Review of The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) by Adam R — 23 Jul 2011
This and Pleasantville are both about disrupted routine and comparing the fictional world of 30's movies or 50's TV to real life. Woody Allen doesn't appear in this one. But a year after Broadway Danny Rose, Mia Farrow turns in another excellent performance.
Dianne Wiest is on hand too in her first Allen film. Jeff Daniels plays a dual role with a lot of youthful energy. I was tickled by Allen's recreation of Depression Era life and 1930's high society movie fantasy! Farrow as Cecilia escapes her poor hum-drum existence by going to the movies.
Daniels as Tom Baxter is an "honest, dependable, courageous, romantic" movie character in a pith helmet. During one "performance" he notices Cecilia out in the audience and steps off the screen into the real world.
The adventures of the fictional character trying to adjust to the real world are hilarious. Later, Daniels as Gil Shepherd, the actor, is brought to Cecilia's town by the movie's producers to find his creation and convince him to go back in the movie to finish the story.
The actor's self-absorption and ability to charm Cecilia makes for an interesting shift between Daniels' two characters. Meanwhile, the rest of the movie cast is lost and unable to continue with the scene, they sit around making witty comments about the lives of movie characters and heckling the audience as some audience members heckle back.
It's a puzzling situation for the fictional characters and curious audience members alike, actually interacting with each other. Cecilia falls in love with both versions of Jeff Daniels and must choose between the fictional and the real.
But, is the real life man any less fictional in the end?
This review of The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) was written by Adam R on 23 Jul 2011.
The Purple Rose of Cairo has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
