L'année de la comète

In an obvious homage to the wacky films of the '40's and '50's, year of the Comet is very good at being what it is - a fluffy film to be enjoyed lightly. It won't cure cancer, it won't change your political ideology, but it will make you smile, laugh, and have a nice 2 hours.

Tim Daly is effortlessly charming and Miss Miller is properly wholesome, as the role demands. Nice one-liners and recurring jokes, a frothy but well-paced plot, and some excellent performances by character actors in supporting roles (I especially love the Scottish mother) make it easy to watch and enjoy.

Well, unless you want explosions and political subtext.

This film is seen by quite a few people as a bit of a turkey but I liked it very much. One other correspondent said he watched it for Ian Richardson and Nick Brimble but my main reason for watching it was Penelope Ann Miller (as with Other People's Money). She's just gorgeous and the scene where Timothy Daly says "the first time I saw you I wanted to sleep with you" touched a chord with me. She's the epitome of the beautiful heroine. I'm a bit of a munro-bagger and have climbed a few of the mountains in the background of a few scenes in this film. Hummie Mann produced some nice celtic music for the Scottish scenes. It puzzles me though how Timothy Daly's character could remain so fit looking despite consuming vast quantities of beer (so addicted he'd brink a can of Bud in a sauna). I admit it could have been better given the vast assemblage of talent involved in it but Penelope Ann Miller brightens up the worst turkey.

I don't know why so many people think this is a bad film. I guess I'm no critic but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Beautiful locations. Attractive stars. And the "underdog" doesn't stay under for long. I'ts not rocket science, but who wants to watch rocket science at the end of a tough day. It's fun, romantic and something you can watch even if the kids are around. I'd give it the full 10 stars!

With Peter Yates, the cutting-edge director of "Bullitt" and "Eyewitness", Penelope Ann Miller, the gifted, fresh-faced 'Girl Next Door' who would reveal a breathtaking figure and sexuality in "Carlitto's Way", and Tim Daly, the handsome, witty star of TV's "Wings", involved in this film, all the elements were in place for a sexy, exciting "Romancing the Stone"-style adventure...but "Year of the Comet" would prove, instead, to be a pale shadow, a mish-mash of retread plot twists, silly climaxes, and uninspired performances.

The story, of an 'ugly duckling' daughter of a wine-selling family (Miller), journeying to Scotland to appraise an estate's wine cellar, and discovering a near-priceless Napoleonic vintage, might have, by itself, made a fair film...but tossing in subplots involving a suave villain (the legendary Louis Jordan, echoing his performance in "Octopussy") searching for a 'Fountain of Youth' formula while hiding in the castle, and a Scottish thug who steals the bottle (leading to an illogical helicopter/car/rowboat chase) manages to 'dumb down' the plot beyond redemption. Adding a final unsurprising twist...that Miller's companion through her 'adventures' (Daly) is actually rich (one wonders how he keeps his money, as blithely unconcerned and free-spending as he is)...simply cements the film as nothing more than a time-passer.

There are a few 'pluses' that keep the film from being a total waste; Scotland is, as always, gloriously beautiful; Jordan's head 'henchman' (the wonderful Nick Brimble) is a hoot, particularly when trying to pass himself off as a Scot police inspector; and Hummie Mann's score, influenced by traditional themes, is lovely, when the dumb dialog doesn't interrupt it!

How sad, so bad!

Lighthearted romantic comedy / adventure film that pays homage to the genre's classics from Hollywood Golden Era, in the vein of the resurgence of this kind of films in the 80's such as "High Road to China" ('83), "Romancing the Stone" ('84) and similar in tone to "American Dreamer" (also from '84) and "Miracles" ('86) with elements of a thriller, but in an uncommitted & unpretentious way, thrown into it.

The locations were very well spotted, from Scotland's Highlands to French Riviera, with veteran Peter Yates (the man behind such cult movies as "Bullitt" or "The Dresser") on the helm, offering a laid-back direction just for the fun of it, based on an original story by screenwriter William Goldman (who penned more 'serious' & intricate scripts like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" or "Marathon Man"), both doing a movie about one of their favorite things in life: red wine.

Penelope Ann Miller, then a rising star, fresh from her co-starring roles in "The Freshman", "Awakenings", "Kindergarten Cop" and "Other People's Money" got her first leading role here as the mousy Margaret Harwood, the daughter of a posh wine merchant, Sir Mason Harwood (Ian Richardson), that discovers a rare bottle of wine, a vintage 1811 (sealed in the year of the comet) bearing a Napoleon's seal, in the cellar of an old Scottish Manor. This valuable antique is sold to a millionaire who sends his friend, Oliver Plexico (Tim Daly) to retrieve the bottle, but there are a bunch of unscrupulous competitors who want this find for themselves. Together, Margaret and Oliver will live the adventure of their lives, finding love along the way...

"Year of the Comet" is a harmless piece of escapism, nice to watch on a typical lazy Sunday afternoon: the characters are charming and interesting to follow; the plot is way too cartoon-ish to be believed, but applying the suspension of disbelief it works almost like a spoof of the genre, grabbing a less demanding audience and providing them a good way to spend a hour and a half.

Penelope Ann Miller and Tim Daly (sporting a sort of Tom Selleck's mustache) gave the best on their performances, the two have chemistry together and they delivered the goods with the heart on the material, unfortunately the critical and Box Office failure, killed their careers as leading performers. Miller still had the chance to work in the high profile, Brian De Palma's "Carlito's Way" (which got her some critical praise and was nominated for a Golden Globe), but after she has disclosed about her affair with the co-star and then a married man, Al Pacino, her career stalled and Tim Daly plans to aspire as a virile / charming leading star like Michael Douglas, went down the toilet, too. The classic french leading star, Louis Jourdan gives here his last breath on-screen, after more than 50 years of hard work in the business, offering a funny, witty and over-the-top performance as the stylish villain, a mix of his roles as the James Bond's nemesis in "Octopussy" and the evil Doctor Anton Arcane in "Swamp Thing" and its sequel.

In short, "Year of the Comet" was unfairly bashed when it was released, even if it isn't a great movie, it deserved better fate. Maybe if it was produced in the 80's, could have found an audience, but by 1992, the movie-goers were over-saturated of this peculiar genre and moved on to a more darker films...