“Frankie?”
“Johnny?”
“Ooh, I just got goosebumps!”

Like I’ve said before reviewing his other movies (outside of Pretty Woman and Runaway Bride – I don’t know why but I guess Julia Roberts just creates a wall for me most of the time), I love Garry Marshall as a director. His movies are just literally too cute. And the more I see of his work, the more I realise he actually has a real signature, as recognisable as any of the greats – it’s kind of weird to find a director who makes the kind of movies he makes who actually has such a visible hand. I also love Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer, both of which are at their peak in this movie. I have no idea why I’ve never seen it before.

That last shot of Pfeiffer in the window brushing her teeth, ultimately joined by Pacino, that’s what really brought it all together for me. Marshall has the (literally) flowery climactic romantic moment relatively early in the movie – yet another great movie kiss he’s created (cf. the foot-popping kiss in The Princess Diaries, the swan and puppy kiss in The Other Sister, I’m sure the Julia Roberts movies have them too I just can’t remember), just as Pacino and Pfeiffer’s lips touch a panel opens up behind them to reveal a packed florist’s – by contrast, the happy ending here is shockingly beautiful by its sheer plainness. Who knew the line, “Do you wanna brush?” could open the tear ducts so wide?

This is just a glorious celebration of real (if exaggerated in places – I love the DJ’s line at the end, “God, how I wish you two existed,”) people – I love how the movie opens and closes by simply cutting between its peripheral characters just existing. Which reminds me, Nathan Lane and Hector Elizondo in one movie? How much more do you want?

This entry was posted on Monday, September 17th, 2007 at 5:32 pm and is filed under 5 hearts, Movie Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.