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Title: Griffin & Phoenix (2006)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Amanda Peet | ... | ||
| Dermot Mulroney | ... |
Griffin
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| Sarah Paulson | ... |
Peri
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| Blair Brown | ... |
Eve
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| Alison Elliott | ... |
Terry
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| Lois Smith | ... |
Dr. Imberman
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| Jonah Meyerson | ... |
Kirk
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| Max Morris | ... |
Andrew
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| Simon Jones | ... |
Professor
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| Jesse Tyler Ferguson | ... |
Student
(as Jesse Ferguson)
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| Susan Pourfar | ... |
Waitress
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Omar Scroggins | ... |
Movie Usher
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| Adam Kulbersh | ... |
Stu Knoepflemacher
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| Adriane Lenox | ... |
Doctor
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| Novella Nelson | ... |
Maya Restaurant Owner
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Storyline
Griffin is divorced, living in a flat in Manhattan while his sons and ex live in the family home in Westchester. He gets bad news from his oncologist: cancerous lesions have spread through his chest, and he has only a year or so to live. He audits a psychology class on death and dying at a nearby college where he chats up a woman who turns out to be an assistant dean. She's Phoenix; she smiles but keeps her distance, warming to him slowly. He tells her nothing of his situation. At his apartment a few days later, she finds a stash of books on death, dying, and terminal illness: will she put two and two together, and what will she do about it? Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
Taglines:
A love story with no expectations.Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated PG-13 for sexual content, some thematic elements, and brief strong language | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
18 January 2007 (Russia) See more »Also Known As:
Love in Manhattan See more »Filming Locations:
New York City, New York, USACompany Credits
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Dolby DigitalColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1Did You Know?
Goofs
When the doctor is showing an X-Ray at the beginning of the scene, she puts the exam backwards, meaning the right side is on the left, thus changing the position of the heart - a mistake any med student would notice. She also says that there are several lesions in the chest, whereas the x-ray appears to be normal from the distance the viewer can see. Additionally, an x-ray is not the best exam to identify this kind of cancer, it would usually be a CT scan - an exam available in the time the story is being told. See more »Quotes
Phoenix: [while they're sitting on a bench waiting for the sun to rise] You ever not want a new day to start?Griffin: Why do you think we're facing in this direction?
See more »
Soundtracks
"Rain"Performed by Patty Griffin
Played when Griffin goes to get the Gorilla costume
See more »
GRIFFIN & PHOENIX is a quiet little made for television film that touches the vulnerable heart. Originally written in 1976 as a television film by John Hill, this thirty-years-later version holds up well, and the fact that audiences will still opt for sensitive stories that treat difficult topics in a mature manner, adding warmly humorous touches to a potentially maudlin idea, speaks well for our continuing tastes.
From the opening frames of the film we learn that Griffin (Dermot Mulroney) has inoperable cancer: his frank and compassionate physician (Lois Smith) aligns him with reality. Griffin is a divorced father of two boys and his first attempt to find meaning in his limited time is to spend time with them, an attempt partially thwarted by his ex-wife. Once a workaholic, Griffin attends a class on death and dying at the university and there he meets the rather strange and isolated Phoenix (Amanda Peet). Griffin's new take on life encourages him to go after the seemingly impenetrable Phoenix and through a series of wildly frivolous escapades he courts her and they gradually fall in love - something neither felt they could do. They cope with issues of intimacy and finally Phoenix shares her secret with Griffin, a secret that plunges them headlong into a fully blossomed romance. How the two cope with the inevitable is well handled, rarely bordering on sappy, and always holding our compassion.
Director Ed Stone paces the film well, inserting moments of extended silence to match the emotional atmosphere, allowing breathing space. Both Peet and Mulroney create believable three-dimensional characters and are well supported by such solid actors as Lois Smith, Sarah Paulson, and Novella Nelson. The story may have sad aspects, but the cast always allows the humor inherent in any life event to come through. And that is one of the several reasons the film works well. Grady Harp