Always (1989)

Always is a Steven Spielberg film that is no where near as well known as Jaws, Indiana Jones or Jurassic Park - I'd only heard of it vaguely and knew nothing about it, but since Spielberg movies are usually worth watching I recorded it when it was on TV a few months back. It turns out that Always is a comedy-drama-romance set in the world of aerial firefighters, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, and John Goodman.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this cast, especially during the first 30 minutes which was by turns cheesy, action-y, and often very funny. Some of the scenes of Dreyfuss wooing Hunter's Dorinda (apparently that's a name...) reminded me of Hot Shots! in the soft focus photography and slapstick delivery. But then Dreyfuss' plane explodes mid-firefight and the movie turned into something else. It was clear from how happy and loved up Dreyfuss and Hunter were that it couldn't last, but I wasn't expecting that! And then I wasn't expecting Dreyfuss to appear onscreen again, talking to Audrey Hepburn(!) and becoming a sort-of ghost.

As Hunter mourned and time moved on a year, John Goodman has taken the training school job that was originally ear-marked for Dreyfuss, and among the ranks is Ted Baker (Brad Johnson), a none-too-bright hunk who has fallen for Dorinda. It turns out that Dreyfuss' purpose back on Earth is to be a guardian angel or spirit guide for Baker, to impart his flying wisdom and skill. It was clear that Dorinda and Baker would eventually end up together, but not how it would all tie up. 

Dreyfuss is an unlikely romantic lead, so it made sense that he was only one for half an hour before becoming more of a comic lead. His spirit character could talk to humans, but could not interact with them - and they only heard him as an interior thought, so no one knew he was really there - this wasn't Ghost or any number of science-fiction type ghost movies, the death was handled quite sweetly and compassionately. Holly Hunter convincingly portrayed a grieving lover who eventually learns to move on, although I thought it was a little dodgy that there were so many similarities between Dreyfuss and Johnson's characters, so that she was dating Dreyfuss all over again. 

I think sometimes the tone was a bit muddled and the humour occasionally overpowered the heart - the film is more than the sum of it's parts though and I enjoyed it. It was very evocative of sugary 1950s movies, and in fact was a kind-of remake of A Guy Named Joe (1943), and the fashion and look was very 1980s. The star of Always for me was John Goodman - he does heartfelt and humour with such ease, he's always a pleasure to watch.