I rented this film the other night when I knew I would be alone - that's just the way I have to watch this, alone - guess I'm not comfortable with people seeing me cry. I cried when it was in the theatres in 1986 and I've seen it maybe 10 times now - and it gets me each and every time, as if I were watching for the very first time! Sorry to drone on, but it has just the right touch - you've heard a lot of comparisons with "Back to the Future" - believe me, it isn't! If you liked the two movies I mentioned in my header, especially "Frequency" since it is about to be released on video - you will love this film!
Kathleen Turner was excellent - I have seen Debra Winger (originally scheduled to play the title role) in several films, including "Terms of Endearment" and though I respect her as an actress, she just couldn't have done this part justice. Nicolas Cage was great in his role - the whiny voice was a bit much - but it's hard to believe he was only 21 when this film was made. He plays a high school kid and a guy in his 40's equally well - he's always had a gift for that. Jim Carrey - then mostly unknown - displays some of the physical slapstick routines that would later earn him praise and renown. Then there's Joan Allen - as I saw this movie for the first time, I thought how much she resembled former first lady Pat Nixon in her earlier years - and sure enough, that's who she played in Oliver Stone's "Nixon". Helen Hunt portrays Kathleen Turner and Nicolas Cage's daughter - ironic, since she is older than Cage! It was one of her beginning roles as well.
Without a doubt, the scenes with Peggy Sue and her grandparents are the most touching in the whole film. Think about it - if you had the chance to see someone again who had died long before, what would you say to them? What would you do? This wonderful film gives us the chance to find out.
Will "Peggy Sue Got Married" ever be available on videocassette for home purchase again? I hate to have to rent it each time I want to see it!
