moonspinner55 Review of Dragonfly

Dragonfly (1976)

Another (failed) attempt to mold Beau Bridges into leading man material...

[2/10 · 3 October 2009]

A young mental patient, just released from the hospital, returns to his hometown in the hopes of locating the remains of his family. Slightly pedestrian account, with a thin and overly-sensitive plot which goes around in circles, does get a big boost from lovely Susan Sarandon as a woman who becomes involved. In the central role, hard-working but bland Beau Bridges fails to register. Having come from a Hollywood family, actor Beau Bridges got off to a stumbling start in teen flicks like "Village of the Giants" and "The Explosive Generation", but by the early 1970s was appearing in acclaimed films such as "Gaily, Gaily" and "The Landlord". However, he never quite found his niche in character parts--and he doesn't have the dynamics needed for a leading man. He flounders in this drama (also known as "One Summer Love"), and was certainly not helped by Gilbert Cates' by-the-numbers direction. * from ****