Starring: Marv Albert, Charles Barkley, Robert Costanzo, Sean Elliott, William Hickey Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, HiFi Sound, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Turner Home Ent Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: January 18, 2000 Running Time: 101 minutes Theatrical Release Date: May 19, 1995
Amazon.com: Billy Crystal plays Mickey, a basketball referee who has to accompany his estranged father's body to France, where the old man requested to be buried with the other members of his D-Day platoon. Unfortunately for Mickey, the airline loses his body. Fortunately for Mickey, this leads him to meet Ellen (Debra Winger), an airline executive who takes personal charge of the case and even joins him at the funeral. A whirlwind Paris romance leads to marriage, but that's when the complications begin... The story of Mickey and Ellen's marriage is recounted by their friends (played by Joe Mantegna, Cynthia Stevenson, Julie Kavner, Richard Masur, John Spencer, and Cathy Moriarty) as they wait for Mickey and Ellen to arrive at a dinner party. And of course these friends have their own stories, which are played out in witty shorthand as they bicker about who's going to tell the next part of the Mickey/Ellen saga. Forget Paris is uneven (unsurprisingly, Winger is stronger in the dramatic sections and Crystal in the comic parts, a schism that takes its toll on their chemistry), but its best parts hold up, even if the whole is shaky. Plus, the movie's theme (that romantic memories aren't what makes a marriage work, you have to live in the present) is explored with conviction and tenderness. --Bret Fetzer
Product Description: The romantic life of NBA referee Billy Crystal is on the rebound when he falls for airline employee Debra Winger. Crystal also directs this transatlantic comedy slam dunk with top-notch supporting cast of comedy pros including Joe Mantegna Cathy Moriarty and William Hickey.Running Time: 103 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 053939250121
Best movie no one seems to know about. Our whole family enjoys this movie and we like to see good movies - for what ever reason few people have heard of this great Billy Crystal movie. They don't even list the main characters here on Amazon, Billy Crystal and Deborah Winger (not Marv albert & Charles Barkley they only have small cameo rolls if that). This is a story that has enough story and sports that guys love it. I love the way the supporting cast tells the story about what has happened to the two main characters. It is not predictable.
An okay romantic comedy... There wasn't a whole lot of romance going on but "love" was in the air or should I say Paris. Would have been better if it was a bit more cleaner. (tv g works great) I thought Billy Crystal and Debra Winger worked well together! It is not a family movie.
inspirational and encoraging for anyone struggling to keep a relationship Over looked romantic film destined to become a classic with a grade A cast and intelligent imaginative script! Look for many director and plot misdirections to keep you interested, without being confused. GREAT date flick and a MUST WATCH for anyoneone struggling to keep the "till death do us part" FEASABLE.
An Unfortunate Lack of Chemistry Between an Ill-Used Winger and a Battery-Operated Crystal I can see why Debra Winger went into a self-imposed exile after this tiresome 1995 studio product, as she looks ill-at-ease as a romantic comedy lead. Here is an accomplished actress who seizes roles with a palpable life force when she is in the right vehicle. However, Winger seems lost playing against the stand-up shenanigans of Billy Crystal, and consequently they never really connect in any believable way. Much of the blame has to be placed on Crystal, who not only starred but also directed and co-wrote the film with Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. He seems intent on doing a retread of "When Harry Met Sally" but this time following a seemingly incompatible couple through marital discord.
Crystal plays Mickey Gordon, an NBA referee who tries to abide by his estranged father's wishes to be buried in France. The airline has unfortunately lost the casket, and their Paris-based customer relations executive Ellen Andrews tries to correct things for Mickey. Of course, they fall in love since it is Paris, and they get married almost immediately. Complications ensue with Mickey on the road and Ellen unable to conceive a baby. The central conceit of the film is its framing device, a dinner where a group of their friends congregate and share their remembrances of Mickey and Ellen's courtship and marital problems. How they are able to relay such intimate details is never really addressed since it's a plotting contrivance we are supposed to accept.
The other problem is that Crystal is not really acting here but performing his comedy routine as Mickey. Many of his lines sound overly familiar with many of the jokes having a forced feeling, and the role is virtually interchangeable with his Harry from the earlier film. Nevertheless, there are some truly funny bits, such as the running gag with Ellen's senile father (played by a befuddled William Hickey) repeating road signs in the car and the scene with the pigeon getting stuck to the side of Ellen's head. But it's not nearly enough. A solid supporting cast has been assembled as the friends - Joe Mantegna, Julie Kavner (particularly funny), Richard Masur, Cathy Moriarty, John Spencer, Cynthia Stevenson - though they act more like a chorus to the proceedings. The inevitable ending feels hollow since the relationship never felt that resonant. Despite some attempts at serious moments during the second half, this is the type of lightweight film that doesn't linger too long in one's memory. The 2000 DVD has no extras.
Romanticism has its own limits!
A romantic comedy, that deals with the end of the honeymoon and shows where the real marriage begins. Billy Cristal and Debra Winger add substance and spices to this classic comedy of mistakes around the figure of a Basket trainer who must leave as a modern gypsy.
To my mind one of the last original comedies in the nineties.
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