I'm almost sure Paul Haggis got his idea for his film Crash, from this film. Both are really the same in many ways, Crash is a little better of a movie than Grand Canyon in the way that it's presented, and because of the more profound moments that are presented in it(Crash). But honestly Grand Canyon is just as good. Crash just happened to be made at the height of political correctness, at the height of the Al Sharpton era, ergo Crash wins the Academy Award for Best Picture where as Grand Canyon only gets an Academy Award Nomination for Best Screenplay. Times were different when Grand Canyon came out in 1991 then when Crash came out in 2005(Plus I don't think the Academy wanted to see a Homosexual Cowboy Lovestory win best film, even though we all know, It's 10 times better of a film than Crash is, that movie being Brokeback Mountain of course).
I won't really get much into Grand Canyon because if you've seen Crash, then it's all said right there. Lot's of Concepts, lot's of things being said that are contrived, etc, etc. One thing I will touch on though is the best scene in the movie Grand Canyon. The best scene in Grand Canyon is with Jeremy Sisto's character and Kevin Kline's character, Kline is Sisto's father in the film. Kline is teaching Sisto how to drive and Sisto makes a big boo boo while driving and they almost get in a big car crash, but they don't and Kline patiently tells Sisto to pull over. I think this is a scene that is greatly over looked. I know with my dad, he would have been yelling and screaming at me if I almost got in a car accident. And as we don't want to be push-overs to our kids, there needs to be a balance, a moderation.
What's brilliant about the scene is it speaks volumes about Kline's character as a father. Sisto's character in the movie, is a smart, kind- hearted kid, with a good head on his shoulder. Kline's character isn't a hot head, he's very calm and patient, but no push-over either, and that's why Sisto has such a good head on his shoulder and doesn't overly stress out ever because he's been raised with very good parents. They say kids pick things up mentally for the rest of their life between the ages of 6-8 years old.
I know when my dad yelled at me for doing something wrong that i hadn't learned yet between the ages of 6-8 years old, later in life, I have always stressed out if i do something wrong, and I always expect to be yelled at. Not a good feeling to feel nor should one feel the need to feel that way. It's obvious that Kline's character never yelled at his son like my dad did when Sisto's character was between 6-8 years old because if Kline's character had, that scene in the car with Sisto almost crashing it, would have gone down with Kline's character castigating Sisto and Sisto stressing out with sadness, anger, resentment, that leads on to things later in life with always feeling you have to be perfect, feeling like you can't make a mistake or you'll get yelled at, walking on eggshells, and then perhaps leading further down the road in life to anger management and PTSS, you name it.
That stuff messes up kids. Not saying Kline's character is husband of the year, he has an affair in the movie, and he's quite lucky his wife and kid(Sisto) didn't find out or that could have had catastrophic effects on both his wife and son, but other than that mistake, Kline's character is a good husband and a great father. If nothing else from this movie, I think we can all learn to be better parents, to raise our kids better in a more constructive manner than in a reactive manner after watching this film.
Also, Steve Martin is terrific in this one as well, and Danny Glover is always likable, perhaps one of the most likable actors in history. If you liked Crash, you'll like this one, if you didn't, then you might or might not like this one.
I won't really get much into Grand Canyon because if you've seen Crash, then it's all said right there. Lot's of Concepts, lot's of things being said that are contrived, etc, etc. One thing I will touch on though is the best scene in the movie Grand Canyon. The best scene in Grand Canyon is with Jeremy Sisto's character and Kevin Kline's character, Kline is Sisto's father in the film. Kline is teaching Sisto how to drive and Sisto makes a big boo boo while driving and they almost get in a big car crash, but they don't and Kline patiently tells Sisto to pull over. I think this is a scene that is greatly over looked. I know with my dad, he would have been yelling and screaming at me if I almost got in a car accident. And as we don't want to be push-overs to our kids, there needs to be a balance, a moderation.
What's brilliant about the scene is it speaks volumes about Kline's character as a father. Sisto's character in the movie, is a smart, kind- hearted kid, with a good head on his shoulder. Kline's character isn't a hot head, he's very calm and patient, but no push-over either, and that's why Sisto has such a good head on his shoulder and doesn't overly stress out ever because he's been raised with very good parents. They say kids pick things up mentally for the rest of their life between the ages of 6-8 years old.
I know when my dad yelled at me for doing something wrong that i hadn't learned yet between the ages of 6-8 years old, later in life, I have always stressed out if i do something wrong, and I always expect to be yelled at. Not a good feeling to feel nor should one feel the need to feel that way. It's obvious that Kline's character never yelled at his son like my dad did when Sisto's character was between 6-8 years old because if Kline's character had, that scene in the car with Sisto almost crashing it, would have gone down with Kline's character castigating Sisto and Sisto stressing out with sadness, anger, resentment, that leads on to things later in life with always feeling you have to be perfect, feeling like you can't make a mistake or you'll get yelled at, walking on eggshells, and then perhaps leading further down the road in life to anger management and PTSS, you name it.
That stuff messes up kids. Not saying Kline's character is husband of the year, he has an affair in the movie, and he's quite lucky his wife and kid(Sisto) didn't find out or that could have had catastrophic effects on both his wife and son, but other than that mistake, Kline's character is a good husband and a great father. If nothing else from this movie, I think we can all learn to be better parents, to raise our kids better in a more constructive manner than in a reactive manner after watching this film.
Also, Steve Martin is terrific in this one as well, and Danny Glover is always likable, perhaps one of the most likable actors in history. If you liked Crash, you'll like this one, if you didn't, then you might or might not like this one.