Dear God (1996)
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1996 Ben Hoffman
DEAR GOD is a pleasant enough comedy and Tom Turner (Greg Kinnear) is a pleasant enough young man and all would have been well if the very talented director had not gone overboard and made the comedy utterly ludicrous and unbelievable. The one saving grace is that of Rebecca Frazen (Laurie Metcalf). Metcalf turns in a most hilarious performance when she suddenly emerges as an attorney in one of the funniest bits of acting I can remember. She is a gem!
The story is simple. Tom Turner is a conman. He owes his "friends" money that he cannot repay. When a judge gives him a choice of sentence, either prison or get a real job, he has to stop and think before opting for the job. Reminded me of Jack Benny when, in one of his stingy skits, he is confronted by a holdup man who says "Your money or your life" and Benny has to stop and think. Turner finally opts for the job.
Turner works in the dead-letter department of the post office with a bunch of weird characters played by Tim Conway, Roscoe Lee Browne, Anna Maria Horsford and several more. Also in the cast are Hector Elizondo as the supervisor, Rue McClanahan and Jack Klugman. Nancy Marchand is the judge at film's end. Maria Petillo is the love interest.
Turner wonders what to do with letters addressed to God from people asking for help. He decides to help them, an unlikely turn for a conman . . . and so no one on the outside believes him. But the film gets crazy when hundreds of postal workers, with their vehicles, surround the courthouse, and others with placards saying "Save Tom" kind of moves the film from funny to utterly silly. On the other hand, it is a feel-good film so let us not carp.
Directed by Garry Marshall.
Rated: 2.5 bytes
4 bytes = Superb 3 bytes = Too good to miss 2 bytes = Average 1 byte = Save your money
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