One Special Night (1999) starring James Garner, Julie Andrews, Patricia Charbonneau, Stacy Grant, Stewart Bick, Daniel Magder directed by Roger Young Movie Review

One Special Night (1999)   4/54/54/54/54/5


One Special Night (1999) starring James Garner and Julie Andrews

One Special Movie

It's a wintry night and all you want to do is curl up under a blanket in front of a roaring log fire and watch a movie which radiates as much warmth as the flickering flames. If that is the case you need to rent or buy "One Special Night" as this made for TV movie which re-united James Garner and Julie Andrews for the third time radiates that warmth. Yes there is no denying that "One Special Night" is as sappy as anything but when you have the chemistry of James Garner and Julie Andrews and the warmth these two veternags generate you don't mind all the sappiness.

Having gone to visit his ailing wife at the hospice on Thanksgiving Robert Woodward (James Garner - Twilight) is unable to get home as a blizzard sets in. Catherine (Julie Andrews - The Man Who Loved Women) a widow who still visits the hospice a year after cancer took her husband from her offers to give him a lift in her sports car which proves to be a disaster as they end up crashing in the middle of nowhere. Despite plenty of animosity between them Robert and Catherine make their way to an old farm building where they stay the night, chatting and discovering that they have a lot more in common than they could have ever imagined.

I'll tell you why you should watch "One Special Night" and it is because of James Garner and Julie Andrews. They have such a wonderful chemistry that the sarcasm which initially sparks between them is amusing and believable whilst as they soften you really grow attached to these two older and interesting people. It is because of that, because you kind of fall for them as they chat the night away after the amusing antagonism which makes the movie such a warm delight. Okay so snowy settings also adds to that charm because it always makes for a scenic movie but what James Garner and Julie Andrews deliver you just can't fake.

In fact you are so drawn by the amusing and touching performances of James Garner and Julie Andrews that what actually happens ends up not that important. Having said that it is a nicely thought out little romantic drama with some nice unexpected twists which hark back to the original "Love Affair". Although whilst a subplot surrounding Robert's daughter Lori and her troubled marriage ends up pivotal it does feel like a bit of a distraction.

What this all boils down to is that "One Special Night" is one of those simply charming movies which is perfect for a wintry night. But what makes it so good is simply the combined talents of James Garner and Julia Andrews who make their characters believable and interesting.

Tags: TV Christmas Movies, Christmas Movies


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