Review of Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) by Ms. Southern L — 01 Feb 2011

Peggy Sue Got Married is a perfectly charming and delightful concept which never fully blossoms into what may have been the adult equivolent to the target teenage audience of Back to the Future.

It's one of those films which defies easy definition -- which is not at all a bad thing. It is not exactly a romantic comedy, although there are some funny elements to the story; and on the other hand it is not the serious meditation on self which we had (up to that point in time, at least) come to expect from the film's director.

The name Francis Ford Coppola was once synonymous with films of the grand sweep of human emotion and the ever fragile condition of our species. Most famous for his Godfather trilogy, Coppola also saw fit that his smaller, more independent side as a filmmaker was able to stretch its near limitless wings. One such example, as well as one of my favorite movies from this writer/director/producer, is an existential journey through the loneliness of self called, The Conversation.

As one might gather, it becomes rather difficult to review a single picture of this esteemed director without divulging ones self in a cacophony of sweeping retrospective. Perhaps it is due to the undeniable promise of greatness which this director once seemed to project of himself. It is therefor something of a mystery that remains when discussing any number of the lackluster modern creation of this once Titan of cinema.

As it stands, Peggy Sue must fallow suit with the parade of mediocrity which followed the film which may very well have driven the young Coppola past the brink of sanity -- his Vietnam epic: Apocalypse Now.

Yet here I go again, diverging from the path which my viewing habits have so clearly laid out for me. The subject is the 1986 film, Peggy Sue Got Married.

I suppose all of this wild distraction truly does fill in as a proper review of this picture when one comes to terms with it. It is not a very good film, yet a film of promise. It plays more like the first draft of a good script which could have used a couple more going overs to tie up all of the various loose ends within the meat of the film. Too many unresolved characters whom we grow very much interested in, yet never see what comes of them in the end.

At the head of the film, when the modern Peggy Sue is attending her high school reunion, a question is asked when confronted with the photo of a hunky runner which Ms. Sue had secretly crushed over while in her teenage years.