MICHAEL
Dr T. White
Director: Nora Ephron
Screenplay: Pete Dexter, Jim Quinlan, Ephron & Delia Ephron Cast: John Travolta, William Hurt, Andie MacDowell, Robert Pastorelli, Bob Hoskins
Producer: Sean Daniel, Nora Ephron & Jim Jacks for Turner Productions; distributed by New Line Cinema
Running Time: 105 min.
Rating: **** out of *****
Postmodern Hollywood is in high recycling mode, so now we have a new film of the "angel" genre: MICHAEL, directed by Nora Ephron and starring John Travolta as the Archangel Michael. Potentially sappy, this movie turns out to be pretty damn funny, despite a few glitches in the script.
It seems that the aforementioned angel has taken up residence with one Pansy Milbank, the proprietress of the Milkbottle Motel in Stubbs, Iowa. After solving her financial problems, Michael hangs around enjoying the little earthly things in life that we all too often take for granted: smoking cigarettes, drinking beer, eating corn flakes with piles of sugar, dancing...stuff like that. This is Michael's last allotted visit to Earth (the rules of Heaven are explained along the way....sort of), and he wants to make the most of it.
Enter a team of reporters from the National Mirror, a sleazy tabloid. These lovable losers - Frank Quinlan (William Hurt), Dorothy Winters (Andie MacDowell) and Huey Driscoll (Robert Pastorelli, from TV's Murphy Brown) - are sent by their scumbag (and British, of course) editor, played by Bob Hoskins, to bring Michael back to the tabloid's offices in Chicago. Huey brings his dog, Sparky (the mascot of the newspaper and Huey's insurance against getting fired), and Frank and Dorothy bring their mutual hostility and cynicism. The bulk of the movie consists of these characters driving Michael across small-town, Midwest America in a beat-up station wagon, as he drinks beer in the back seat and tells bad jokes.
We know from the beginning that Frank and Dorothy will eventually realize that their hatred for one another is simply a front, masking their true feelings, and that they will end up together. Mercifully, though, that is not the real focus of the movie. Travolta as the slovenly "Angel of Battle" is the star here, and the romance is just a nod in the direction of the "well-made Hollywood film". Michael, who smells like cookies (don't ask; we never find out why anyway), is far more charming and interesting than your Sunday School lessons ever suggested an angel could be. In addition to (and in spite of) his sometimes disgusting personal habits, he is irresistible to women (my favorite is a very cute pie waitress, who has a...ummm..."heavenly" experience with Michael in his motel room). And just like any really mentally healthy earthly being, Michael is fascinated by such Americana as the World's Largest Ball of Twine and Biggest Non-stick Frying Pan.
Will Frank and Dorothy get together in a way that won't gag us? Will Sparky get his picture taken with a real angel? Will Michael become the world's first tabloid divinity? You won't find out from me.
But I can tell you that Travolta is outstanding in this film. He's fat, but his chubbiness fits his character (and besides, we all know that women find beer guts sexy...don't they??). He has an innocent charm and enthusiasm that endears him to both the characters and the audience. The rest of the cast is certainly adequate; this is (from me, at least) high praise for Andie MacDowell, whose irritating screen persona is appropriate for her character in this movie.
There are some small problems in the script. For example, Michael's character is somewhat inconsistent (not Travolta's fault!), and some important story events are not really explained very well. But over all, this film is charming and funny. The acting, especially by Travolta and Sparky, is outstanding, and the music, by Randy Newman (remember his songs for TOY STORY) is also excellent. Fundamentalist Christians may find the film blasphemous, though. As for the rest of us...check it out!
By the way...New Line Cinema has a pretty cool website for the film, with the recipe for the cookies that Michael smells like, at: http://www.newline.com/michael/
Dr T. White teaches film studies at the Deppartment of English Language and Literature at the National University of Singapore. Check out his home p age.
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