DAYTRIPPERS
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1997 Ben Hoffman
A "daytripper," I have learned, is someone who cheats on a spouse, usually around lunch time or while "staying late at the office." THE DAYTRIPPERS is a delightfully humorous look at one family when wife Eliza (Hope Davis) who thinks her marriage is just great comes across what may very well be a love poem from someone signed "Sandy" to her husband, Louis (Stanley Tucci).
What is a shocked, suspicious wife to do but run off to her parents' home, Rita (Anne Meara) and Jim (Pat McNamara) to seek advice. Jim is the downtrodden, silent husband who never comments about anything. Wife Rita makes up for his silence by never shutting up for a moment, voicing opinions on everything and expecting her every command to be obeyed.
When Eliza arrives, she is met not only by her parents but also by her sister Jo (Parker Posey) and Jo's boyfriend Carl (Liev Schreiber). After reading the poem, mom Rita decides that this calls for immediate action, ordering the five to hop into a cab and go to the office where Louis works. Louis is not there; he has been given the day off. Wifey did not know he was going to be off.. Smell a rat? Something rotten in Denmark? Nothing to do but track that daytripper and find out what is going on.
Anne Meara's "mom" is the film's main character . . . and "character" is the precise word. She is an overbearing, driven, take-no-prisoners Mom. Meara is superb; good to see her in action again. Everyone in the cast is just right but the star is really the wonderfully realistic dialogue by writer Greg Mottola. . . and the film's surprise ending. All the speaking lines ring true, a great plus for any film.
What happens when the family finally finds the elusive daytripper? Why not see the film and enjoy it and laugh as I did, right down to the last moments. Excellent.
Written and directed by Greg Mottola.
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Ben Hoffman
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