160 reviews
Kathleen Turner is great in this movie, she more or less pulls off her task and is very believable as the teenager who gets to relive and, to some point, change and correct her past. Francis Ford Coppola knows exactly where to draw the fine line between heart warming and pathetic and does so with great artistic knowledge and taste. This movie is filled with memorable quotes, like "No more jello for me, mom!" and is altogether very funny. Great performances from a pile of familiar faces, Nicholas Cage is irritating at first, but is likeable at the end. A great score, a great and heart warming story, solid acting and nostalgia make this movie more than worth a second viewing. 8/10
- victorianezine
- Jan 12, 2008
- Permalink
- JamesHitchcock
- Jun 24, 2021
- Permalink
This movie is definitely on my Top 20 list of all time favorite movies. Whenever I come across it while channel surfing, I end up watching it again-and I hate watching movies that are edited for TV!
As others have pointed out, it showcases so many talented actors. Joan Allen is great here, as is Catherine Hicks. And the amazing Barbara Harris, whom I adore for her work on the stage, is excellent and dead-on as Peggy's mother. Jim Carrey is here as well and surprise, he's overacting in most of his scenes! While I've never completely figured out why Nicholas Cage was encouraged to employ the weird-ass voice that he did, his performance winds up being very likeable. Barry Miller is also great as Richard.
The premise is cool. Who among us wouldn't want to have such and opportunity (OK, maybe not the passing out in public part)? As a person that grew up in the 60s, I'd love to return and see some of the sights and sounds that filled my innocent, pre-Internet world. And the scene when Peggy hears her Grandmother's voice on the phone makes me cry every time.
I likey!
As others have pointed out, it showcases so many talented actors. Joan Allen is great here, as is Catherine Hicks. And the amazing Barbara Harris, whom I adore for her work on the stage, is excellent and dead-on as Peggy's mother. Jim Carrey is here as well and surprise, he's overacting in most of his scenes! While I've never completely figured out why Nicholas Cage was encouraged to employ the weird-ass voice that he did, his performance winds up being very likeable. Barry Miller is also great as Richard.
The premise is cool. Who among us wouldn't want to have such and opportunity (OK, maybe not the passing out in public part)? As a person that grew up in the 60s, I'd love to return and see some of the sights and sounds that filled my innocent, pre-Internet world. And the scene when Peggy hears her Grandmother's voice on the phone makes me cry every time.
I likey!
I recently read an interview with Nic Cage where he was asked about Charlie and the voice he used for him in this movie. I thought perhaps that was my imagination or he had a cold or something. I ABSOLUTELY hated how nasally Charlie was. Apparently, Cage was the only one who liked that voice, it drove Kathleen Turner crazy when acting with him; she hated it too.
This is a cute, nostalgic film....except for Cage. He truly does nearly ruin this film for me. I'd rate it an 8 or 9, except for him.
There is NO WAY any female would hear that character speak in that manner and think "I gotta have me some of that."
This is a cute, nostalgic film....except for Cage. He truly does nearly ruin this film for me. I'd rate it an 8 or 9, except for him.
There is NO WAY any female would hear that character speak in that manner and think "I gotta have me some of that."
- vertigo_14
- Mar 9, 2005
- Permalink
First things first, I do not think it is Francis Ford-Coppola's best film, but it is not his worst either. Peggy Sue Got Married is a flawed but very likable film, that I feel doesn't deserve the back lash it gets. There may be some weak spots in the script, Coppola occasionally overdoes it with his direction and the pace sags in the middle. But what makes the film watchable is the lovely cinematography, memorable soundtrack, engaging story, a nice mix between the funny and sympathetic and the acting. I know that Nicolas Cage's performance has been slated here, but actually, I didn't think he was that bad. Irritating at first, but I think that is more the fault of his character, but he is quite likable at the end. Jim Carrey also appeals in an early role. But it is Kathaleen Turner's movie. Enigmatic, charming, beautiful and funny, she is wonderful in the lead. All in all, far from a masterpiece but it doesn't deserve burying. 7/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jan 8, 2011
- Permalink
And kind of sweet, but not in a syrupy way. It's about growing up. Maybe not making the perfect choice, but a good choice. It's a nice period piece for the 1960ish era.
- bobhunnicutt
- May 11, 2022
- Permalink
I rented this film the other night when I knew I would be alone - that's just the way I have to watch this, alone - guess I'm not comfortable with people seeing me cry. I cried when it was in the theatres in 1986 and I've seen it maybe 10 times now - and it gets me each and every time, as if I were watching for the very first time! Sorry to drone on, but it has just the right touch - you've heard a lot of comparisons with "Back to the Future" - believe me, it isn't! If you liked the two movies I mentioned in my header, especially "Frequency" since it is about to be released on video - you will love this film!
Kathleen Turner was excellent - I have seen Debra Winger (originally scheduled to play the title role) in several films, including "Terms of Endearment" and though I respect her as an actress, she just couldn't have done this part justice. Nicolas Cage was great in his role - the whiny voice was a bit much - but it's hard to believe he was only 21 when this film was made. He plays a high school kid and a guy in his 40's equally well - he's always had a gift for that. Jim Carrey - then mostly unknown - displays some of the physical slapstick routines that would later earn him praise and renown. Then there's Joan Allen - as I saw this movie for the first time, I thought how much she resembled former first lady Pat Nixon in her earlier years - and sure enough, that's who she played in Oliver Stone's "Nixon". Helen Hunt portrays Kathleen Turner and Nicolas Cage's daughter - ironic, since she is older than Cage! It was one of her beginning roles as well.
Without a doubt, the scenes with Peggy Sue and her grandparents are the most touching in the whole film. Think about it - if you had the chance to see someone again who had died long before, what would you say to them? What would you do? This wonderful film gives us the chance to find out.
Will "Peggy Sue Got Married" ever be available on videocassette for home purchase again? I hate to have to rent it each time I want to see it!
Kathleen Turner was excellent - I have seen Debra Winger (originally scheduled to play the title role) in several films, including "Terms of Endearment" and though I respect her as an actress, she just couldn't have done this part justice. Nicolas Cage was great in his role - the whiny voice was a bit much - but it's hard to believe he was only 21 when this film was made. He plays a high school kid and a guy in his 40's equally well - he's always had a gift for that. Jim Carrey - then mostly unknown - displays some of the physical slapstick routines that would later earn him praise and renown. Then there's Joan Allen - as I saw this movie for the first time, I thought how much she resembled former first lady Pat Nixon in her earlier years - and sure enough, that's who she played in Oliver Stone's "Nixon". Helen Hunt portrays Kathleen Turner and Nicolas Cage's daughter - ironic, since she is older than Cage! It was one of her beginning roles as well.
Without a doubt, the scenes with Peggy Sue and her grandparents are the most touching in the whole film. Think about it - if you had the chance to see someone again who had died long before, what would you say to them? What would you do? This wonderful film gives us the chance to find out.
Will "Peggy Sue Got Married" ever be available on videocassette for home purchase again? I hate to have to rent it each time I want to see it!
Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
There is something fanciful and lighter than air about the intentions here, with a strain of something else very serious. And I respect a director (Francis Ford Coppola) trying to find a new airiness and unreality in this photographically real medium, especially with resorting to outward fancy. On the outside, this is a realistic film with acting meant to be at least as real as a good soap opera. And I mean that in a pertinent way...it is over the top interpersonal drama, and improbable.
So what goes wrong? I think that might be definable by some doctoral student, and it's some combination of editing, which is either awkward or merely functional, and the basic story itself, which is stretched thin over two hours. Other movies play with an existential trip while winking, but they keep the mind-bending part of the problem changing and moving, and that doesn't happen here.
The final nail in the coffin is the weak acting, even from Nicholas Cage (Coppola's nephew). At times it seems it's supposed to be farcical and comic booky, but it isn't quite plastic or silly or believable enough to work. The one exception is the very real and compelling lead, Peggy Sue, played by Kathleen Turner.
The biggest bummer is that it's such a sweet idea, such a wistful, wishful idea, and it just doesn't fly.
There is something fanciful and lighter than air about the intentions here, with a strain of something else very serious. And I respect a director (Francis Ford Coppola) trying to find a new airiness and unreality in this photographically real medium, especially with resorting to outward fancy. On the outside, this is a realistic film with acting meant to be at least as real as a good soap opera. And I mean that in a pertinent way...it is over the top interpersonal drama, and improbable.
So what goes wrong? I think that might be definable by some doctoral student, and it's some combination of editing, which is either awkward or merely functional, and the basic story itself, which is stretched thin over two hours. Other movies play with an existential trip while winking, but they keep the mind-bending part of the problem changing and moving, and that doesn't happen here.
The final nail in the coffin is the weak acting, even from Nicholas Cage (Coppola's nephew). At times it seems it's supposed to be farcical and comic booky, but it isn't quite plastic or silly or believable enough to work. The one exception is the very real and compelling lead, Peggy Sue, played by Kathleen Turner.
The biggest bummer is that it's such a sweet idea, such a wistful, wishful idea, and it just doesn't fly.
- secondtake
- Sep 8, 2010
- Permalink
I wondered why I didn't like Peggy Sue Got Married more than I did, when it first came out in 1986, with all the hype. Somehow I found Nic Cage's character off-putting. Way off-putting. Then the plot didn't seem to make sense. Then by the end of the credits, the question came to mind: What point was this movie making? What was it saying? The answer, unfortunately, was not much, if anything. I really don't think this movie aimed at making a statement; unless it was "your life is your life, you're gonna make the same mistakes no matter what, so keep your eye upon the doughnut, and not the hole". Not a very profound statement, and I'm sorry, not profoundly made in this movie. The writing simply isn't that good. The direction is uneven, and is strangely overblown at times. Kathleen Turner was the best, and in my opinion, only worthwhile thing in this movie, and performed something of a miracle creating a whole character despite bizarre, unexplained circumstances, with a script that had no apparent statement to make.
She also finally cleared up the mystery for me of the main reason I didn't enjoy this movie more. She states in her autobiography that Cage made a point of fighting his uncle Coppola's direction every step of the way, doing it "his own way" (not a good idea for a new actor), and putting on a goofy voice she called "stupid". His voice was annoying, abrasive and unnatural, and his character was obnoxious and overbearing as a young guy. I understand what he was attempting to do: play a young-guy "hot shot" who is not as hot as he thinks he is, setting up his own karma for future failure. But he goes overboard, the way he does it is abrasive, not effective, and if he had listened to his uncle instead of "fighting the Man", we would have had a more enjoyable film. Cage slips a little with his obnoxious voice stylings in the movie and occasionally sounds like a real person, and those scenes are more watchable than others. But if I had to watch the movie through in its entirety, I would find myself wanting to pay someone in L.A. to pour a bucket of water over his head during some of his more affected (put-on) scenes.
The movie doesn't aim for a statement, doesn't make a point, is great to look at except when Cage is doing a demented Elvis impression (but without the voice), and is, ultimately, confusing and a waste of time. Given all this, Kathleen Turner surely deserved an Oscar in this flailing mess of a movie. I can't recommend anyone spending two hours watching this, unless you like Turner and have a remote to pick out all her scenes. Believe me, you will miss nothing plotwise by skipping the other scenes, and it will make just as much sense.
Kathleen Turner is getting a lot of flak from critics regarding her Cage comments, which proves that she's strong enough to be honest, and to hell with other people's comments. You go, Turner! I'm not particularly a fan of this actress any more than I am of any other first-rate actor or actress, but her candor is refreshing. Cage's acting can be good to annoying, and here it doesn't work. At least, in this film, now we know why.
She also finally cleared up the mystery for me of the main reason I didn't enjoy this movie more. She states in her autobiography that Cage made a point of fighting his uncle Coppola's direction every step of the way, doing it "his own way" (not a good idea for a new actor), and putting on a goofy voice she called "stupid". His voice was annoying, abrasive and unnatural, and his character was obnoxious and overbearing as a young guy. I understand what he was attempting to do: play a young-guy "hot shot" who is not as hot as he thinks he is, setting up his own karma for future failure. But he goes overboard, the way he does it is abrasive, not effective, and if he had listened to his uncle instead of "fighting the Man", we would have had a more enjoyable film. Cage slips a little with his obnoxious voice stylings in the movie and occasionally sounds like a real person, and those scenes are more watchable than others. But if I had to watch the movie through in its entirety, I would find myself wanting to pay someone in L.A. to pour a bucket of water over his head during some of his more affected (put-on) scenes.
The movie doesn't aim for a statement, doesn't make a point, is great to look at except when Cage is doing a demented Elvis impression (but without the voice), and is, ultimately, confusing and a waste of time. Given all this, Kathleen Turner surely deserved an Oscar in this flailing mess of a movie. I can't recommend anyone spending two hours watching this, unless you like Turner and have a remote to pick out all her scenes. Believe me, you will miss nothing plotwise by skipping the other scenes, and it will make just as much sense.
Kathleen Turner is getting a lot of flak from critics regarding her Cage comments, which proves that she's strong enough to be honest, and to hell with other people's comments. You go, Turner! I'm not particularly a fan of this actress any more than I am of any other first-rate actor or actress, but her candor is refreshing. Cage's acting can be good to annoying, and here it doesn't work. At least, in this film, now we know why.
- mercuryix-1
- Jan 23, 2008
- Permalink
I'm surprised by the number of people on here who don't like this movie. Like a few of the positive reviewers I'd have to say this is one of my favorite, "contemporary classics." The story is exquisite, who wouldn't want to go back to a time when things were a bit simpler and someone was there to take care of you and make you feel safe? Whenever I stumble upon it, I end up watching it. Too many scenes start the old water works for me.
Peggy seeing her little sister for the first time, going into her old bedroom, and hearing her grandmother's voice on the phone are all quite touching.
Call me crazy but I just love the moment where Charlie takes Peggy down into the basement and confronts her about what is going on. When he leaves, Peggy opens a music box, pulls out a cigarette and lights it.
Another special moment happens when Peggy smokes a joint and talks about what she'd like to be when she grows up, as she turns around and around under a starry sky.
This is quite a good movie, filled with many special performances and scenes along the way.
Peggy seeing her little sister for the first time, going into her old bedroom, and hearing her grandmother's voice on the phone are all quite touching.
Call me crazy but I just love the moment where Charlie takes Peggy down into the basement and confronts her about what is going on. When he leaves, Peggy opens a music box, pulls out a cigarette and lights it.
Another special moment happens when Peggy smokes a joint and talks about what she'd like to be when she grows up, as she turns around and around under a starry sky.
This is quite a good movie, filled with many special performances and scenes along the way.
The basic concept behind the film is very familiar, and it has certainly been done better before, but despite the predictable and obvious nature of the material, the film surprisingly manages to be pleasant enough viewing. Francis Ford Coppola and his cameramen have selected a number of interesting angles from which to shoot the film, the music soundtrack is great, and there quite a few good performances delivered by the cast, with the best bits coming from Barry Miller and Kevin J. O'Connor. Still, Nicolas Cage is an odd pick for his part. Overall, the film is not nearly as deep or original as it could be, but yet it possesses some very amusing moments. For that, it is worth checking out, as long as one does not expect a film on the same level as Coppola's best 1970s work.
A pretty solid film that doesn't ever quite live up to its potential. The film for me didn't really contain enough humour to be a good comedy but you do feel for the main character and her problems. Her emotional confusion though doesn't translate well into a character who is easy to follow and much of her choices in the film seem a bit random. I will say the production design, editing, music and costumes were all very well done. I think the story though could have been a little tighter and I was still a bit confused about what really happened. The film touchez on some big themes like the regrets we have in life and whether to follow our dreams or be a realist but it's not really as deep as I think it wants to be. All in all not a bad movie but pretty underwhelming too.
This is a silly little time travel movie till about three quarters of the way through when Peggy Sue (who has gone back in time to her high school senior year) visits her grandparents. It's a beautiful and poignant moment and all of a sudden I'm spinning on my lifecycle thinking about what I wouldn't do to spend one last day with my grandparents. Or even one last ballgame with my Pop.
Cycling while blubbering like a baby ain't easy.
Most people think of this film because of Nicholas Cage's unique (strange) performance and also one of Jim Carrey's earliest roles. It's all those things and more. Enjoyable little movie that got me in the feels (even if it didn't mean to)
Cycling while blubbering like a baby ain't easy.
Most people think of this film because of Nicholas Cage's unique (strange) performance and also one of Jim Carrey's earliest roles. It's all those things and more. Enjoyable little movie that got me in the feels (even if it didn't mean to)
It's Peggy Sue's 25 high school reunion and what started as a dream marriage to high school sweetheart Nicholas Cage has gone sour with his infidelity. The two are getting divorced and attend separately. But an accident as Kathleen Turner is accepting her reunion queen crown knocks her unconscious and she's transported back to her high school days with all the folks she's enjoying happy and unhappy memories.
Coming right down to it Peggy Sue Got Married is a combination of The Wizard Of Oz and It's A Wonderful Life. All three films involve transportation to alternate universes for the protagonists. All three films have the same moral, that there's no place like home.
Kathleen Turner got her career role and an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in Peggy Sue Got Married. You believe her both as middle age woman and teenager who's in love, but retains all her memories of her future and now is questioning what she did, did she make the right life choices. A whole lot like George Bailey. Other performances I enjoyed were that of Barry Miller who became a famous scientist, but was the school nerd in the day and Kevin O'Connor as the beatnik rebel who gives the English teacher hell for liking Hemingway over Kerouac.
Three survivors of Hollywood's Golden Age gave some great performances. Leon Ames and Maureen O'Sullivan as her maternal grandparents. And John Carradine who was doing mostly Grade Z horror flicks at the time was great in a role as the Grand Poobah of Ames's lodge. Love those incantations he was giving. A great role to chew the scenery and look normal doing it.
Peggy Sue Got Married also got Oscar nominations for Cinematography and Costume Design. It's great viewing and a whole ensemble cast does some really fabulous work.
Coming right down to it Peggy Sue Got Married is a combination of The Wizard Of Oz and It's A Wonderful Life. All three films involve transportation to alternate universes for the protagonists. All three films have the same moral, that there's no place like home.
Kathleen Turner got her career role and an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in Peggy Sue Got Married. You believe her both as middle age woman and teenager who's in love, but retains all her memories of her future and now is questioning what she did, did she make the right life choices. A whole lot like George Bailey. Other performances I enjoyed were that of Barry Miller who became a famous scientist, but was the school nerd in the day and Kevin O'Connor as the beatnik rebel who gives the English teacher hell for liking Hemingway over Kerouac.
Three survivors of Hollywood's Golden Age gave some great performances. Leon Ames and Maureen O'Sullivan as her maternal grandparents. And John Carradine who was doing mostly Grade Z horror flicks at the time was great in a role as the Grand Poobah of Ames's lodge. Love those incantations he was giving. A great role to chew the scenery and look normal doing it.
Peggy Sue Got Married also got Oscar nominations for Cinematography and Costume Design. It's great viewing and a whole ensemble cast does some really fabulous work.
- bkoganbing
- Aug 30, 2016
- Permalink
At her 25th High School reunion, former Prom Queen Kathleen Turner ponders the same question we all ask at a certain age: if I knew then what I know now, what would I do different? But unlike the rest of us she gets the chance to change her destiny when a fainting spell sends her back to the year 1960, where she is reunited with the past while retaining a full memory of her future, which will include a failed marriage to her High School sweetheart. It might draw unfair comparisons to 'Back to the Future', but this is no dumb farce; it's a sentimental and sometimes touching comic drama about the powerful attraction of nostalgia. The script includes the usual comic anachronisms of all time-travel plots, and ignores the familiar paradoxes (why doesn't Peggy Sue remember as an adult at the beginning of the film the second adolescence she is soon to experience?). A confusing climax further stretches credibility way beyond the breaking point, but even with these few, nagging drawbacks and dubious central casting (Kathleen Turner looks too old for a teenager; husband Nicholas Cage is too young to be convincingly middle-aged) the film still marked a welcome return to Earth for director Francis Ford Coppola.
- claudio_carvalho
- Jun 11, 2005
- Permalink
I saw this recently because I saw the review Siskel and Ebert gave of the film on youtube and since those guys were always pretty much on the spot I decide to watch it, and I was pleasantly surprised.
The movie revolves around Peggy Sue Bodell, a beautiful woman on the verge of divorcing from her high school sweetheart Charlie Bodell played wonderfully by Nicolas Cage, who after fainting at her high school reunion finds herself back in time to the year 1960 when she was still a senior in school.
The movie works so well because Kathleen Turner is such a fantastic actress and she really channels the character of Peggy Sue. This is unlike any character she'd played before. Not sultry or sexy, but bubbly and quite funny. But the real standout here is Nicolas Cage. His unusual voice is only one of the more brilliant things about his performance. Charlie has a whiny kinda high pitched voice which tells us a lot about his character even before we get to know him. But it's not just his voice, it's the heart he gives to his character that makes us see why the beautiful and popular Peggy Sue falls for him.
The film also features great performances by Catherine Hicks and Joan Allen who play Peggy's loyal friends, Carol and Maddy. And it also introduces us to newcomers like Helen Hunt and Jim Carey, who are now household names. Also outstanding performances by Barbara Harris and Don Murray as Peggy Sue's parents.
The rest of the cast is also great including Sofia Coppola as Peggy Sue's little sister Nancy, it's not much, but it's way better than her trainwreck performance in the Godfather III.
Great direction by Francis Ford Coppola, who usually directs more serious stuff, but still makes an enjoyable comedy. If the film has any flaws it's perhaps in the script. Though there's great dialogue some of the stuff felt forced like when Peggy Sue visits her grandparents, and her relationship with Kevin J. O'Connor's character. It sometimes felt like they were trying to cram too many things together and the end felt a bit rushed and disjointed, but apart from that it's still a very good film and a very funny and effective comedy. It's definitely worth a watch.
The movie revolves around Peggy Sue Bodell, a beautiful woman on the verge of divorcing from her high school sweetheart Charlie Bodell played wonderfully by Nicolas Cage, who after fainting at her high school reunion finds herself back in time to the year 1960 when she was still a senior in school.
The movie works so well because Kathleen Turner is such a fantastic actress and she really channels the character of Peggy Sue. This is unlike any character she'd played before. Not sultry or sexy, but bubbly and quite funny. But the real standout here is Nicolas Cage. His unusual voice is only one of the more brilliant things about his performance. Charlie has a whiny kinda high pitched voice which tells us a lot about his character even before we get to know him. But it's not just his voice, it's the heart he gives to his character that makes us see why the beautiful and popular Peggy Sue falls for him.
The film also features great performances by Catherine Hicks and Joan Allen who play Peggy's loyal friends, Carol and Maddy. And it also introduces us to newcomers like Helen Hunt and Jim Carey, who are now household names. Also outstanding performances by Barbara Harris and Don Murray as Peggy Sue's parents.
The rest of the cast is also great including Sofia Coppola as Peggy Sue's little sister Nancy, it's not much, but it's way better than her trainwreck performance in the Godfather III.
Great direction by Francis Ford Coppola, who usually directs more serious stuff, but still makes an enjoyable comedy. If the film has any flaws it's perhaps in the script. Though there's great dialogue some of the stuff felt forced like when Peggy Sue visits her grandparents, and her relationship with Kevin J. O'Connor's character. It sometimes felt like they were trying to cram too many things together and the end felt a bit rushed and disjointed, but apart from that it's still a very good film and a very funny and effective comedy. It's definitely worth a watch.
- sweetlittlepie
- Jul 3, 2010
- Permalink
Francis Coppola's strangely unaffecting, unrewarding comedy-drama with nostalgic leanings, all about a depressed wife and mother (Kathleen Turner) who suffers a breakdown at her high school reunion. She takes a trip back in time to her bobby sox days, when her father drove an Edsel and her future ill-suited husband was a crooner in a doo-wop group. Despite her obvious age, Turner is well-cast in this sentimental scrapbook, and she does very well with the transformation. Not so Nicolas Cage playing her spouse; apparently trying to come up with something eccentric in this by-the-numbers cad of a husband, Cage turns the guy into a off-putting geek (with the voice of a twelve-year old). Disastrous as he is, Cage isn't the weakest link of the picture--that would be the screenplay. Promising much more depth than it can deliver, the script takes Peggy Sue around in a circle, and the journey isn't an amusing, appealing or memorable one. ** from ****
- moonspinner55
- Feb 4, 2008
- Permalink
Maybe I am a bit prejudiced about the greatness of this film; I grew up in Sonoma County, and the sight of Peggy Sue Kelcher standing on the senior steps at Santa Rosa High School (where I drop off my granddaughters every morning) gives me a great thrill. When I drop them off, I often say, "If you see Peggy Sue, tell her I said hello." And they respond--"We will, grandpa." (And they no doubt think: "What an old cornball.") What a beautiful school! And it still looks just the same as it did in the 80's (or the 60's, for that matter). The place seems to be in a time warp. In a certain sense, taking this movie to heart has mythologized my world. Francis Ford Coppola's talent for finding the perfect settings for his comic philosophic masterpiece is unerring throughout--even if he had to paint the streets in Petaluma purple just to get the exact effect that he wanted.
"Peggy Sue" would be very high on my all-time top 100 film list, if I had such a list. The film is not only funny and soulful, it also directly addresses what is perhaps life's central existential question: "If you had the opportunity to relive your life, making the same mistakes and suffering the same consequences, would you do it?" Remember, in making your decision, that your children's lives, and the loves and friendships you have experienced in your lifetime, are contingent upon your answer.
When you watch "Peggy Sue," notice how the film parallels "The Wizard of Oz." Like Dorothy, Peggy Sue goes 'over the rainbow' into a magical world. It is in fact the world of her own past, but everything has been enchanted and transformed by her adult point-of-view. The Wizard himself, who must contrive to return Peggy Sue back home, is Peggy Sue's kind old grandfather, with his wonderful bogus lodge magic. Her friends at the reunion have their counterparts in the "over the rainbow" world of the past, just as Dorothy's friends on the farm have their counterparts in Oz. When Peggy Sue awakens from her trip, her old stale world and her old disappointing husband appear in a new light. Like Dorothy, Peggy Sue awakens and learns that there is no place like home, and the time-worn cliché is suddenly vital and alive. Like Dorothy, she is once again back in "Kansas," but it is a Kansas in which the characters, and she herself, have assumed new depths of meaning. She is now ready to step into her fate--her new enriched life (and there are also nuances of "It's a Wonderful Life" in the film).
One last comment: nowadays, I cannot watch this "comedy" without tears in my eyes through pretty much the whole movie, and much of this effect is due to the masterful performance of Kathleen Turner as Peggy Sue. Turner is usually on the hysterical edge of breaking down, and her proximity to the precipice is a knot in my gut through the whole movie. It is a shame that she did not win the Best Actress award for this performance.
"Peggy Sue" would be very high on my all-time top 100 film list, if I had such a list. The film is not only funny and soulful, it also directly addresses what is perhaps life's central existential question: "If you had the opportunity to relive your life, making the same mistakes and suffering the same consequences, would you do it?" Remember, in making your decision, that your children's lives, and the loves and friendships you have experienced in your lifetime, are contingent upon your answer.
When you watch "Peggy Sue," notice how the film parallels "The Wizard of Oz." Like Dorothy, Peggy Sue goes 'over the rainbow' into a magical world. It is in fact the world of her own past, but everything has been enchanted and transformed by her adult point-of-view. The Wizard himself, who must contrive to return Peggy Sue back home, is Peggy Sue's kind old grandfather, with his wonderful bogus lodge magic. Her friends at the reunion have their counterparts in the "over the rainbow" world of the past, just as Dorothy's friends on the farm have their counterparts in Oz. When Peggy Sue awakens from her trip, her old stale world and her old disappointing husband appear in a new light. Like Dorothy, Peggy Sue awakens and learns that there is no place like home, and the time-worn cliché is suddenly vital and alive. Like Dorothy, she is once again back in "Kansas," but it is a Kansas in which the characters, and she herself, have assumed new depths of meaning. She is now ready to step into her fate--her new enriched life (and there are also nuances of "It's a Wonderful Life" in the film).
One last comment: nowadays, I cannot watch this "comedy" without tears in my eyes through pretty much the whole movie, and much of this effect is due to the masterful performance of Kathleen Turner as Peggy Sue. Turner is usually on the hysterical edge of breaking down, and her proximity to the precipice is a knot in my gut through the whole movie. It is a shame that she did not win the Best Actress award for this performance.
I rather took to this film, in a way. Particularly in the early sections where Turner has just been transported back. Back indeed to that staple era of American idealistic nostalgia; the 1950s... or more accurately, 1960, still effectively the 1950s in terms of culture and music, for example, but with Kennedy on the horizon.
We are presented by Coppola (big time player in U.S. film, turned oddly to smaller fry since 1979...) with a view of the picket fence securities of this America nearly as tempered by nostalgia as so many other films depicting this era. A shame we don't perhaps get more of the music... doo-wop and the likes of Dion, as that stuff is sublime.
Certain elements are glossed over and presented a little too easily and predictably; the 'beatnik' figure, Michael Fitzsimmons, played by Kevin J. O'Connor, is involved in some fair but overdone scenes with Turner; trying to convey the subculture with an archetype. It is almost played as comedy, which is a little smug with its 1980s hindsight (who wants that?).
The acting is fairly competent overall; the problem of having the same performers playing both ages younger and older does arise. Principally with Ms. Turner's problematic central role of "Peggy Sue". She does not really look 18 or 43, but in both parts pretty much the thirty she was when the film was made. There is little effort made with make-up to convey this; and there is thus a credibility problem with this rather mature 'teen' going around uncommented upon in the 1960 sequences. It may be a niggle, but it is a tangible one I feel. Kathleen Turner is very good however in portraying this difficult part; in conveying the emotions and mind set of such a person, thrust into a real _Twilight Zone_ situation. It's perhaps a shame there's not more depth given to the present-day part of the film, in able for one to get to know Peggy better. I've not seen many of Turner's films, but I gather she is one of the most impressive of 1980s leading ladies; there's certainly scope here to applaud her performance in a role that could have gone badly wrong. That brings me very nicely onto Nicolas Cage and his "Charlie Boy" character. Put simply; a misfiring piece of acting and conception. The part is farcically cliched; the wide-eyed, joking, common guy turned 'heart-throb' of small American towns in the mythologised, eulogized 1950s era. An air of total absurdity is added by Cage's adopting a grating, ludicrous voice; that itself should render the character a laughing stock. Turner is well and truly 'too good' for this buffoon; a teenager who is meant to be charming, folksy and endearing, yet who just plain annoys.
Oh, and I didn't notice Jim Carrey at all; only found out he was in it through this site. _Peggy Sue Got Married_ is a very pleasant little film, but it is too little, one can't but help feel. The potential was there with this scenario to make a magnificent film, yet the 'fairly good' quality is settled for. Tricks are missed, gags are passed up... too much time focusing on that bloody Charlie character. Something more radical, with Turner really deciding to change her destiny would have interested me more. One hell of a dark film could have been made with the implications of this plot - time travel is so ill-served by films, generally. It's a shame Turner is never really tested and prone to major dramatic or comic conflict in the film. There are moments and scenes that are well thought of in this way - some of the stuff with the 'lovable nerd' type played by Barry Miller, the odd bit of Turner cheating with her foreknowledge of events - but really not enough stuff central to the film. Having the farcical (but not entirely played as such) scenes of the time travel 'lodge' end up in absurd failure and then black comedy, as Turner realises she is stuck in the time, to live out her life again, would have been *far better*.
As I say, this film missed numerous tricks. But indeed as failures go, it is a very passable viewing experience, besides the cringeworthy nature of Cage. It is good to watch a mainstream film that has a non-usual plot (well, post-_Back to the Future_) and genre. Yet, the genre is too subordinated to the earnestly romantic comedic (I use that word very loosely). This film could do with less of the traditional and more of the surprising. _Peggy Sue_ is enjoyable, if predictable viewing, that leaves one in mind of its missed chances and yet there one is given to a lingering favourable impression of the thing.
Rating:- *** 1/2/*****
We are presented by Coppola (big time player in U.S. film, turned oddly to smaller fry since 1979...) with a view of the picket fence securities of this America nearly as tempered by nostalgia as so many other films depicting this era. A shame we don't perhaps get more of the music... doo-wop and the likes of Dion, as that stuff is sublime.
Certain elements are glossed over and presented a little too easily and predictably; the 'beatnik' figure, Michael Fitzsimmons, played by Kevin J. O'Connor, is involved in some fair but overdone scenes with Turner; trying to convey the subculture with an archetype. It is almost played as comedy, which is a little smug with its 1980s hindsight (who wants that?).
The acting is fairly competent overall; the problem of having the same performers playing both ages younger and older does arise. Principally with Ms. Turner's problematic central role of "Peggy Sue". She does not really look 18 or 43, but in both parts pretty much the thirty she was when the film was made. There is little effort made with make-up to convey this; and there is thus a credibility problem with this rather mature 'teen' going around uncommented upon in the 1960 sequences. It may be a niggle, but it is a tangible one I feel. Kathleen Turner is very good however in portraying this difficult part; in conveying the emotions and mind set of such a person, thrust into a real _Twilight Zone_ situation. It's perhaps a shame there's not more depth given to the present-day part of the film, in able for one to get to know Peggy better. I've not seen many of Turner's films, but I gather she is one of the most impressive of 1980s leading ladies; there's certainly scope here to applaud her performance in a role that could have gone badly wrong. That brings me very nicely onto Nicolas Cage and his "Charlie Boy" character. Put simply; a misfiring piece of acting and conception. The part is farcically cliched; the wide-eyed, joking, common guy turned 'heart-throb' of small American towns in the mythologised, eulogized 1950s era. An air of total absurdity is added by Cage's adopting a grating, ludicrous voice; that itself should render the character a laughing stock. Turner is well and truly 'too good' for this buffoon; a teenager who is meant to be charming, folksy and endearing, yet who just plain annoys.
Oh, and I didn't notice Jim Carrey at all; only found out he was in it through this site. _Peggy Sue Got Married_ is a very pleasant little film, but it is too little, one can't but help feel. The potential was there with this scenario to make a magnificent film, yet the 'fairly good' quality is settled for. Tricks are missed, gags are passed up... too much time focusing on that bloody Charlie character. Something more radical, with Turner really deciding to change her destiny would have interested me more. One hell of a dark film could have been made with the implications of this plot - time travel is so ill-served by films, generally. It's a shame Turner is never really tested and prone to major dramatic or comic conflict in the film. There are moments and scenes that are well thought of in this way - some of the stuff with the 'lovable nerd' type played by Barry Miller, the odd bit of Turner cheating with her foreknowledge of events - but really not enough stuff central to the film. Having the farcical (but not entirely played as such) scenes of the time travel 'lodge' end up in absurd failure and then black comedy, as Turner realises she is stuck in the time, to live out her life again, would have been *far better*.
As I say, this film missed numerous tricks. But indeed as failures go, it is a very passable viewing experience, besides the cringeworthy nature of Cage. It is good to watch a mainstream film that has a non-usual plot (well, post-_Back to the Future_) and genre. Yet, the genre is too subordinated to the earnestly romantic comedic (I use that word very loosely). This film could do with less of the traditional and more of the surprising. _Peggy Sue_ is enjoyable, if predictable viewing, that leaves one in mind of its missed chances and yet there one is given to a lingering favourable impression of the thing.
Rating:- *** 1/2/*****
- HenryHextonEsq
- Dec 10, 2002
- Permalink
Going back in time to revisit moments from high school, armed with more knowledge and self-assurance, is a fantasy perhaps many imagine, and this is the strongest thing Peggy Sue Got Married has going for it. Unfortunately the story, acting, and directing are all weak, despite all of the big names who worked on it.
Nicolas Cage affects a ridiculous accent and is simply awful (awful!), particularly in his scenes with Kathleen Turner. Seriously, he is comically bad, though that did make imitating him while the film was playing kind of fun. Turner's acting is barely any better (an Oscar nomination for this?), and she looks noticeably too young to be Helen Hunt's mother in the present, and noticeably too old to be Barbara Harris's daughter in the past. The film is buoyed slightly by the rest of its cast, including brief appearances from Jim Carrey and Maureen O'Sullivan (wow!), and it's too bad there wasn't more of them, or something smarter to offer in her interactions with the nerdy kid (Barry Miller) she talks about time travel with.
As for the story, after mysteriously finding herself back in time, Turner's character doesn't show any alarm and has no concerns at all about altering the future, e.g. making her kids disappear in an existential poof if she doesn't marry Cage's character again. One of the few moments with spark is when she has a one night stand with an intellectual rebel interested in beat literature, but even then Francis Ford Coppola drowns it all in sappy dialogue and music, things which pervade the film. It's meant as light fantasy so quite a bit can be forgiven, but the lead performances can't be, Cage's especially.
Nicolas Cage affects a ridiculous accent and is simply awful (awful!), particularly in his scenes with Kathleen Turner. Seriously, he is comically bad, though that did make imitating him while the film was playing kind of fun. Turner's acting is barely any better (an Oscar nomination for this?), and she looks noticeably too young to be Helen Hunt's mother in the present, and noticeably too old to be Barbara Harris's daughter in the past. The film is buoyed slightly by the rest of its cast, including brief appearances from Jim Carrey and Maureen O'Sullivan (wow!), and it's too bad there wasn't more of them, or something smarter to offer in her interactions with the nerdy kid (Barry Miller) she talks about time travel with.
As for the story, after mysteriously finding herself back in time, Turner's character doesn't show any alarm and has no concerns at all about altering the future, e.g. making her kids disappear in an existential poof if she doesn't marry Cage's character again. One of the few moments with spark is when she has a one night stand with an intellectual rebel interested in beat literature, but even then Francis Ford Coppola drowns it all in sappy dialogue and music, things which pervade the film. It's meant as light fantasy so quite a bit can be forgiven, but the lead performances can't be, Cage's especially.
- gbill-74877
- Oct 5, 2020
- Permalink