Just so...so bad

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

During the time this was being shot I was spending a fair bit of time in Santa Barbara on a work assignment (tough duty, eh?). I never ran afoul of the movie crowd, but I saw their antics from afar and in the newspaper.That winter, the California coast had been totally drenched by rain for many weeks. Landslides were abundant. By the time they began filming in the spring, the coastal area was as green as I have ever seen it. The film makers did a wonderful job of capturing that on film.*****Minor Spoiler - The solstice parade was staged in the spring for the movie, and although it was sunny that day, it was unseasonably cold. You can probably see goosebumps on the people with fewer clothes on.Cheers

I woke up in my hotel room and this was playing on HBO. I knew it was an over-the-top farce, but I had to watch. The characters were great, the narrative had a magical component which you can struggle against or ride along with. I found the ride worth the suspension of disbelief. How else can you do a prince/pauper tale against a backdrop of Southern California real estate, Chicago gangsters and immigrant farm laborers?The plot twists were many, but not hard to follow. One recurring theme was that those who would rule by money become ruled by it; those who are ruled by the heart find the resources that they need. Is it a fairytale? Sure! What's wrong with fairy tales?It was a charming film and one I will recommend.

Directed by Andrew Davis, starring Andy Garcia and Alan Arkin. Awful.... Two Garcias - he stars as identical twins, one good, the other mean - battle it out over their guardian's will in Davis's witless follow-up to The Fugitive. Although it's supposed to be a comedy with a moral message, this actually has no redeeming features whatsoever. From the lack of decent jokes to Garcia's squabbling siblings, it's a film that will have you looking at your watch more often than you look at the screen. When the supporting cast of livestock out-act everybody and everything else, you know you're in trouble.

Garcia, as always, is great in this socially sensitive film about the plight of "the worker" and small farmers. It also is a very entertaining romantic comedy. A must see for Garcia Fans. Alan Arkin is great as "Lou" and don't miss an inspired perfomance by Joe Pantoliano as a weasily coward of a lawyer who redeems himself in the end...