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.

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

Harry and Danny

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. 

Nat and Felix find a frozen man

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.

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.

Cameron and Lt. Col. Wilcox

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