Absolutely Fantastic

A Major Disappointment

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

It's a romance story of two terminally ill people who meet each other and slowly, with some ups and downs, fall in love. While the woman is more somber, the man teaches her how to have a good time within the confines they face. What's a little mischief to a guy who is going to die soon anyway? The relationship between the two feels genuine.You can pretty much predict how it starts and ends. There's also the obligatory scene in the middle where the woman leaves the guy because of a huge misunderstanding which could have been avoided if she had just talked things out with him. Please! No! Stop!I think it's a movie that is full of personality, character and quality acting. I'm not ashamed to admit I cried at least twice throughout the duration. I also think it follows a tired formula that romance movies need to break out of.

Griffin (Dermot Mulroney) has just received a second opinion on his lung cancer. The news is worse. He definitely has only months to live and there are no experimental treatments that can extend his existence. On top of that, Griffin, an insurance salesman, lives in a small, Manhattan apartment, furnished with cast-offs, as his wife and two sons got the suburban house when the divorce went down. Realizing his that his days are short, Griffin makes a huge pass at beautiful Phoenix (Amanda Peet) during a chance meeting at Columbia University. She is extremely reluctant to accept his dinner proposal, giving the impression that she is not "available" in the love market. Nevertheless, she shows up at the restaurant anyway when Griffin extends an open invitation. The date lasts the entire night, with the duo getting kicked out of a cinema for incessant talking and watching the sunrise together in a riverfront park. But, Phoenix still seems reluctant, in part because Griffin asks very few questions about who she really is. Could she be hiding something, too? In fact, she is, for she is also terminally ill with ovarian cancer. Will these two bring joy to each other in their waning days? This movie is somewhat contrived but hangs together by the performances of Mulroney and Peet. No matter how unreal a scene might seem, the two make it work. Yes, there is some honesty here as well about how we, as human beings, react when presented with our eminent deaths. It is a certainty that most individuals would try to create some final lasting memories and that's what these two do. As to more mundane matters, the scenery, costumes, and production values are good, resulting in a nice-looking film. Also, the supporting cast, although it has a very minor role, is fine. All in all, the film would probably be beneficial to anyone who is going through their own terminal illnesses or who have friends/family in this dark situation. Cathartic it is. But, in the end, the movie is rather depressing. Anyone who chooses to watch it had better be prepared to deal with its issues and may want to follow up the view with a screening of Some Like It Hot or any other gut-busting comedy.

GRIFFIN & PHOENIX is a quiet little made for television film that touches the vulnerable heart. Originally written in 1976 as a television film by John Hill, this thirty-years-later version holds up well, and the fact that audiences will still opt for sensitive stories that treat difficult topics in a mature manner, adding warmly humorous touches to a potentially maudlin idea, speaks well for our continuing tastes.From the opening frames of the film we learn that Griffin (Dermot Mulroney) has inoperable cancer: his frank and compassionate physician (Lois Smith) aligns him with reality. Griffin is a divorced father of two boys and his first attempt to find meaning in his limited time is to spend time with them, an attempt partially thwarted by his ex-wife. Once a workaholic, Griffin attends a class on death and dying at the university and there he meets the rather strange and isolated Phoenix (Amanda Peet). Griffin's new take on life encourages him to go after the seemingly impenetrable Phoenix and through a series of wildly frivolous escapades he courts her and they gradually fall in love - something neither felt they could do. They cope with issues of intimacy and finally Phoenix shares her secret with Griffin, a secret that plunges them headlong into a fully blossomed romance. How the two cope with the inevitable is well handled, rarely bordering on sappy, and always holding our compassion.Director Ed Stone paces the film well, inserting moments of extended silence to match the emotional atmosphere, allowing breathing space. Both Peet and Mulroney create believable three-dimensional characters and are well supported by such solid actors as Lois Smith, Sarah Paulson, and Novella Nelson. The story may have sad aspects, but the cast always allows the humor inherent in any life event to come through. And that is one of the several reasons the film works well. Grady Harp

I would like to comment on this film, but this is a remake of one, which starred Peter Falk and Jill Claybourne. I found that the first one with Falk and Claybourne was much more intense and just a better film. The plot is the same, for the most part, so, if you have seen this version, go back and rent the original. I am not sure of the title, but I search for griffin and phoenix and found the Falk one. Once you watch both, I would appreciate some comparisons, which maybe like mine or entirely different. Guess I am a Peter Falk fan and appreciate the intensity of both characters. I found that the original version was a little more believable than this newer one.