Fall (1997)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Eric Schaeffer

Writer:

Eric Schaeffer (writer)

Release Date:

20 June 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Cab driver Michael and supermodel Sarah fall in love while her gorgeous husband Phillippe is in Madrid for two months.

Plot Keywords:

Supermodel | Poetry | Female Nudity | Male Female Relationship | Nudity

Cast

Eric Schaeffer	...	Michael
Amanda De Cadenet	...	Sarah
Rudolf Martin	...	Phillipe
Francie Swift	...	Robin
Lisa Vidal	...	Sally
Roberta Maxwell	...	Joan Alterman
Jose Yenque	...	Scasse
Josip Kuchan	...	Zsarko
Scarlett Johansson	...	Little Girl
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ellen Barber	...	Woman
Willis Burks II	...	Baja
Scott Cohen	...	Derick
Roi King	...	Coworker at cab company
A.J. Lopez	...	Bellboy
Casper Martinez	...	Church Goer
Arthur J. Nascarella	...	Anthony the Maitre D' (as Arthur Nascarella)
Rockets Redglare	...	Performance Priest
Lou Torres	...	Day Player

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Five Minutes Before the Miracle

Quotes:

Michael: Why did you come here?
Sarah: I came by accident.
Michael: The only accident is you're leaving, but don't worry 'coz it's never going to happen again.

Soundtrack:

Serena

Pretentious, masturbatory claptrap

Writer/director/producer/star Eric Schaeffer bears the full responsibility for this ego trip, in which he plays a taxi driver who wins the heart of a supermodel. Now, the "average-joe-romances-star" theme has been around nearly as long as Hollywood itself...but what sets this movie apart from others in the same vein (e.g., "Notting Hill") is that Schaeffer's "average joe," cabbie Michael Shivers, is the most relentlessly unappealing romantic lead I can recall ever seeing on screen. From the first minute of the film, where he's needlessly busting the chops of some hapless delivery guy, Michael is immediately unlikeable. More than anything else, Michael resembles Joe Spinell's character (another cab driver) in the B-movie "The Last Horror Film": an unpleasant loser with delusions of grandeur, fixated on a glamorous celebrity. The main difference is that Spinell was able to make you feel just a tiny bit of sympathy for his character, creepy as he was.

Schaeffer would have you believe that Michael wins her over because he's a great romantic (but his extravagant gestures are only laughable), an insightful, moving poet (but his words are over-florid, leaden chunks of purple prose), and a fantastic lover (but Schaeffer's love scenes, especially the first one, more closely resemble rape scenes). That's three strikes, Schaeffer...you're out.