Un taxi pour le Canada

After a Katherine Eure (Maureen O'Hara) goes to the funeral of a friend she realizes that life is too short to let it slip away and decides to hire a cab to take her to places that hold special memories for her.

She is a woman of substance, elegance and flair but she also has a sense of adventure that people a third of her age will never know. This was initially obvious with the taxi Driver, Mike Donahue (Jason Beghe), who has no wish to know about this side of life and just does his job. The movie highlights the gap between the generations and how the social graces of yesteryear and modern society values have become worlds apart.

As the pair journey through America on her ultimate goal of Canada the initial differences in opinions and social standing dissipate and an understanding of each other and valuable lessons are learned by each one. A lecture by Mike on how dreams and memories are not of consequence when you live for the moment in the real world showed us how, in reality, these things are what are truly important and can give us an inner peace and ability to cope with what goes on around us. The value of true friendship is the most important lesson to be learned here and how, no matter what, they are always there for each other through thick and thin.

There is a story within a story here, and the life of Mike's son, Bobby, and the tug of love he feels between his non-attentive mother, his father and his girlfriend and the feelings of abandonment and being torn are very well acted out by a young but already accomplished Haley Joel Osment.

Maureen O'Hara still has the class she has always had and is one very amazing lady and it was wonderful to see her with Efram Zimbalist Jr, bringing back memories of the golden era of Hollywood. My only complaint I have is that the ending made it so obvious it was a TV Movie and suddenly became like any standard feel-good fare.

All in all though, great cast, good movie (especially since it was based on an amazing factual tale), and very enjoyable.

one of the films who could be a lovely surprise. for Maureen O Hara performance, off course, but, more important, for a smart story about memories, a long way and the fall of appearances. one of family films who are the science to not be reduced at entertainment status. because it is a precise lesson about the basic truths and delights of life. and this does it an useful film.

Wow! Maureen O'Hara plays a lonely elderly person named Katherine Eure, who has lived quite a life over the past several decades hob nobbing with the rich and famous, but sadly, due to her strength and stamina she apparently has outlived all of her closest friends and she relies on her many memories for her past happy life as a successful and beautiful magazine model in her younger days.

After attending yet another funeral of one of her oldest and dearest friends Katherine has one of thos "ah hah" moments and she decides to hire a cab to take her back to some of the memorable locations she enjoyed with her late companion(s). On a whim she just decides to have the local hack, take her from one location after another, staying in hotels over night.

The cab driver who is randomly selected for that first pick up of Katherine is a gruff and well built young man named Mike Donahue (Jason Beghe) who leases his current cab but has ambitions to one day own his own cab and control his own destiny. As cabby Mike and passenger Katherine travel acrouss the USA, negative words are exchanged and Mike keeps calling Sandy (Catherine Bell) who is Mike's cabby dispatcher and his girlfriend while Sandy remains back home minding someone elses' young son named Bobby (Haley Joel Osment). Poor Bobby loves his mom, but that love is not being reciprocated.

The message from this film is that everyone faces some challenges but these challenges seem much less consequential when family and/or friends are willing to listen to one another and show love and affection, rather than anger and resentment.

I have always loved Maureen O'Hara's leading lady roles especially when her co-star was big John Wayne, but let me assure you actor Jason Beghe is no slouch and the chemistry between his role as the gruff cabby Mike, and Maureen O'Hara's like minded gruff role as his pushy and demanding passenger Katherine is simply a wonderful relationship that blossoms over the next few days while travelling across the USA. I will admit it, I cried.

I give the film a well deserved 9 out of 10 IMDb rating.

more than story is the acting. more than acting can be the presence of Maureen O Hara who does a superb role. but the basic virtue is the science of director to use in perfect manner each of actors in a touching portrait. a film with old fashion flavor who gives subtle nuances to humor and dramatic moments, too smart to be pink, too precise to be only a family movie. a film like a chocolate box because it remembers the fundamental pillars of each existence and , without be moralistic, remade the admirable atmosphere of classic films. to say than Jason Bereghe is a special partner for O Hara is not inspired option because the acting becomes a form of tennis play. and Haley Joel Osment does a good work only because he can not makes exce3ption. a lovely film with ideal dose for each of its ingredients.

I really, really like this film and not only because one of my favorite actresses (Catherine Bell) is in it. The story is wonderful and sweet and the actors have done a great job. Especially Jason Beghe, who portrays Mike Donahue. You really feel for him when he's dragged all the way to Canada with this lady and still tries to be polite. The end of the movie is also great (o how I love happy endings!). I hope the real story ended this way too. If you can't get enough of Catherine, you should watch the TV show J.A.G. sometimes. She really has a great role in that one. By for now! AN