Review of The Accidental Tourist (1988) by Dave J — 16 Jan 2011

Kasdan is a deeply gifted writer and often gifted director. He takes on some different material here and turns away from murder plots and westerns. This is a thick story of strange characters and numbed emotions.

Hurt portrays a steady writer who quietly carries the burden of his slain son. His wife, Turner, leaves to try and start a new life. Davis, is an odd, dog training chatter box. As husband and wife on the rocks, both leads stick to their guns and deliver with a low pulse and not quite human like Davis.

She invokes more attention for her time. Loud dressing and eager to please, she courts Hurt at all costs. I liked watching her take Hurt out of his comfort zone and not give up on him. She shows us her fear in asking him to stay and not hurt her.

That is her honesty and what perhaps most what Hurt was drawn to (that and perhaps her young son). Overall, the film has some laughs and some good performances but I must say that is mostly stayed at the same temperature and never got too hot or cold.

It starts off flat on a plateau and never gains any ground or climbs any higher. While the writer surely prepared for this reaction and take us into the lives of some interesting people, I needed more of.

..something. Anything to jolt the experience even a little bit would have sufficed. (D).