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IMDb > Parallel Lives (1994) (TV)

Parallel Lives (1994) (TV) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
4.5/10   173 votes
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Down 9% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Linda Yellen
Writers:
Gisela Bernice (writer)
Linda Yellen (story)
Contact:
View company contact information for Parallel Lives on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
14 August 1994 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Thriller
Plot:
This is a nostalgic look at the typical "Class Reunion" of a group after about a quarter of a century of going their separate ways after graduation... more | add synopsis
User Comments:
Beware! Improv at work... more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

James Belushi ... Nick Dimas

Liza Minnelli ... Stevie Merrill
Michael O'Rourke ... Kirk O'Brien
James Brolin ... Professor Spencer Jones

Helen Slater ... Elsa Freedman

LeVar Burton ... Dr. Franklin Carter

Jack Klugman ... Senator Robert Ferguson

Grant Varjas ... Grayson Stone
Patricia Wettig ... Rebecca Ferguson Stone

Ben Gazzara ... Charlie Duke

Mira Sorvino ... Matty Derosa
Lindsay Crouse ... Una Pace

Paul Sorvino ... Ed Starling

Matthew Perry ... Willie Morrison

David Lansbury ... Tim Farley
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Additional Details

Runtime:
105 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Sound Mix:
Stereo
Certification:
Australia:M | USA:R
Filming Locations:
California, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Almost entirely improvised by the actors. more
Soundtrack:
Parallel Lives more

FAQ

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful:-
Beware! Improv at work..., 18 May 2001
Author: Jordan-36 (ugtheatre@hotmail.com) from Richardson, TX

Improv is one of those wonderful acting tools that, in recent times, has grown to become painfully overrated and overused. While occasionally, a Robert De Niro or Harvey Keitel might be able to pull it off, improvisation is a tricky thing to make compelling and in the wrong hands, it can be painfully pretentious, dull, and trite. Parallel Lives is a film that was improved by the wrong hands.

Basically, the plot deals with a bunch of people gathering for a fraternity/sorority reunion. Secrets come out, subplot converge, and Treat Williams ends up getting murdered. Jack Klugman shows up as a senile Senator, Mira Sorvino gets to look sexy as hustler Ben Gazzara's blonde girlfriend, and Dudley Moore floats around as some bizarre fantasy creature. Oh, and Jim Belushi's there for some reason. Technically, he's the focus of the film's plot. Too bad that plot vanishes under a heap of acting exercises.

Apparently, director Linda Yellen specializes in making improvised films -- all featuring her all-star gallery of friends attempting to impress us with how witty and insightful they are. This film has an amazingly diverse cast

-- famous non-stars and has-beens continually wander through, creating the impression that the film was shot in a West Hollywood Unemployment agency. Along with those already mentioned, the film features everyone from Liza to Levar Burton to Ally Sheedy to Robert Wagner to a bunch of other actors no sane person would currently pay money to see. Imagine that, folks, 20 or so unimportant actors getting together to make one unimportant movie.

Its a pity that with such a huge cast, nobody apparently had anything to say.

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