A Comedy TV program starring Carol Burnett from the 70's is our continuing evening Program. Show #921
Deserts by Vivian -
(4 1/2) A
Delightful Time with Duvall, Caine and Osment
Review
As
this film opens, a sullen fourteen year old Walter (Haley Joel Osment) is
about to be deposited with his two gruff and irascible old uncles against his
will by his mother Mae (Kyra Sedgwick) while she supposedly pursues her
education and a career. Hub and Garth McCann, played respectively by Robert
Duvall and Michael Caine, are no more enamored of the arrangement than is
Walter, but an uneasy truce occurs between them as Walter comes to understand
their eccentricities and in fact serves as somewhat of an outlet for Garth's
desire to settle down somewhat in his final years. One of the elements twhich
makes the film a true delight is the extreme nature of the antics of these
"old men", whether it is shooting at traveling salesmen for fun or
alienating their relatives to maintain their solitude. The backdrop to the story
is that Hub and Garth are rumored to be quite wealthy; and in fact Walter's
mother instructs him to attempt to locate the source and location of their
supposed wealth. (Perhaps the mafia, or bank robberies, or the foreign
legion?)
As
Walter settles in with them and their numerous dogs (and a pig who thinks
he's a dog), the "plot suddenly thickens" as Hub acts strangely and
Walter discovers mysterious evidence of a beautiful young woman somewhere in
their history. Garth tells Walter a fantastic tale of foreign adventure and
intrigue involving Hub and the enchanting princess Jasmine, and the story is
actually incorporated into the movie in the form of the adventure epics of
fifty years ago with Emanuelle Vaugier playing the role of Hub's lost love.
Meanwhile, some "used" circus animals arrive, including a tired and
sick old lion who Walter nurses back to health as he enjoys the
"jungle" habitat provided by the corn field that has emerged from
their failed attempt to grow a vegetable garden. The movie reaches a wonderful
climax as the forces of good confront the forces of evil (true comic book
style) and Walter is forced to confront the fact that life is full of
surprises.
But,
of course, any description of the plot doesn't convey the appeal of this
film; the storyline is simply the backdrop for the life which is infused into
this movie by the superb performances of the stars, the excellent directing,
and the way in which the story unfolds. It is fun yet touching, with enough
elements of the unexpected interspersed with truly laugh out loud humorous
incidents.
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