Always Nice but not Much More
Always (1989)
When Steven Spielberg directs a movie it is rarely anything other than entertaining, usually spectacular. Yet with his 1989 movie "Always" starring Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, John Goodman and Audrey Hepburn it feels very much unlike your typical Spielberg movie, in fact it doesn't feel like a Spielberg movie at all because quite frankly it is ordinary. From the storyline to the special effects and the performances nothing really jumps out at you screaming "watch me". Instead "Always" drifts along at a sleepy pace, ending up as not a terrible movie just one that is pretty uninspiring.
In "Always" Richard Dreyfuss stars as Pete Sandich, a legend amongst the heroic pilots for his breath taking manoeuvres as he extinguished forest fires from the skies. Along with the love of his life, Dorinda (Holly Hunter) and his best friend Al (John Goodman), life seems pretty good. That is until he takes one risk too many and whilst saving Al from certain death loses his own. But after returning to earth as a ghost, he faces his hardest challenge yet. Not only does he have to guide a bumbling new fire-fighter in becoming a decent pilot, but he also has to assist Dorinda in letting go of the past and moving on with her life.
The storyline to "Always" does share a couple of tenuous similarities to "Ghost" but is by no means of the word in the same league because it just basically isn't very exciting. That is its biggest problem it lacks the impetuous needed to keep you watching rather than drifting off to sleep. The storyline about Pete returning as a ghost to miraculously guide those left on earth is not new and instead of adding anything to spice it up seems happy to drift along delivering scenes which feel lacking and slightly cliché. I am not saying that the storyline is terrible; in fact it is sentimentally sweet and well structured with a natural flow. It's just distinctly unmemorable and although a couple of humorous moments and a cameo from the delightful Audrey Hepburn may stick in your mind I doubt that the storyline will.
A knock on effect of "Always" seeming lack of impetuous is that at just over 2 hours it feels far too long, in fact painfully long as it drags its feet during several scenes. Not wanting to criticize Spielberg a man who knows more about movie making than I certainly do, but I do wonder whether his heart was really in it whilst making "Always" or whether it was some contractual agreement he had to fulfil, because it feels strangely out of character for the great director. Although in 1989 when "Always" was released he also had "Back to the Future Part II" and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" on the go so maybe it was more of a filler between projects.
As for the performances from the star names well like the movie they feel slightly low level but adequate. Richard Dreyfuss who is a slightly strange choice as a heroic fire-fighting pilot, although the role was offered to Tom Cruise, manages to put in an adequate performance as Pete Sandich, with some moments which feature Dreyfuss's ability with wise cracking humour. Alongside Dreyfuss is John Goodman who gets to goofs it up as his best friend Al, with moments of comedy which could have come straight out of a Tom & Jerry cartoon. Probably the best performance comes from Holly Hunter as Pete's love interest, Dorinda, a mixture of tom boy but with a girlie inside. Although due to the nature of the movie it's hard to pick up on any chemistry in any of the movies romantic moments.
Also making nice appearances are Brad Johnson and the divine Audrey Hepburn in what was to be her last movie, although the latter is massively under used.
To be honest, there are no real problems with any of the performances in "Always", the problems arise from the characters themselves, they are just too boring. This makes the movie feel a little flat, as all the characters merge with no real differentiation between them.
What all this boils down to is that "Always" is a nice but pretty much uninspiring and unmemorable movie. It lacks the excitement and strong characters which it really needs to keep you watching, instead delivering a slightly lack lustre storyline which at over 2 hours is not in a hurry to go anywhere. It's not a terrible movie but with stars such as Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, John Goodman and Steven Spielberg directing you couldn't be blamed for expecting something more.
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- Title: Always
- Year: 1989
- Length: 123 mins
- Certificate: PG
- Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Brad Johnson, John Goodman, Audrey Hepburn, Roberts Blossom, Keith David, Ed Van Nuys
- The Movie Scene Rating:
