free spirit not hurting anyone. Everyone she has involvement with is touched by her sincerity and childlike innocence. The story revels a lot about the human condition, how we're constrained in our inabilities to just be ourselves and do the things which make us happy.

Finally Julia has to decide between her new self and the wishes of her husband (he wants the old Julia back). 'Unbecoming Age' is a nice little film and should stir up the sentiment, "you're never too old to enjoy life". 7/10