The Accidental Tourist (1988)

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

Director:

Lawrence Kasdan

Writers:

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

Stars:

William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Geena Davis

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

After the death of his son, Macon Leary, a travel writer, seems to be sleep walking through life. Macon's wife, seems to be having trouble too, and thinks it would be best if the two would just split up. After the break up, Macon meets a strange outgoing woman, who seems to bring him back down to earth. After starting a relationship with the outgoing woman, Macon's wife seems to think that their marriage is still worth a try. Macon is then forced to deal many decisions

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Plot Keywords:

travel | travel writer | travel guide | suitcase | dog | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 January 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

O Turista Acidental

Filming Locations:

324 Hawthorne Road, Roland Park, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$32,632,093 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While filming The Fly, 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 and Silverado.

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Goofs

After returning from England, Macon reaches into his pocket for his keys twice.

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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. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I'm just not up to this. Do you hear ? Every day, I tell myself it's time to be getting over this - I know that people expect it of me. But if anything I'm getting worse. The first ...

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Best Films of 1988 (1988)

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Soundtracks

"I'M GONNA LASSO SANTA CLAUS"
Written by Frankie Adams and 'Wilbur Jones'

User Reviews

Superb Movie with lots of food for thought.

This is a wonderful film by Lawrence Kasdan about a man who withdraws from his relationships with other people (and the world) after a terrible family tragedy. William Hurt plays the character of 'Macon', a man who writes books for people who don't want to travel and has become as grey and dull as his suit. His wife Sarah (the vibrant Kathleen Turner) separates from him and after an accident he goes to live with his family who live a life organised by his sister, Rose (Amy Wright) and settles into a dull routine. Even his dog seems to be turning against him, then he meets Muriel (Geena Davis) when boarding his dog and she not only teaches the dog new tricks but also shows Macon that his ways can be changed too. William Hurt gives a truly marvellous performance as a man who has given up on life and has become almost catatonic. This is a film that gets better with each subsequent viewing, containing much food for thought especially for anyone that wishes for a 'safe' and 'planned' life. The wonderful dreamlike score is by John Williams and it was nominated for an Oscar amongst many nominations for this film. Thankfully this outstanding movie is now available on DVD and in the correct viewing format.