gbill-74877

Desolate, melancholy feelings pervade this film, set in a small beach town in the off-season, with rain pouring down incessantly. A man arrives in the middle of the night appearing to want a respite to calm his nerves, but gradually we discover there's more to him than that. There may be no better image for trying to process childhood trauma than walking off into the distance on a deserted beach in the rain, and I loved the artistry with which Yves Allégret told this story. There is a theme of being preyed upon sexually, obviously with the war orphans, but also in the servant in the inn when she describes her time as a miner in Belgium. Meanwhile, the bourgeoise skate by without a care in the world, captured brilliantly in that final shot on the beach which pulls back from them rapidly. If you're wondering how they got that without the camera truck leaving tracks in the sand, look carefully at the small waves in the distance, going out instead of in.

Seeing Winona Ryder in a relatively early role is just about the only draw here, as the story is as flat as a pancake, with very little humor or charm. It's a very shallow look into what it means to be the outsider and bullied in high school, followed by a magical transformation into a beautiful girl wearing pink, the conformity of which was an unfortunate message. And gosh, who would have guessed she'd be beautiful if she just combed her hair, given it was Winona Ryder? Along the way she's in a changing room with her high school counselor for an incredibly stilted conversation comparing breasts, and no, not much of the rest of the film makes much sense either. "Think mine'll be as nice as yours some day?" Winona gushes, and then shortly afterwards we see her ample cleavage. If you're waiting for anything interesting to come of the expectations that her character or the one played by Jeff Daniels have built up around the return of the famous Roxie Carmichael, don't hold your breath.

It's hard to get too mad about this film because it's a harmless piece of fluff, but it did get pretty tedious to sit through. It tries to juggle three things: (1) tell a story ala Hitchcock of an innocent person swept up into dramatic intrigue, (2) give us a playful romance, and (3) add in some campy comedy. Unfortunately, it's pretty weak tea in all of them.

If I were a teacher grading the film in each of these areas, I would give the first a D, as after the beautiful overhead shots of the car driving along coastal Highway 1 at the beginning of the film leading to an interesting setup, it badly bungles the rest. It's a story filled with holes and devoid of any real tension.

As for the romance, I would give it a C- for Goldie Hawn alone. Chevy Chase was the opposite of charming here, and came across as mocking the film instead of acting in it. I almost gagged when he said "That was a stupid, glib, chauvinist remark and I apologize. It is your ass they're after, and it's my job to see to it that I get there first."

As for the comedy, probably a C- there too. There is probably nothing that screams 70's more than Dudley Moore trying to put the moves on Hawn under a disco ball while the Bee Gee's Stayin' Alive is playing on his stereo (with quadraphonic sound), and he was pretty amusing. I also liked the little old ladies playing variations of the F word in Scrabble. Offsetting those things was Chase's lame klutzy shtick imported from SNL, and unfunny bits like the "innocent dwarf" being launched out of the apartment, which was then extended by another silly scene in the hospital afterwards. The humor was juvenile and unfortunately it took over the movie, instead of adding a little droll spice to it.

I always like seeing San Francisco in movies and this one was no exception, it's featured prominently and that was a plus. And if you want something light and campy, this may be more enjoyable to you than it was for me.