Zach Braff Movie:

Blue Moon Reviews:
A good heart in need of some oomph
2004-11-01 - This is a pleasant little low-budget film about a just-retired man and his lovely wife (Ben Gazzara and Rita Moreno) who just don't know what to do with themselves now that the gentleman's successful career in the garment industry has come to an end. As his inactivity-induced depression drags their relationship down into an ugly bickering mire, they (she) decide(s) that they need a trip to their cabin in the Catskills. While there she secretly wishes that they could "remember what we meant to each other," certainly a fond thought for those of us who have been married for many years.

But true to what he calls "the magic of the mountains," the wish actually comes true when a pair of young visitors turns up late that first night at their cabin.....and it turns out these are their younger selves, transported via some kind of wish-fulfillment time warp, and the four talk out their problems with the relationship that one couple is about to embark upon and that the other couple is struggling due to a major life change.

Really, the story in general is a winner, and if the above description appeals to you, then the film is worth watching once for that. Lovely young Alanna Ulbach is terrific as the young Moreno character, and Brian Vincent does a good job too as the young man Gazzara once was. Watch for cameos from Burt Young and Christopher Penn (uncredited).

The problems I have with the finished product are really many. First, the racial, class, political, and similar cliches here are multiple. The hot-blooded young Hispanic woman and her overbearing, overprotective father with servants, and his wife who finds almost everything beneath her; the hard-drinking Italian working class father whose story plays a major role in the final one-third of the film, the only plot twist in this script that really completely works; the way the characters so easily believe that they are actually meeting their own selves decades apart; the conservative portrayed as a nasty money-grubber and the liberal as an idealistic young fella with a heart of gold; etc.

The film is so full of unimaginative scenes, characters, and situations that I was bored to death for almost the first two-thirds of the film. When something imaginative does happen to the characters, it's handled with an equal lack of imagination and style.

Like I said, the story has a good heart, and because of that probably the ladies will like this one better than the guys. Thankfully many of them seem willing to overlook a lot of rough edges if a guy's heart is in the right place, and I find that tendency often rolls over into their appreciation of entertainment as well.

Or maybe it's just that I'm only 45 years old and it'll be a couple of decades before I can fully appreciate the lead characters' situation. All I can say is, the only reason I stuck it out to the final credits is that there was nothing better on TV and I had no detergent to do the laundry while my wife was gone to town for a couple of hours.

Once in a Blue Moon
2003-07-29 - The movie uses a sci fi twist to make a point about love, commitment, relationships, and physical and emotional child abuse. I like this movie very much. It sets up a mysterious and romantic tone very well, it is well-acted, and the scenes are perfectly timed to maintain a good pace.

A Really Sweet Movie
2002-01-21 - It's the kind of movie that is so warm and humorous that couples absolutely have to rent it. I saw it in LA with my husband and even he got a little teary. I think the film is especially great for couples making up after a fight. Trust me on that one!

Blue Moon
2001-12-25 - I caught this movie in New York and I am looking forward to the video! Ben Gazzara and Rita Moreno are so perfect together. It is a film that will rent well to the romantic in us all. And the youngsters, Brian Vincent and Alanna Ubach bring a sweet charm to this lovely film. Will be especially well recieved on television I believe.