Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

mark.waltz Over the top soap opera nonsense makes this one of the worst "Grand Hotel in the Sky" themed films. While it obviously was not used in the writing of that 1980 comedy classic, it's the only way to stomach the tepid plot line, clichéd characters and wretched pacing of the film. So why did I put myself through this film yet again, for the third time? To find some humor in my way of re- looking at it, and to once again catch one of my favorite comic character actresses, Patsy Kelly, rising back up after nearly two decades away.Yes, the comic sidekick of Harlow, Faye, Davies, Todd and other blonde 30's bombshells, is listed way down the credit list. She's far more interesting than the lead characters of Efrem Zimbalist and Rhonda Fleming whose marital troubles set up the story, and the struggles of pilot Dana Andrews, once again facing "Zero Hour". It was a serious plot twist of that 1957 sleeper, more famous because of the big twist being used in "Airplane". When his back story is explained, it takes the movie off course, with strange bleeds and unappealing unknown actors as his wife and son.The threat here is a mid-air collision, not food poisoning. With both Andrews and Zimbalist thinking of their personal issues while flying, no one in the sky is safe! There's also Troy Donahue as a sailor flying home on a military plane with Zimbalist, John Kerr as the co-pilot, Keenan Wynn as a TV writer sitting next to a mystery woman who knew him in her past, and Anne Francis as the stewardess, all of their names showing up in 3D style in the credits. Really ridiculous dialog, especially the two strangers sitting next to each other imagining what the other one is thinking. It seems to have inspired one of the many gags in "Airplane!" This has some of the same aspects of the 1954 blockbuster "The High and the Mighty" missing that fabulous score and the interesting assortment of unique characters. When it tries to be funny or topical or poignant, it falls flat. Flashbacks to earlier situations makes the structure jumbled. But that's not surprising, with more than a dozen stories to try to follow, to try and accept unbelievable dialog, and to try to deal with the weird way the story takes off, and ultimately belly flops.

dglink A mother lode of clichés mined by Jim Abrahams and the Zucker brothers for their 1980 classic, "Airplane," "The Crowded Sky" is entertaining in its own right. A shameless pastiche of flashbacks erupts when two planes find themselves on a collision course in the skies over the American heartland. Dying wives, vengeful mistresses, love-starved spinsters, marriage-crazy stewardesses, and tough agents spar with lovelorn husbands, ham actors, marriage-shy co-pilots, unforgiving fathers, and cads on the make. Director Joseph Pevney juggles the familiar sub-plots competently, and viewers are unlikely to be bored, although they may have to stifle a giggle or two.While not as stellar as "The High and the Mighty" or "Airport," the cast does include some solid actors from the period. Characters rarely develop in films like this, and most are little more than stereotyped sketches. Not surprisingly, the performances run the gamut from professional to embarrassing. The pros fare best led by Dana Andrews, the by-the-book TransState captain; Patsy Kelly, a blowzy chain-smoking agent; and Rhonda Fleming, a sexy scheming wife. Although the film's credits include Efrem Zimbalist, Troy Donahue, Keenan Wynn, and Anne Francis, many of the rest never became names.The special effects use obvious model airplanes on wires and are a dated delight. Also dated and delightful is the depiction of flying. The passengers all dress in suit and tie; the stewardesses take tickets aboard the plane; the captain personally points out the oxygen canister to an interested passenger; a smiling stewardess cracks jokes about false teeth while instructing passengers on emergency procedures; air traffic controllers work 40 hours without a break; passengers board without security checks. What a wonderful experience flying used to be; beyond slick obvious entertainment, "The Crowded Sky" has the added dimension of evoking nostalgia for a vanished way of travel.

moonspinner55 A commercial DC-6 with 62 passengers, flying too high due to the inexplicable actions of arrogant pilot Dana Andrews, is soon in the pathway of a two-pilot Navy jet that has lost all radio communications. The wooden performances and variable special effects of "The Crowded Sky" simply add to its kitsch factor; some audiences can't help laughing at it, but nevertheless enjoying themselves at the same time. The pilots and nearly all the passengers have a great deal on their minds, and the running theme of the close-up followed by the ominous voice-over followed by the flashback lapses into amusing self-parody. Handsome Warner Bros. production, with tidy airplane interiors and all the men wearing skinny black ties, provides instant nostalgia, while the overripe dialogue is frequently laugh-out-loud funny. **1/2 from ****

edwagreen Absolutely a miserable film in the airplane disaster genre. It's so bad, not because of the cast, but rather the most unbelievably ridiculous writing. Everyone has his own story here, and the plot becomes more ridiculous as the picture goes on.An older looking Dana Andrews found fault with his young son from the time of the latter's birth. You never saw a wife die so quickly in this totally waste of effort film. Jealous of John Kerr, who gave loving attention at the funeral of Andrews' wife, Andrews makes sure that Kerr never becomes a captain.In the other plane, Efraim Zimbalist plays a pilot with a loving young daughter. The latter worships the ground he walks on. He is married to a possessive, manipulative woman. (Rhonda Fleming.) Their marriage has gone nowhere. His passenger is Troy Donahue. We never knew why Donahue had to get home to Washington so quickly. By the end of the film, we couldn't care less.Kerr has a problem. Should he continue as a pilot or become an artist, as his asylum-resident father has been. The latter in a catatonic state has resumed painting. What? The guy doesn't even know what planet he is on.What were the writers thinking when they wrote this garbage? None of the plots or subplots are carefully examined.No wonder that John Kerr eventually quit acting. With a picture like this, forget it.