#140RVW
A relatively straightforward film, but when Lawrence Kasdan writes, you pay attention. Only semi-serious role in Belushi’s too-short career.
What’s more:
What an incredible talent writer Lawrence Kasdan is. This may be the least ambitious premise for a movie: journalist sent for fish-out-of-water assignment falls in love with naturalist. That’s it. If it sounds familiar it’s because the same basic story has been filmed a dozen times. There should even be a genre: fish out of water. But Kasdan’s dialogue makes it something more. Not a lot more, to be honest, because it really isn’t very substantial, but there are flashes of the genius who before this wrote The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Body Heat.
It helps that the movie was made at the dawn of the 1980’s; that great time when they stopped using the boring drawn-out long shots and grittiness of the 1970’s, but before they abandoned that era’s quiet moments and love of dialogue.
They were going for a Tracy/Hepburn thing with Blair Brown and John Belushi, which was never going to work with Belushi’s extracurricular activities. That’s a shame because Brown is very engaging in this. Not sure why she didn’t become a more significant star.
Finally, Belushi. What can you say? With 1981’s other film Neighbors, this is his last film. While far from one of his signature roles, in Continental Divide he shows some of the emotional vulnerability and depth that was hinted at in his other work but never allowed to surface. Would he have been a dramatic talent and developed another dimension like his colleague Bill Murray? Hard to say. He certainly had the ability, and reportedly seemed interested in the prospect of becoming a more traditional leading man. What an incredible waste.
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test:
Fail
| Main Cast | John Belushi Ernie Souchak, Blair Brown Nell Porter, Allen Garfield (as Allen Goorwitz) Howard McDermott, Carlin Glynn Sylvia |
| Rating | PG |
| Release Date | Fri 18 Sep 1981 UTC |
| Director | Michael Apted |
| Genres | Comedy, Romance |
| Plot | A hard-nosed Chicago journalist has an unlikely love affair with an eagle researcher. |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 103 |
| Tagline | When they met they heard bells. And that was just round one. |
| Writers | Lawrence Kasdan (written by) |
| Year | 1981 |