A Cada Momento

"Moment By Moment" came out at a perfect in the career of John Travolta. Hot off the huge successes of "Saturday Night Fever" and "Grease" he must have thought he could do no wrong and boy was he ever wrong about that. You don't get much worse then "Moment By Moment" which is a silly love story between an older woman and a young man. A provocative idea you say? Perhaps, but there is nothing provocative about this movie.

Travolta and Lily Tomlin are cast in the leads and we can see right from the start that they have absolutely no chemistry what so ever. That right there would sink any love story. But writer/director Jane Wagner's awful script continues topping (or bottoming) itself with hopeless ideas and ridiculous situations without directly confronting the central issue of the story.

You would think in a movie about an older woman/younger man relationship we might get a reason as to why Travolta (who, get this, plays a beach stud named Strip!)is attracted to older women (particularly someone like Lily Tomlin). How about one small scene where we see him on a date with a girl his own age and he can't relate to her? With that we could understand his desires but here it's just plot device to move things along.

The whole movie runs on empty. Tomlin (who has since come out of the closet and admitted director Wagner is her longtime companion) is hopelessly miscast. She may be older but she sure didn't fit the bill for what a young man looks for in an older woman. They could have put some make-up or seductive clothing on her to try and at least create the illusion of the sexy woman but perhaps Wagner's intent was to show the normal everyday woman. I hate to tell you this Jane but people don't buy it when a normal, everyday woman is seduced by a beach stud named Strip.

"Moment By Moment" has long been forgotten and rightfully so. It's set up is preposterous, dialogue is laughable, and the acting is downright horrible. It's so bad it almost makes "Battlefield Earth" look not so bad. Skip this junk and thank me in the morning.

I used to think that I had seen all 'The Bad Classics, but I have been mistaken.

WORST SCRIPT - WORST EDITING - WORST ACTING - UGH.

I'd heard of this film, but never understand the acute severity of CRAP that oozed from every sleazy, polyester pore in the rotten flesh of this movie!

How, by gods, did this pathetic drivel EVER make it to a public theater in 1978, and then, cruelly, at many more on TV, and in HI-DEF, no less? At least the 'hep 70' soundtrack' was in Dolby.

Pay close attention to Ms. Tomlin's laugh while pouring her friend a cocktail. This movie makes me ache for Joel, Crow & Servo.

I watched Waterworld a few nights back, and recalled the jibes by critics, calling it Kevin's Gate, etc. And now, I wonder why this big LOAD wasn't called Tomlin's Titanic.

I can't help flying in to hysterics imagining what the outtakes looked like. More drugs were snorted, shot, popped and smoked in this flick than Easy Rider. The cast party must've been quite the par-tay to

I wanted disparity to find something happy or at least conciliatory. No such luck.

So now I'm off to watch a good film, say, 'Manos, the Hands of Fate". (Even the dog is a better actor).

I caught this stink bomb a couple of months ago and watched out of morbid fascination. It really, Really sucks. I can't believe it didn't sink Travolta's career. He should've had his head examined for playing this crappy part. Fortunately, he rebounded and made much better films. I only watched it b/c I'd read about how horrible it is. Lame dialogue and a completely unsexy atmosphere make this more painful than drinking Drano.

A magazine recently posed the question about "Moment by Moment": "Ever wonder what might make you kill yourself? How about two hours of a young John Travolta prancing around in his tighty whiteys, repeatedly banging (what could pass for) his mother?" Well, the magazine was close to correct.

Man, there's a reason this one isn't on video (public embarrassment not the least of them). But it's so absolutely awful you have to catch it if it shows up on broadcast or cable TV. Travolta playing a young stud named STRIP (!) and Lily Tomlin as his older lover. Many soulful, soft-focus gazes and incredibly lame dialog. Too much fun!

Wretched, empty romantic drama gives the word 'shallow' a whole new face. Soon-to-be-divorced Malibu housewife (Lily Tomlin) wanders around Hollywood and the beach, running her fingers through her hair, coddling her mutt and rubbing her forehead; seems a stud like John Travolta is just what she needs, but he's more puppy dog than pouncing lover (annoying, childish, needy, clinging). There's a good line here and there: I liked it when Lily Tomlin says, "I've never had cheap sex...I have to admit I was looking forward to it." But Travolta's character ("Strip"!) is ridiculous and hasn't been thought out; he's just a bleeding heart ex-runaway looking for true love. It feels about as real as a cartoon. *1/2 from ****