Jim Carrey Movie:

Editorial Review:
Francis Ford Coppola's passable 1986 comedy stars Kathleen Turner as an unhappy, middle-aged woman who goes back in time to her high school years and meets her future husband (Nicolas Cage) all over again. A lightweight entry from Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now), the film has some clever, backward-looking jokes (Turner's character laughs incredulously when someone turns up with a brand-new Edsel); and the lead actress does bring intelligence and searching emotions to her role. Cage (Coppola's nephew), who specialized in these dumb-guy roles back then (see Raising Arizona), is in sharp, raw form. Worth a visit, but don't expect to be bowled over this time by the legendary director. The DVD release has optional full-screen and widescreen presentations, theatrical trailer, optional Spanish soundtrack and optional Spanish and French subtitles. --Tom Keogh

Peggy Sue Got Married [Region 2] Reviews:
Peggy Sue Got Married
2009-09-27 - This is a GREAT movie that the whole family can watch and enjoy. It is an older movie, so it actually has a real vocabulary, INSTEAD of a bunch of foul language! Anyone who grew up in the 50's,60's will find it especially endearing. Seeing all the old cars, the way people lived back then, etc...There are a few great lessons of life in this Movie.

A blast from the past!
2009-09-27 - I adore this movie, flaws and all. Yes, there are errors in the plot sequence and the filming. Yes, there are obvious cheesy characteristics that don't seem to belong in a Coppola film; however, this is an endearing film that I have watched many, many times. It never gets old for me.

The retro styling of this film is just part of the draw. I also love the undertones of the film's theme: what if? I think most people look back at all of our stupid adolescent mistakes and wonder what would happen if we could go back and relive it. Peggy Sue gets the chance, and finds that the choices that she originally made were not necessarily bad ones. She and Charlie were drawn each other as teenagers, and even when she relives her high school years, she finds that the same is true. She knows that he's flawed, and she also knows what the future will hold for them, but she couldn't deny that at that point in time, they were drawn toward each other for a reason.

Do things happen for a reason? If Charlie would have sung a Beatles song, would it have been as popular? Peggy Sue tried to alter some of the aspects of her life, but she also seemed to find that she was powerless to alter the major parts. She could chase the "hip thinking" poet, but could she truly be happy with him? Could she walk away from Charlie and find happiness with someone else, thus altering what she knew to be her future?

The plot is a bit hokey, but it does get you thinking. If you did get a chance, would it really be all that different? On one hand, you want to say yes, while on the other hand, we all know that time distorts our perception of things. Would we really do it all differently if given the chance? Perhaps not. It maybe for this question alone that you'd want to watch this film with good friends and ponder that question.

Wonderfully moving comedy
2009-06-06 - Normally I tend to avoid comedies, preferring psychological dramas or action films. So when my partner dragged me to this, I was surprised and delighted as its depth and ironies and multi-layered story.

It starts off in a mid-life crisis: mom is separated and struggling, has a caring child, and wonders if her whole life has been a mistake at her 25th reunion. Suddenly, she finds herself back in time, right at the moment that she made her most important choices.

When she realizes that she may actually be back in time, she injects a kind of nostalgic sarcasm into everything unlike any comedy I have ever seen. It is funny, moving, and deep, quite an amazing combination. You never know if it was just a dream, but suspect it was not.

The acting is absolutely wonderful, too. This may be K Turner's best role: she is at turns beautiful, awkward, sexy, mean, caring, ironic, and loving. And it is all believable. This was also the first film I saw Nicolas Cage in, and he is an amazingly good adolescent of the late 50s. Sophia Coppola is also wonderful.

I was scared I might be disappointed seeing this nearly 20 years after I first saw it, but it moved me just as deeply. This is one of the best comedies I have ever seen, worthy of a talent like Coppola's.

Makes You Think, "What If?"
2009-04-03 -
I can't remember anybody who didn't like this movie when it came out just over 20 years ago. It was very popular, and justifiably so. It had a lot of charm to it and romance, comedy and time-travel seem to be a good mixture.

Also, it had an intriguing premise and made us think about it. If you could go back in time, knowing what you know now, would you do it and what would you do? I'm not talking short periods like in "Groundhog Day" (which was done seven years after this film) but if you could do it ALL over, from a certain point, like high school. Anyway, it's fun to think about.

Nicholas Cage and Kathleen Turner were fun to watch. If you view this film today, be prepared to be shocked how young Cage - and Jim Carrey - look in here. Turner isn't so shocking only because today we don't see her in films regularly as we do those two guys. In fact, Turner was a big star in the '80s and most people remember her looks from that period, beginning with "Body Heat" (1981). She is the star of this film, too.

When I last watched this, in the late 1990s, I found it wasn't as good as I remembered, but it still has a lot of charm and sentiment to it. It helps to be fascinated by time travel, which I am.

If you are a film buff, you'll be shocked at all the familiar faces in this movie, from veteran actors like John Carradine to a young Helen Hunt. Check out the names in this cast! If you haven't seen this film, you owe it to yourself. I'm not saying it's terrific, but it's definitely worth your while not just for the actors but the thought-provoking subject matter.

Turner is practically the only reason to watch this middlebrow film...
2009-03-24 - Nothing more than lightweight Coppola; at times `Peggy Sue Got Married' can be a little too light. It doesn't mean that this is a total waste of time (the lead performance by Kathleen Turner is a gem and deserved that Oscar nomination it was handed) but to say that this is a great comedy is stretching it a bit thin. Maybe that's the real problem.

The film itself is a bit thin.

The film opens with Peggy Sue Bodell going to her 25 year High School reunion fresh off her split from high school sweetheart Charlie Bodell. He cheated and treated her badly and so, with a divorce in the wings, she attends her reunion with her daughter hoping to have a good time and forget about him for the evening, but everything reminds her of her past and soon she is overwhelmed with anxiety.

Then she faints and wakes up a teenager again, back in high school with the chance to do it all over.

The main issue I have is with the script, which doesn't really seem to have a point. Sure, it is supposed to give Peggy a chance to decide if she really wants to live the life she picked for herself, but really; her end decision makes the whole film null and void in my opinion. There just seems to be no real progression of character. Peggy keeps telling others that she is an adult with life experiences and thus she can make a more informed decision now about how she should have lived her life; but she never makes that informed decision. Regardless though, Kathleen Turner sells it gloriously. We believe her, even if the script does not. She is hilarious and honest throughout, capturing the innocence of childhood with the towering knowledge of adulthood. You can feel the weight of the truth on her shoulders yet she manages to mask it with the carelessness of someone experiencing life for the first time.

If it wasn't for Turner I would have turned this off.

Nicolas Cage is not an actor I like. I think he was amazing in three films (count em'...1, 2, 3) and I think he has single-handedly destroyed every other movie he's walked onto. This is not really an exception. He actually gives a decent performance, but his performance is so overly annoying that he makes it hard to pay attention. I think my wife described him as `disgusting' here and I somewhat have to agree.

Look out for a slew of familiar faces, all before they became really familiar. Aside from Turner and Cage there is screen goddess Joan Allen in a small role as Peggy's friend Maddy, as well as Jim Carry who plays Charlie's friend Walter and even Sophia Coppola (amazing director, horrible actress) plays Peggy's kid sister.

In the end I say, watch the movie for Turner. It's lightweight fare that can be entertaining, and some of the dialog is witty and fresh, but don't expect anything remotely profound (which is sad because it had the promise to be really smart).