Corrina, Corrina (for IMDb) I stubbornly refuse to sneer at this 'period' film, which I think was not critically well received. Some of its themes are close to my heart – but even without this I'd be inclined to smile on such a gentle film, with such great – and such consistently miscast – actors. It's the early 60s (isn't it?) and newly widowed Manny Singer (Ray Liotta, for once cast against type) is struggling to hold down a job as a jingles writer, while raising distraught daughter Molly on his own. (** Very minor spoilers from here**) He employs widow Corrina Washington, and their rocky road to an understanding, healing Molly along the way, is the subject of the film, played with gentle humour.
The small pleasures go on and on: Whoopi Goldberg in a film quiet and sedate enough to be a fine showcase for her super-dry wit; Ray Liotta, such a charismatic actor, finally getting to play a good guy, not a wise guy; the lovely child actress Tina Majorino, our eyes and ears in this film; the delightful ice cream hues, shot lovingly by serious cinematographer Bruce Surtees (much favoured by Clint Eastwood I believe); the elegiac inclusion of Don Ameche at the very end of his life; the supporting cast including the wonderful Curtis Williams as Percy. I could go on. All right, so in truth, not a lot happens; so the story isn't very original, more a hymn to a rosily remembered Jewish American childhood than great cinema - but so what? It's a pure pleasure to watch. Only one thing bothers me, given the interesting subtext of the film (**small spoiler**): why exactly, in 1994, did they need to make the kiss take place in near-total darkness (some 30 years after the period depicted in this film)? And whose decision was that?
The small pleasures go on and on: Whoopi Goldberg in a film quiet and sedate enough to be a fine showcase for her super-dry wit; Ray Liotta, such a charismatic actor, finally getting to play a good guy, not a wise guy; the lovely child actress Tina Majorino, our eyes and ears in this film; the delightful ice cream hues, shot lovingly by serious cinematographer Bruce Surtees (much favoured by Clint Eastwood I believe); the elegiac inclusion of Don Ameche at the very end of his life; the supporting cast including the wonderful Curtis Williams as Percy. I could go on. All right, so in truth, not a lot happens; so the story isn't very original, more a hymn to a rosily remembered Jewish American childhood than great cinema - but so what? It's a pure pleasure to watch. Only one thing bothers me, given the interesting subtext of the film (**small spoiler**): why exactly, in 1994, did they need to make the kiss take place in near-total darkness (some 30 years after the period depicted in this film)? And whose decision was that?