Word: charming
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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COMBINING THE TALENTS of Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen with those of veteran director Arthur Hiller would seem to promise, if not quite the "very different love story" described by the director, at least an effervescent romp in the style of Arthur. Unfortunately, neither Moore's broguish charm nor Steenburgen's poignant spaciness can save Romantic Comedy from its writer and director. Rather, the actors' valiant attempts to save the show make it all the more perturbing to watch. Observing cast members with their flies inadvertently unzipped for an hour and a half would, in fact, provide a comparable level...
...first and fatal charm of national repentance," writes I C.S. Lewis, "is the encouragement it gives us to turn from the bitter task of repenting our own sins to the congenial one of bewailing-but, first, of denouncing-the conduct of others." The trap, he explains, is that the collective confession contains a dangerous figure of speech that permits a confusion of "we" and "they." One says "we sinned" and means "they sinned": the military-industrial complex, liberals, capitalist-readers...
...Olivia. Played by the beautiful Greta Scacchi, Olivia is torn between her love for and obligations to her English husband and an uncontrollable fascination with an Indian prince. Olivia's desire for the prince (Shaski Kapoor) enables her to ignore his devilish and corrupt ways, and see only his charm...
...were home from Princeton for the weekend. So how were the real aristocrats to proclaim themselves? By going punk? Slam-dancing at the Harvard Club? As soon as one finds something to be snobbish about, everyone else has got hold of it, and so the central charm of snobbery, the feeling of being something special, vanishes...
...which consist solely of 20th century buildings, the ruburbs harbor run-down Victorian-and Federal-era homes that natives often refer to by the name of the families who built them a century ago. They are advertised as "handyman's specials," and newcomers are dazzled by their charm and possibilities. Young homeowners cannot afford to have tradesmen restore them, so they hammer and paint in their own spare time. Conversation at backyard barbecues focuses not on which country club is the "right" one but on discoveries like Rube Goldberg plumbing in the bathroom or death-house wiring...