THAT OLD FEELING
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1997 Ben Hoffman
There are very few comedians I've admired more than Carl Reiner. Personable, obviously a sweet man, a terrific sense of humor, he was a wit and comedian. His contributions to the Show of Shows and The Sid Caesar Show cannot be topped. But that was back some 25-35 years ago. Of late he has given us directorial mediocrities such as Fatal Instinct and Sibling Rivalry. What happened to the humor in Oh God! (1977), The Jerk (1979), All Of Me (1984) and the hilarious, outrageous (for 1970) Where's Poppa?
THAT OLD FEELING is a rehash of all the old "Romantic Comedies" so that even such natural comedians as Bette Midler, aided and abetted by Dennis Farina (GET SHORTY), can do little to spark the film. There are some funny lines but the situations are so absurd that it is more of a farce than a romantic comedy which it obviously intended to be. . . and that is a pity.
Lily (Midler) and Dan (Farina) have been divorced twelve years and they are both happily enjoying their lives. Lily is a movie star, Dan is a journalist. Lily has taken a new husband, Alan, (David Rasche) who is an author of best-selling pop psychology while it is evident that if anyone needs psychological help, he is a prime candidate.
Dan, too, has re-married. His new spouse is the lovely Rowena (Gail O'Grady). So everyone should be happy, right? WRONG. Lily and Dan have a daughter, Molly (Paula Marshall), and Molly is about to marry Keith (Jamie Denton), as boring as they come, who insists on a big, formal wedding. That means Molly's parents have to be invited but when they get together they always fight and that will play havoc with the wedding Molly warns Keith. And that is the setup for THAT OLD FEELING.
Directed by Carl Reiner
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Copyright 1997 Ben Hoffman
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