Alyson HillGriffin & Phoenix reviewed by trickery
April 29th 2008 23:34
Sometimes life gets in the way of your plans. That's why I've been so quiet lately. Sometimes you write a post and then you accidentally discard it and you have to write it again and then you close the page and lose it again. And sometimes you are so frustrated that you want to kill your Mother-In-Law (or is that just me?) but you sit down and try for a third time to write about films that include possible reasons for divorce proceedings.
My husband tricked me.
'Come and watch a movie with me,' he said. 'It's got Amanda Peet in it,' he said
'What's it called?' I asked. I like Amanda Peet, I've seen her in everything.
'Griffin & Phoenix,' he said. Strangely, I hadn't heard of it but I also hadn't heard of 'Alot Like Love' with Amanda and Ashton Kutcher until my sister put me onto it, and I loved that.
'It's also got that guy with the scar on his lip,' said my husband.
'Joaquin?' I wondered.
'No, the other guy you like. The one that's in everything but he isn't really big.'
'Dermot Mulroney! Cool, OK, I'm in!' I said. Both of these actors play mostly supporting roles in romantic comedies and I certainly could use a laugh. I love Amanda Peet - she sticks straws up her nose. And Dermot is that guy you can love or hate and still like without being overpoweringly handsome. He is Real Guy.
Griffin and Phoenix was originally written for TV by John Hill (no relation) in 1976. It's tag line was 'The greatest love story since Love Story'...there's a clue. It starred Columbo's Peter Falk another 'real' guy,
and Jill Clayburgh, who currently plays Letitia Darling in Dirty Sexy Money! Odd couple? Certainly, but they broke hearts across America with their portrayal of a couple forming a relationship whilst keeping the same tragic secret from each other.
Cut to 2007, the same writer, John Hill, adapts his screenplay for the big screen and selects Dermot Mulroney to play Geoff Griffin, a divorced father of two diagnosed with cancer and determined to take what life he has left by the throat and shake it for all it's worth. At a local university lecture on understanding death, he chances upon Amanda Peet's Sarah Phoenix, a Dean at the University and a strangely conservative and quiet woman for Peet to play. Despite Phoenix's rejections the unlikely pair start to form a relationship of sorts based on the shared adventures of naughty (not sexy naughty, more like bad kids naughty) and risky behaviour, that is outside of her life experiences and she finally blossoms into the Amanda Peet character we know and love. Love blooms for the couple and we see a very pretty New York through the eyes of the lovers, until Phoenix discovers Griffin's 'coping with cancer' books and confronts him for taking advantage of her. This is the best scene in the movie. The realisation that they both really DO have something in common. A very nasty something. The rest of the movie is about their ups and downs, right up to the ultimate tear jerking final romantic scene.
There are back stories that are underplayed: Griffin's ex-wife is remarrying a pleasant enough man, and Griffin tries to build up what appears to be a non-existant relationship with his two sons. He tells none of his family the news. Phoenix has been terribly hurt in her last relationship with implication that it ended at the time she was diagnosed. Both of these stories would have built empathy for the characters and rounded out their situation better, and should not have been edited out if in fact they were ever written in.
Griffin and Phoenix has been said to be a film in the genre of dramedy. I would disagree. I would say it has been written with the intent of wringing every last drop of salt water from your body, and hoping for a wry smile every now and then as relief. I guess Peet and Mulroney like to stretch themselves from time to time, but I don't think these roles suited them together.
I only discovered that this was previously made for TV upon researching for this post, but I must say, after seeing it my initial thought was that it was one of those made for TV movie that the videoshop slip in from time to time.
It is not 'poignantly funny' as the cover would have you believe. It is very prettily filmed but still incredibly disappointing to watch if you are expecting light comedy. My husband is so dead. Good gift for the Mother In Law for Mother's Day.
Amazon
My husband tricked me.
'Come and watch a movie with me,' he said. 'It's got Amanda Peet in it,' he said
'What's it called?' I asked. I like Amanda Peet, I've seen her in everything.
Amanda Peet. Funny & pretty; what's not to like?
'Griffin & Phoenix,' he said. Strangely, I hadn't heard of it but I also hadn't heard of 'Alot Like Love' with Amanda and Ashton Kutcher until my sister put me onto it, and I loved that.
'It's also got that guy with the scar on his lip,' said my husband.
'Joaquin?' I wondered.
'Dermot Mulroney! Cool, OK, I'm in!' I said. Both of these actors play mostly supporting roles in romantic comedies and I certainly could use a laugh. I love Amanda Peet - she sticks straws up her nose. And Dermot is that guy you can love or hate and still like without being overpoweringly handsome. He is Real Guy.
'Real Guy' IMDB
Griffin and Phoenix was originally written for TV by John Hill (no relation) in 1976. It's tag line was 'The greatest love story since Love Story'...there's a clue. It starred Columbo's Peter Falk another 'real' guy,
Peter Falk (right) & friend
and Jill Clayburgh, who currently plays Letitia Darling in Dirty Sexy Money! Odd couple? Certainly, but they broke hearts across America with their portrayal of a couple forming a relationship whilst keeping the same tragic secret from each other.
Cut to 2007, the same writer, John Hill, adapts his screenplay for the big screen and selects Dermot Mulroney to play Geoff Griffin, a divorced father of two diagnosed with cancer and determined to take what life he has left by the throat and shake it for all it's worth. At a local university lecture on understanding death, he chances upon Amanda Peet's Sarah Phoenix, a Dean at the University and a strangely conservative and quiet woman for Peet to play. Despite Phoenix's rejections the unlikely pair start to form a relationship of sorts based on the shared adventures of naughty (not sexy naughty, more like bad kids naughty) and risky behaviour, that is outside of her life experiences and she finally blossoms into the Amanda Peet character we know and love. Love blooms for the couple and we see a very pretty New York through the eyes of the lovers, until Phoenix discovers Griffin's 'coping with cancer' books and confronts him for taking advantage of her. This is the best scene in the movie. The realisation that they both really DO have something in common. A very nasty something. The rest of the movie is about their ups and downs, right up to the ultimate tear jerking final romantic scene.
There are back stories that are underplayed: Griffin's ex-wife is remarrying a pleasant enough man, and Griffin tries to build up what appears to be a non-existant relationship with his two sons. He tells none of his family the news. Phoenix has been terribly hurt in her last relationship with implication that it ended at the time she was diagnosed. Both of these stories would have built empathy for the characters and rounded out their situation better, and should not have been edited out if in fact they were ever written in.
Griffin and Phoenix has been said to be a film in the genre of dramedy. I would disagree. I would say it has been written with the intent of wringing every last drop of salt water from your body, and hoping for a wry smile every now and then as relief. I guess Peet and Mulroney like to stretch themselves from time to time, but I don't think these roles suited them together.
I only discovered that this was previously made for TV upon researching for this post, but I must say, after seeing it my initial thought was that it was one of those made for TV movie that the videoshop slip in from time to time.
Mother's Day present - Tick! IMDB
It is not 'poignantly funny' as the cover would have you believe. It is very prettily filmed but still incredibly disappointing to watch if you are expecting light comedy. My husband is so dead. Good gift for the Mother In Law for Mother's Day.
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