Lena's Holiday

I enjoyed the movie, partially because I was in rapture with Felicity Waterman. She is very attractive and did an excellent job portraying a naive East German girl coming to visit Hollywood. I even believed she was European, her accent seemed that good.

Also thought Chris Lemmon was good in his role. While obviously no way he could match his father's career, was surprised he didn't have a larger career. Seems like a very likable guy. Some excitement, some laughs, some love. I enjoyed the movie, would watch it again, even if only to see Ms. Waterman in that short dress. Somebody involved in creating this movie definitely had a thing for James Dean.

I tend to avoid romantic comedies like the plague but I ended up watching LENA'S HOLIDAY anyway, purely because it was put out by Crown International Pictures and I've been watching a lot of their movies over the last year (blame a British TV channel which has been showing much of their back catalogue). Anyway, this is a low budget entry in that particular genre, but one which turns out to be surprisingly warm and likable given that I usually despise the genre.

The story is about a young girl from East Germany who ends up in Los Angeles and gets taken advantage of by various unscrupulous characters. Felicity Waterman essays the lead and although her accent occasionally slips she's quite authentic for the most part, and has a sweet nature which makes her easy to root for. The supporting cast are fairly good too, with Chris Lemmon (son of Jack) as the quickfire cab driver and Nick Mancuso less scuzzy than usual (only a bit, mind) as a photographer. There's a random Pat Morita cameo, an aimless sub-plot involving Waterman being pursued by crooks, and plenty of fish-out-of-water humour.

With the fall of the Berlin wall, East German, Lena (Felicity Waterman)goes on holiday in California. Except, only tours Los Angeles, and Lena is having the worst vacation, as nothing seems to go as planned; she learns that reservations she made for a hotel turned out to be phony, a cab driver rips her off, and worst of all, her luggage has conveniently been switched with that of a lady who suddenly winds up dead. Although, this is understandable, considering how gullible Lena is. You'd think she was new to the planet the way she fell for one stupid scam after the next.

Only the scams look good when compared to the fact that she is being pursued by hoods who have been watching her. When the dead lady's bag doesn't contain what they want, they go after Lena, knowing she has the same bag and was the last to see the other lady alive. They figure that she is in on the deal. Things seem to turn around when Lena unexpectedly befriends a fast-talking cab driver named Mike (Chris Lemmon as a sometimes arrogant, sometimes sincere guy), who helps her in sporadically timed moments of emergency.

'Lena's Holiday' is more of a dreamy love story and a comedy surrounding a vacation nightmare (but pretty soon only just love the story) than it is a caper, which you're only reminded off at certain convenient moments in the movie. I would say it is about 70% love story, 20% comedy about Lena's disastrous holiday misadventures (which is pretty much the entire intro), and 10% caper. It is still an enjoyable comedy, nonetheless.

My review was written in October 1991 after watching the film on Prism video cassette.

Breezy romantic comedy "Lena's Holiday" showcases an engaging new actress Felicity Waterman. Direct-to-video release of the Crown International picture is quality light entertainment.

Waterma, previously seen in small roles in "Die Hard 2" and "Night of the Warrior", portrays Lena, an East German tourist whose misadventures in Los Angeles are lightly geared to the 1989 demise of the Berlin Wall.

Arriving at the airport her bags are switched with those of Dani Minnick, whose muder gets Lena in hot water. Almost everyone, ranging from photographer Nick Mancuso to cab driver Chris Lemmon, is anxious to help the beautiful German girl, except for criminals led by Michael Sarrazin.

Filmmaker Michael Keusch maintains a friendly, romantic tone to the proceedings, with numerous personalities like Bill Dana and Pat Morita popping up for comic relief. Lemmon acts as Lena's unofficial guardian angel in a warm turn that unlike most of his previous roles is careful not to ape the mannerisms of his famous dad, Jack.

Statuesque Waterman handles her German accent with aplomb and creates a charming character whose James Dan obsession makes for a diverting subplot.

Tech credits are fine in a film that fits snugly in the mode of Crown International's traditional drive-in movie fare.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, east German Lena Jung (Felicity Waterman) is a James Dean fan. She's a tourist in Hollywood. At the airport, a sketchy situation left her with a switched bag. She has trouble with her hotel's name, and the cab stops in front of a gallery where she meets photo artist Flynn (Nick Mancuso). She finally gets to the motel which turns out to be a dump run by Fred (Pat Morita), and finds none of her paid-up 10 days all inclusive luxury tour. In desperation, she goes to Flynn's place. There she discovers that her bag has been switched and Flynn is an lecherous unstable creep. She leaves a box of condoms behind as she tries to exchange the luggage. She finds the woman dead, and the the only help comes from cabbie Mike (Chris Lemmon).

Felicity Waterman is very cute and her bad German accent is adorable. That's really all there is in this weak B-movie rom-com-thriller. Chris Lemmon comes after about 30 minutes and he doesn't have good enough charisma. He's also a little too old. I would prefer a younger better male lead. The quality of production is weak for this Crown International Pictures. In the end, I can't recommend this movie.