lrallen1

One of the funniest of the offbeat, little advertised movies I enjoy the most. Underrated and under appreciated by American audiences, slowly making its way to cult status, this tale of a French nobleman and time travel, at the hands of a slightly daffy sorcerer, played by Malcolm McDowell takes place mostly in Chicago. A twist on the "I am my own Grandfather" theme brings the nobleman face to face with distant Granddaughter, who he saves from a decision she would have lived to regret. This is a remake of the French film, "Les Visiteurs". Jean Reno shows his talent for comedy and wit. Thankfully he and Christian Clavier teamed up for the remake. Clavier was allowed to develop a little in the American version. The rest of the cast are enjoyable, and bring together a tight, clean story. Worth the video rental. Good clean fun.

Mary Steenbergen is at her best with this. Low key but strong willed woman with a love for the countryside and sense of what is right. She faces of with Rip Torn's gruff cracker over a pig, and he ends up inviting her to the barbeque. Heartwarming and heartbreaking.

The movie has some fascinating aspects. For instance the sequence of the attack takes almost exactly as long as the actual attack on Pearl.

The filming and special effects are tremendous! The story of how the attack played out and the impact the thing on the people involved is GREAT! The acting is very good.

Now, having said that, I think the rest of the movie, the love triangle and the the whole shtick about the two boys and a nurse is contrived and dragged on causing an excruciatingly long and boring movie, with a predictability that ruins the overall effect.

They try to do too much with the three main characters.