Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)

Peggy Sue faints at a Highschool reunion. When she wakes up she finds herself in her own past, just before she finished school.

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

Jerry Leichtling, Arlene Sarner

Stars:

Kathleen Turner, Nicolas Cage, Barry Miller

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kathleen Turner	...	Peggy Sue
Nicolas Cage	...	Charlie Bodell
Barry Miller	...	Richard Norvik
Catherine Hicks	...	Carol Heath
Joan Allen	...	Maddy Nagle
Kevin J. O'Connor	...	Michael Fitzsimmons
Jim Carrey	...	Walter Getz
Lisa Jane Persky	...	Delores Dodge
Lucinda Jenney	...	Rosalie Testa
Wil Shriner	...	Arthur Nagle
Barbara Harris	...	Evelyn Kelcher
Don Murray	...	Jack Kelcher
Sofia Coppola	...	Nancy Kelcher
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Elizabeth Alvorg
Leon Ames	...	Barney Alvorg

Storyline

A 43 year old mother and housewife that's facing divorce is thrust back in time when she tries to plan a high-school reunion. Given the chance to change the course of her life she finds herself making many of the same choices.

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Plot Keywords:

high school | reunion | divorce | high school reunion | 1960s | 

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Taglines:

A film about love and life and the chance to change them both.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 October 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Peggy Sue, su pasado la espera

Filming Locations:

Petaluma, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$41,382,841 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Rastar Pictures, Zoetrope Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The opening shot of the film is an optical illusion. Because the camera and crew would have been seen in the reflection of the mirror had the scene been shot in a conventional manner, there is a body double for Turner (only she can be seen from behind in the shot) on the other side of the "mirror", doing the exact opposite of the star's movements, giving the illusion that Turner and Hunt are reflections, when in fact they are the real actors in tableau with a body double sitting in front of them with her back to the camera in front of an empty mirror frame, framing a hole in the wall of the set.

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Goofs

During the scene where Peggy goes into the record store, the road can be seen through the window. The road has double yellow road striping. MUCDT did not introduce / roll out double yellow striping until 1961 and even then would not have been popular until at least 1963/4. Double white stripes, or single white or yellow would have been valid at the time.

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Quotes

Peggy Sue: We got married too young and ended up blaming each other for all the things we missed.
Carol Heath: So, he started having affairs and you started getting depressed.

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Connections

Referenced in Siskel & Ebert: The Movies That Made Us Critics (1990)

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Soundtracks

"America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)"
(uncredited)
Lyrics by Samuel F. Smith
Music by Thesaurus Musicus
Performed by Kathleen Turner

User Reviews

The Wizard of Oz in Sonoma County, California

Maybe I am a bit prejudiced about the greatness of this film; I grew up in Sonoma County, and the sight of Peggy Sue Kelcher standing on the senior steps at Santa Rosa High School (where I drop off my granddaughters every morning) gives me a great thrill. When I drop them off, I often say, "If you see Peggy Sue, tell her I said hello." And they respond--"We will, grandpa." (And they no doubt think: "What an old cornball.") What a beautiful school! And it still looks just the same as it did in the 80's (or the 60's, for that matter). The place seems to be in a time warp. In a certain sense, taking this movie to heart has mythologized my world. Francis Ford Coppola's talent for finding the perfect settings for his comic philosophic masterpiece is unerring throughout--even if he had to paint the streets in Petaluma purple just to get the exact effect that he wanted.

"Peggy Sue" would be very high on my all-time top 100 film list, if I had such a list. The film is not only funny and soulful, it also directly addresses what is perhaps life's central existential question: "If you had the opportunity to relive your life, making the same mistakes and suffering the same consequences, would you do it?" Remember, in making your decision, that your children's lives, and the loves and friendships you have experienced in your lifetime, are contingent upon your answer.

When you watch "Peggy Sue," notice how the film parallels "The Wizard of Oz." Like Dorothy, Peggy Sue goes 'over the rainbow' into a magical world. It is in fact the world of her own past, but everything has been enchanted and transformed by her adult point-of-view. The Wizard himself, who must contrive to return Peggy Sue back home, is Peggy Sue's kind old grandfather, with his wonderful bogus lodge magic. Her friends at the reunion have their counterparts in the "over the rainbow" world of the past, just as Dorothy's friends on the farm have their counterparts in Oz. When Peggy Sue awakens from her trip, her old stale world and her old disappointing husband appear in a new light. Like Dorothy, Peggy Sue awakens and learns that there is no place like home, and the time-worn cliché is suddenly vital and alive. Like Dorothy, she is once again back in "Kansas," but it is a Kansas in which the characters, and she herself, have assumed new depths of meaning. She is now ready to step into her fate--her new enriched life (and there are also nuances of "It's a Wonderful Life" in the film).

One last comment: nowadays, I cannot watch this "comedy" without tears in my eyes through pretty much the whole movie, and much of this effect is due to the masterful performance of Kathleen Turner as Peggy Sue. Turner is usually on the hysterical edge of breaking down, and her proximity to the precipice is a knot in my gut through the whole movie. It is a shame that she did not win the Best Actress award for this performance.