Tim Wright Movies
- 1988
Little Dorrit was intended as the cinematic equivalent to the mammoth, eight hour Royal Shakespeare Company's staging of Dickens' Nicholas Nickelby. The film was released to theatres in two parts, each running approximately three hours. The first part, subtitled "Nobody's Fault," introduced us to the seamstress title character (Sarah Pickering), who chooses to live in debtor's prison with her father (Alec Guinness). Good samaritan Derek Jacobi endeavors to help both father and daughter. The second part, also known as "Little Dorrit's Story," details Dorrit's escape from penury to lasting happiness. Eschewing the usual 19th century-style British music often heard in Dickensian adaptations, director Christine Edzard creatively-and effectively--opts for the strains of Giuseppe Verdi. Edzard's eye for period detail is also deserving of unbounded praise. Unfortunately, Part Two of Little Dorrit spends nearly half of its running time recapping Part One, utilizing much of the same footage. For those familiar with "Nobody's Fault," "Little Dorrit's Story" is more a redundancy than a continuation. Still, taken together, parts one and two all fully deserving of the enthusiastic critical commentary that greeted them upon their original release-not to mention the multiple Academy Award nominations bestowed upon the project and its participants. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Guinness, Derek Jacobi, (more)
This screwball comedy casts real-life couple Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn in a film that finds the latter returning to her roots in a role reminiscent of Private Benjamin (1980). Hawn stars as Joanna Stayton, a snooty heiress who summons carpenter Dean Proffitt (Russell) to her lavish yacht, where she wants an expanded closet constructed that will house her valuable wardrobe. When Dean fails to build the closet out of cedar, Joanna haughtily dismisses him without payment. Later, Joanna falls overboard and is struck by another boat, causing amnesia. Seeing her story on the news, Dean constructs an elaborate scheme to pretend that Joanna is his wife Annie. Soon, the former rich snob is cleaning Dean's home and babysitting his four rambunctious boys. Although at first she's a disaster, "Annie" grows into her role and begins to love being a mom and middle-class wife. When her real husband Grant (Edward Herrmann) comes looking for her, however, her memory is jogged, and she must decide between a life of privileged ease and a life of happy housework. Overboard was the feature film debut of writer Leslie Dixon, the granddaughter of famed photographer Dorothea Lange. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, (more)
