The Accidental Tourist (1988)

Director:

Lawrence Kasdan

Writers (WGA):

Anne Tyler (book)
Frank Galati (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

23 December 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

An emotionally distant writer of travel guides must carry on with his life after his son is killed and his marriage crumbles.

Plot Keywords:

Travel | Travel Writer | Writing | Human Relationship | Corgi

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

William Hurt	...	Macon Leary
Kathleen Turner	...	Sarah Leary
Geena Davis	...	Muriel Pritchett
Amy Wright	...	Rose Leary
David Ogden Stiers	...	Porter Leary
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Charles Leary
Bill Pullman	...	Julian
Robert Hy Gorman	...	Alexander Pritchett (as Robert Gorman)
Bradley Mott	...	Mr. Loomis
Seth Granger	...	Ethan Leary
Amanda Houck	...	Debbie
Caroline Houck	...	Dorrie
London Nelson	...	Caroline
Gregory Gouyer	...	Paris Boy
Bill Lee Brown	...	Morgue Detective #1 (as W.H. Brown)

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | Brazil:12 | South Korea:15 | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG (Certificate #29469) | Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

While filming The Fly (1986), 'Geena Davis was reading the novel on which this film was based. In fact, she would read it to Jeff Goldblum while he went through the hours-long process of having prosthetic make-up applied to his body. Goldblum also appeared in Lawrence Kasdan's earlier films, The Big Chill (1983) and Silverado (1985).

Goofs:

Continuity: The shaving cream on Macon's face changes as he talks with Sarah.

Quotes:

Macon: Last year, I exp... I lost... I experienced a loss. I lost... I lost my son. He was just... he went into a hamburger joint and someone came, a hold-up man, and shot him. I can't go to dinner with people. I can't... can't talk to their little boys. You have to stop asking me...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "L.A. Law: The Accidental Jurist (#3.12)" (1989)

Soundtrack:

I'M GONNA LASSO SANTA CLAUS

My brief review of the film

A fairly well done human drama about relationships, which manages to tackle the subject matter without becoming a romance, this is a superb film of its sort. The screenplay is excellently written, full of witty humour and biting satire, the film editing is admirable and the performances are excellent. Geena Davis won an Oscar for her role, but it is in fact William Hurt who stands out the most in the cast, in an unflinching but somehow amazingly poignant role. On the down side, the film is slow, a bit too meandering, and the final quarter is not really all that interesting, but overall it is an involving, very worthwhile watch.