This film is a miserable failure.
The movie opens with Ted and Marion Cole (Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger) and their 4 year old daughter, Ruth, living in a beautiful seaside setting. We learn that Ted and Marion had two teenage sons, Thomas and Timothy, who died tragically. It is their deaths that overshadow the whole movie. Ruth was born after the boys died. Ted loves Ruth; however, Marion is sorry that she gave birth to her.
To earn a living Ted writes and illustrates abstract children's books. For his private pleasure and to satisfy his private demons he draws and then beds all the women that he can find: mothers, daughters and matrons. During the course of the movie he draws a 50 year woman with ponderous breasts. The woman is played by Mimi Rogers. The audience never really sees any of his drawings except for one: the lips of her vagina. Weird? Yes!
Ted and Marion's marriage is on the rocks.
Ted hires 20 year old Eddie O'Hare to be his "literary assistant" for the summer. Eddie is an aspiring writer and hopes to improve his craft by having Ted critique his writings. In fact, Ted has hired Eddie to drive him around and to sleep with his wife, Marion.
One day Marion catches Eddie masterbating. It's an embarrassing scene; however, Marion saves the day. Eddie confesses how much Marion attracts him and Marion decides to end his virginity and becomes his mistress. Marion's objective is to punish her husband, Ted. This becomes clear when she gets noisy while having sex. The noise attracts the attention of her 4 year old daughter in the next room who enters the bedroom through the "conveniently-unlocked-door" and catches the naked couple in the act. Ruth tells her father, Ted, who confronts Eddie; however he is not angry with Eddie for sleeping with his wife. What does miff him is the fact that Marion let Ruth watch them doing it "doggy style".
Marion is played by Kim Basinger. Basinger is over 50; however, in fairness, she looks good. That said, how would feel if you saw a 20 year old boy having repeated intercourse with a women who is almost old enough to be his grandmother. It borders on the obscene and that's the feeling that the whole movie engenders.
In the end Marion leaves Ted and abandons her 4 year old daughter. When she leaves she takes all the photos of the dead boys including the negatives. She has humiliated Ted by sleeping with Eddie all summer and now she's punishing him further by leaving him with nothing by which to remember the boys. But why is she being so vicious?
Finally, at the end of the movie, we finally learn that Marion blames Ted for the deaths of the boys, Timothy and Thomas. The boys died in a fatal car accident and Ted may have contributed to the accident. Ted tells the story but, amazingly, he shows almost no feelings of guilt while telling the story.
That's it. That's the whole movie and the final outcome: Marion has gone away. Eddie has gone home and Ted continues raising his 4 year old daughter.
The movie is two dimensional. The winner is Eddie. He had great sex. I was jealous.
The book may be better but I won't waste my time reading it.
The movie opens with Ted and Marion Cole (Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger) and their 4 year old daughter, Ruth, living in a beautiful seaside setting. We learn that Ted and Marion had two teenage sons, Thomas and Timothy, who died tragically. It is their deaths that overshadow the whole movie. Ruth was born after the boys died. Ted loves Ruth; however, Marion is sorry that she gave birth to her.
To earn a living Ted writes and illustrates abstract children's books. For his private pleasure and to satisfy his private demons he draws and then beds all the women that he can find: mothers, daughters and matrons. During the course of the movie he draws a 50 year woman with ponderous breasts. The woman is played by Mimi Rogers. The audience never really sees any of his drawings except for one: the lips of her vagina. Weird? Yes!
Ted and Marion's marriage is on the rocks.
Ted hires 20 year old Eddie O'Hare to be his "literary assistant" for the summer. Eddie is an aspiring writer and hopes to improve his craft by having Ted critique his writings. In fact, Ted has hired Eddie to drive him around and to sleep with his wife, Marion.
One day Marion catches Eddie masterbating. It's an embarrassing scene; however, Marion saves the day. Eddie confesses how much Marion attracts him and Marion decides to end his virginity and becomes his mistress. Marion's objective is to punish her husband, Ted. This becomes clear when she gets noisy while having sex. The noise attracts the attention of her 4 year old daughter in the next room who enters the bedroom through the "conveniently-unlocked-door" and catches the naked couple in the act. Ruth tells her father, Ted, who confronts Eddie; however he is not angry with Eddie for sleeping with his wife. What does miff him is the fact that Marion let Ruth watch them doing it "doggy style".
Marion is played by Kim Basinger. Basinger is over 50; however, in fairness, she looks good. That said, how would feel if you saw a 20 year old boy having repeated intercourse with a women who is almost old enough to be his grandmother. It borders on the obscene and that's the feeling that the whole movie engenders.
In the end Marion leaves Ted and abandons her 4 year old daughter. When she leaves she takes all the photos of the dead boys including the negatives. She has humiliated Ted by sleeping with Eddie all summer and now she's punishing him further by leaving him with nothing by which to remember the boys. But why is she being so vicious?
Finally, at the end of the movie, we finally learn that Marion blames Ted for the deaths of the boys, Timothy and Thomas. The boys died in a fatal car accident and Ted may have contributed to the accident. Ted tells the story but, amazingly, he shows almost no feelings of guilt while telling the story.
That's it. That's the whole movie and the final outcome: Marion has gone away. Eddie has gone home and Ted continues raising his 4 year old daughter.
The movie is two dimensional. The winner is Eddie. He had great sex. I was jealous.
The book may be better but I won't waste my time reading it.
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