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Sunday, January 25, 2015

Movie Review: Forever Young

Forever Young
Starring: Mel Gibson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Elijah Wood, Isabel Glasser, George Wendt, Joe Morton, Nicolas Surovy, David Marshall Grant, Robert Hy Gorman, Millie Slavin, Michael A. Goorjian, Veronica Lauren, Art LaFleur, Eric Pierpoint, Walton Goggins, Amanda Foreman, Karla Tamburrelli, Robert Munns, JD Cullum, Ava Lazar 
Director: Steve Miner 
Warner Bros., Icon Entertainment International, USA, 1992.
Forever Young title
In 1939 Captain Daniel McCormick (Mel Gibson) is a test pilot flying B-25 airplanes. Daniel's friend is scientist Harry Finley (George Wendt) who has invented cryogenic chamber for suspended animation. Daniel is planning to propose his girlfriend Helen (Isabel Glasser) but he always chickens out.
B-25
George Wendt and Mel Gibson
Harry and Danny
Isabel Glasser
Helen
Helen gets hit by a truck and falls into coma. Devastated, Daniel allows himself to be frozen for a year in Harry's machine. However the test goes on a lot longer. 53 years later later two boys Nat Cooper (Elijah Wood) and Felix (Robert Hy Gorman) play in the air force warehouse. They open Danny's cryo chamber and he begins to awake. The kids get scared and run away. 
Elijah Wood and Robert Hy Gorman
Nat and Felix find a frozen man
Jamie Lee Curtis
Claire
Danny has quite a culture shock and the army thinks that he is a nutcase. Danny goes to find the boys, who take him to the library to catch up on what has happened during the past decades. Danny gets a night shelter in Nat's tree house. Danny's mother Claire (Jamie Lee Curtis) has a budding relationship with doctor boyfriend John (Nicolas Surovy). She also has a drunk ex-boyfriend Fred (Eric Pierpoint) who comes to beat her up. Danny intervenes and saves her. Claire and Danny become friends.
Mel Gibson
Culture shock
Catching up on history
Danny stays at their house and helps them fix the roof. Danny teaches Nat flying and also helps Nat tell about his feelings to Alice (Veronica Lauren). Claire begins to have feelings for Danny, but Danny still misses Helen. Also the aging was only postponed so Danny is starting to show his age. The FBI and scientist Cameron (Joe Morton)  finally get interested about the scientific results and chase Danny.
Joe Morton and David Marshall Grant
Cameron and Lt. Col. Wilcox
Jamie Lee Curtis
Claire at air show
Forever Young is  sweet and melancholic romantic movie, with themes of aging and mortality. There is also a light touch of scifi and kid's adventure. As such the movie is combination of genres that mix quite nicely. Mel is great as an old-fashioned gentleman.  Elijah Wood does one of his early movie roles. Also Jamie Lee Curtis does a nice role as single mother Claire who is unlucky with men. Script was written by Lost-creator by J.J. Abrams and sentimental score by Jerry Goldsmith.

Rating: Very good

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