Reviews Written by Judith

Pale Imitation

Pros: It's updated and fresh

Cons: They can't match the original

This is a remake of the classic "An Affair to Remember" starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. A good try, but it just doesn't compare to the original. Warren Beatty is no Cary Grant--in looks, general appeal, or acting ability. Annette Bening is wonderful, but loses some credibility--it's just hard to believe that this beautiful, competent, all together woman would dump urbane and caring Pierce Brosnan to fall for notoriously unfaithful jock Warren Beatty, whose favorite line seems to be "I love to watch you move." A lot of the dialogue and plot follow the original closely, but several changes were made to modernize the story. I kept wondering how they would pull off the last scene, since Beatty's character was now a retired football player and coach, not a painter. The concept that within those 3 months apart (in the original, it was a more beievable 6 months to adjust their lives), he had coincendentally been asked to paint a picture for a New York restaurant and was able to paint Bening in his grandmother's shawl well eough the she recognized it was far-fetched at best.

The most moving part in the original came when Cary Grant found the portrait in Kerr's bedroom and realized that she was paralyzed. Watch the emotions that play over his face, and then view Beatty's rendition. There is simply no comparison.

IMO, there's also an inside story kind of approach here--we all know that in "real life" Beatty and Bening are married, and I guess the director assumed that this casting would make us believe more in the attraction and deep love developing between these two. I found the attraction between Bening and Michael Douglas in The American President far more believable, and for all I know they may not even like each other in "real life." ...