Like the Cathleen Schine bestseller on which it was based, "The Love Letter" is a light Summer Breeze of a romantic comedy. It's pleasant enough, with its share of wittily wistful moments delivered by a capable cast, but as the 89-minute running time might indicate, it just doesn't amount to very much.
And as effective counterprogramming to the "Phantom Menace" juggernaut, it's like trying to divert a charging rhino with a souffle. The DreamWorks release should be able to woo a healthy segment of its targeted female demographic, but they probably won't be falling head over heels.
Set in the fictional, perennially sleepy New England town of Loblolly By The Sea, the picture concerns itself with a mysterious love letter addressed to "Dearest" and signed "Yours" that has seemingly materialized out of nowhere but manages to affect profoundly the lives of all who come across it.
That is particularly the case for Helen MacFarquhar (Kate Capshaw), a single mother whose long dormant passions are suddenly reignited by the discovery of the phantom missive. Believing that she's the "Dearest" in question, Helen is determined to discover the author's identity, and in the process ends up having a little fling with cute, sweet college student Johnny Tom Everett Scott) -- who also sees himself in the letter -- not to mention second thoughts about her lifelong platonic friend, George (Tom Selleck), who has been secretly infatuated with her since high school.
By the time the true identities of both writer and addressee are ultimately revealed, the letter has already managed to alter the emotional states of a number of its readers.
Working from a bright adaptation by Maria Maggenti ("The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love) director Peter Ho-Sun Chan ("Comrades: Almost a Love Story") makes his American debut here with a nice grasp on the quirky characters and light humor.
As the emotionally guarded Helen, Capshaw gives a fine if somewhat one-note performance. There are times when certain feelings aren't sufficiently externalized, leaving key facial reactions hidden behind her large, rectangular glasses.
Playing her glib bookstore colleague Janet, Ellen DeGeneres tosses off the picture's best lines with seasoned aplomb, while Scott's earnest, smitten Johnny and Selleck's vulnerable, gentle George are astutely portrayed.
Also impressive is Julianne Nicholson as the young, strong-willed Jennifer, who also works in Helen's bookstore, and, in all-too-brief roles, Blythe Danner and Gloria Stuart, as Helen's peripatetic mother and grandmother, respectively, as well as Geraldine McEwan as the delightfully enigmatic Miss Scattergoods.
Behind-the-camera contributions are sturdy, although composer Luis Bacalov's swooping violins try a little too hard to evoke unbridled passion. Similarly, the songs -- "I'm In the Mood For Love", "Only the Lonely", "I've Never Been In Love Before" -- cloyingly overstate the obvious.
In that vein, as a lilting breeze carries the letter off toward the sea at the film's end, it's tempting to start humming that old Police hit, "Message in a Bottle".
Fortunately the filmmakers didn't go there.
THE LOVE LETTER
DreamWorks Pictures
A Sanford/Pillsbury production
A Peter Ho-Sun Chan film
Producers:Sarah Pillsbury, Midge Sanford, Kate Capshaw
Executive producers:Beau Flynn, Stefan Simchowitz
Director:Peter Ho-Sun Chan
Screenwriter:Maria Maggenti
Based on the novel by:Cathleen Schine
Director of photography:Tami Reiker
Production designer:Andrew Jackness
Editor:Jacqueline Cambas
Costume designer:Tracy Tynan
Music:Luis Bacalov
Casting:Mali Finn
Color/stereo
Cast:
Helen MacFarquhar:Kate Capshaw
Lillian:Blythe Danner
Janet:Ellen DeGeneres
Miss Scattergoods:Geraldine McEwan
Jennifer:Julianne Nicholson
Johnny:Tom Everett Scott
George Matthias:Tom Selleck
Eleanor:Gloria Stuart
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
And as effective counterprogramming to the "Phantom Menace" juggernaut, it's like trying to divert a charging rhino with a souffle. The DreamWorks release should be able to woo a healthy segment of its targeted female demographic, but they probably won't be falling head over heels.
Set in the fictional, perennially sleepy New England town of Loblolly By The Sea, the picture concerns itself with a mysterious love letter addressed to "Dearest" and signed "Yours" that has seemingly materialized out of nowhere but manages to affect profoundly the lives of all who come across it.
That is particularly the case for Helen MacFarquhar (Kate Capshaw), a single mother whose long dormant passions are suddenly reignited by the discovery of the phantom missive. Believing that she's the "Dearest" in question, Helen is determined to discover the author's identity, and in the process ends up having a little fling with cute, sweet college student Johnny Tom Everett Scott) -- who also sees himself in the letter -- not to mention second thoughts about her lifelong platonic friend, George (Tom Selleck), who has been secretly infatuated with her since high school.
By the time the true identities of both writer and addressee are ultimately revealed, the letter has already managed to alter the emotional states of a number of its readers.
Working from a bright adaptation by Maria Maggenti ("The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love) director Peter Ho-Sun Chan ("Comrades: Almost a Love Story") makes his American debut here with a nice grasp on the quirky characters and light humor.
As the emotionally guarded Helen, Capshaw gives a fine if somewhat one-note performance. There are times when certain feelings aren't sufficiently externalized, leaving key facial reactions hidden behind her large, rectangular glasses.
Playing her glib bookstore colleague Janet, Ellen DeGeneres tosses off the picture's best lines with seasoned aplomb, while Scott's earnest, smitten Johnny and Selleck's vulnerable, gentle George are astutely portrayed.
Also impressive is Julianne Nicholson as the young, strong-willed Jennifer, who also works in Helen's bookstore, and, in all-too-brief roles, Blythe Danner and Gloria Stuart, as Helen's peripatetic mother and grandmother, respectively, as well as Geraldine McEwan as the delightfully enigmatic Miss Scattergoods.
Behind-the-camera contributions are sturdy, although composer Luis Bacalov's swooping violins try a little too hard to evoke unbridled passion. Similarly, the songs -- "I'm In the Mood For Love", "Only the Lonely", "I've Never Been In Love Before" -- cloyingly overstate the obvious.
In that vein, as a lilting breeze carries the letter off toward the sea at the film's end, it's tempting to start humming that old Police hit, "Message in a Bottle".
Fortunately the filmmakers didn't go there.
THE LOVE LETTER
DreamWorks Pictures
A Sanford/Pillsbury production
A Peter Ho-Sun Chan film
Producers:Sarah Pillsbury, Midge Sanford, Kate Capshaw
Executive producers:Beau Flynn, Stefan Simchowitz
Director:Peter Ho-Sun Chan
Screenwriter:Maria Maggenti
Based on the novel by:Cathleen Schine
Director of photography:Tami Reiker
Production designer:Andrew Jackness
Editor:Jacqueline Cambas
Costume designer:Tracy Tynan
Music:Luis Bacalov
Casting:Mali Finn
Color/stereo
Cast:
Helen MacFarquhar:Kate Capshaw
Lillian:Blythe Danner
Janet:Ellen DeGeneres
Miss Scattergoods:Geraldine McEwan
Jennifer:Julianne Nicholson
Johnny:Tom Everett Scott
George Matthias:Tom Selleck
Eleanor:Gloria Stuart
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 5/21/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Returning home to live with one's parents is a potential nightmare for most ambitious adults, but the protagonist in Carl Franklin's new film is obligated because her mother has cancer and her busy, important dad needs help. In fact, he needs a lot more, starting with forgiveness -- or at least tolerance -- for his philandering ways and cold, detached persona, even in the face of tragedy.
Universal's prestigious release starring Oscar winners Meryl Streep and William Hurt, with Renee Zellweger playing the lead, needs a lot of help too. But critical reception for Franklin's subdued adaptation of Anna Quindlen's novel is not likely to be true-blue, and audiences are unlikely to support "One True Thing" beyond an initial flurry of interest in major markets. Women in the mood for a good weeper may boost boxoffice and ancillary-market returns over time.
A full-out, nose-blowing, hanky-soaking experience it will be for some, while others will remain unmoved -- though the sight of Zellweger scrunching her face in sadness is nearly impossible to watch without a sympathetic whimper or two. A fairly routine family drama elevated to Hollywood event by the presence of Streep and Hurt, "One True Thing" seems bucking to become the all-time "Mom's dying" movie.
Unfortunately, there's a distracting, ultimately pointless framing device, with the duplicitous Ellen Gulden (Zellweger) snookering a district attorney (James Eckhouse) about her family dynamics. Franklin and screenwriter Karen Croner keep secret why Ellen's under the law's gaze but have no trouble letting us know that her mother's expiration is a bit of a mystery.
Several times, the film returns to the gentle grilling of Ellen to fill narrative holes, but one is never engaged by the gambit. Taking place in the late 1980s, the story flashes back to a surprise party for professor and intellectual George (Hurt), engineered by full-of-cheer, slightly daffy Kate (Streep).
Streep's mom is strong in the ways of a woman who has raised kids and sent them into the world, joined social clubs and kept a happy face during the long, winding road of marriage to a driven, demanding mate who cheats on her with his younger, no-doubt-boneheaded students. Who wouldn't be sympathetic to her plight, despite her occasional blowups and denial?
Ellen's brother Brian Tom Everett Scott) is not integrated much into the scenario and basically serves to show again what a rotten dad George is. Brian is flunking out of Harvard and has no professorial ambitions -- what a jerk George is to expect his species to multiply. But hot-shot New York magazine journalist Ellen's tenuous hold on a career is even more a generic distraction, starting with hard-to-please George giving her the same cliched advice he has given all those adoring pupils for decades.
Filling out the overlong movie are sundry subplots and atmospheric disturbances. But when cancer treatments start and Kate goes downhill fast, the movie goes for all the fleeting mom-and-daughter moments with a vengeance.
Nothing special visually and a bit too cloying for the usually more rugged Franklin, "True" is admirably earnest but hardly an important addition to his resume.
ONE TRUE THING
Universal Pictures
A Monarch Pictures/Upland production
A Carl Franklin film
Credits: Director: Carl Franklin; Screenwriter: Karen Croner; Producers: Jesse Beaton, Harry Ufland; Executive producers: William W. Wilson III, Leslie Morgan; Director of photography: Declan Quinn; Production designer: Paul Peters; Editor: Carole Kravetz; Costume designer: Donna Zakowska; Music: Cliff Eidelman; Casting: Rick Pagano. Cast: Kate Gulden: Meryl Streep; Ellen Gulden: Renee Zellweger; George Gulden: William Hurt; Brian Gulden: Tom Everett Scott; Jules: Lauren Graham; Jordan Belzer: Nicky Katt; District Attorney: James Eckhouse; Mr. Tweedy: Patrick Breen. MPAA rating: R. Color/stereo. Running time -- 127 minutes...
Universal's prestigious release starring Oscar winners Meryl Streep and William Hurt, with Renee Zellweger playing the lead, needs a lot of help too. But critical reception for Franklin's subdued adaptation of Anna Quindlen's novel is not likely to be true-blue, and audiences are unlikely to support "One True Thing" beyond an initial flurry of interest in major markets. Women in the mood for a good weeper may boost boxoffice and ancillary-market returns over time.
A full-out, nose-blowing, hanky-soaking experience it will be for some, while others will remain unmoved -- though the sight of Zellweger scrunching her face in sadness is nearly impossible to watch without a sympathetic whimper or two. A fairly routine family drama elevated to Hollywood event by the presence of Streep and Hurt, "One True Thing" seems bucking to become the all-time "Mom's dying" movie.
Unfortunately, there's a distracting, ultimately pointless framing device, with the duplicitous Ellen Gulden (Zellweger) snookering a district attorney (James Eckhouse) about her family dynamics. Franklin and screenwriter Karen Croner keep secret why Ellen's under the law's gaze but have no trouble letting us know that her mother's expiration is a bit of a mystery.
Several times, the film returns to the gentle grilling of Ellen to fill narrative holes, but one is never engaged by the gambit. Taking place in the late 1980s, the story flashes back to a surprise party for professor and intellectual George (Hurt), engineered by full-of-cheer, slightly daffy Kate (Streep).
Streep's mom is strong in the ways of a woman who has raised kids and sent them into the world, joined social clubs and kept a happy face during the long, winding road of marriage to a driven, demanding mate who cheats on her with his younger, no-doubt-boneheaded students. Who wouldn't be sympathetic to her plight, despite her occasional blowups and denial?
Ellen's brother Brian Tom Everett Scott) is not integrated much into the scenario and basically serves to show again what a rotten dad George is. Brian is flunking out of Harvard and has no professorial ambitions -- what a jerk George is to expect his species to multiply. But hot-shot New York magazine journalist Ellen's tenuous hold on a career is even more a generic distraction, starting with hard-to-please George giving her the same cliched advice he has given all those adoring pupils for decades.
Filling out the overlong movie are sundry subplots and atmospheric disturbances. But when cancer treatments start and Kate goes downhill fast, the movie goes for all the fleeting mom-and-daughter moments with a vengeance.
Nothing special visually and a bit too cloying for the usually more rugged Franklin, "True" is admirably earnest but hardly an important addition to his resume.
ONE TRUE THING
Universal Pictures
A Monarch Pictures/Upland production
A Carl Franklin film
Credits: Director: Carl Franklin; Screenwriter: Karen Croner; Producers: Jesse Beaton, Harry Ufland; Executive producers: William W. Wilson III, Leslie Morgan; Director of photography: Declan Quinn; Production designer: Paul Peters; Editor: Carole Kravetz; Costume designer: Donna Zakowska; Music: Cliff Eidelman; Casting: Rick Pagano. Cast: Kate Gulden: Meryl Streep; Ellen Gulden: Renee Zellweger; George Gulden: William Hurt; Brian Gulden: Tom Everett Scott; Jules: Lauren Graham; Jordan Belzer: Nicky Katt; District Attorney: James Eckhouse; Mr. Tweedy: Patrick Breen. MPAA rating: R. Color/stereo. Running time -- 127 minutes...
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