'Til There Was You (1997)

User Rating:

4.2/10   

Director:

Scott Winant

Writer (WGA):

Winnie Holzman (written by)

Release Date:

30 May 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Comedy

Tagline:

It took them twenty years to fall in love at first sight.

Plot:

Two strangers, whose paths are always crossing, finally meet when fate steps in.

Plot Keywords:

Architect | Cigarette Smoking | Ghost Writer | Writing | Human Relationship

Cast

John Plumpis	...	Saul, Age 25
Janel Moloney	...	Beebee, Age 25
Yvonne Zima	...	Gwen, Age 7
Christine Ebersole	...	Beebee Moss
Kellen Fink	...	Nick, Age 7
Karen Allen	...	Betty Dawkan
Kale Browne	...	Vince Dawkan
Michael Tucker	...	Saul Moss
Alexandra Theriault	...	Taffy, Age 7
Kimberly Paige	...	Taffy, Age 12
Jim Jansen	...	TV Dad
Sean Bolvin	...	One Big Happy Family Member
Kenneth Flores	...	One Big Happy Family Member
Joette Hayward	...	One Big Happy Family Member
Mary Martin	...	One Big Happy Family Member

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sensuality, language and drug references.

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | France:U | Mexico:B | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Lakeshore Entertainment

Quotes:

Bob: I think we should go to Paris. We'll be surrounded by rude French people. It should bring us closer.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs "The Brady Bunch" (1969)

Delightful and subtle, O. Henry twists, vastly underrated

Stories intertwine through our lives, around life events, past our passions, and a few stories themselves remind us of this. "'Til There Was You" makes this self-conscious storytelling into a delightful journey.

Two journeys, in fact, because it takes the title literally. Two fascinating people (writer Jeanne Tripplehorn, architect Dylan McDermott) are shown growing up and constantly seeking passion and connection in their lives, but finding no way to hold on to either.

When a bit of serendipity comes along, they both are transformed: An historic and almost otherworldly Los Angeles apartment house shows magic and belonging to her, substance and commitment to him. The ironies lie in her defending it in anonymous letters, his falling in love with the letters while designing the building's replacement, the building being owned by his lover, whose book is being ghostwritten by ... but you may get the idea. The writer and the architect are woven together by ties and resonances they cannot imagine, and yet they've never even (formally) met.

It's a rich, intricate, hilarious, and wry screenplay, written by a principal writer of "thirtysomething" and writer/creator of "My So-Called Life." The acting is touching and passionate, especially when one realizes that it's two connecting love stories - about learning to love and respect yourself, before you can find the serendipities of life. This isn't a conventional romantic comedy or drama. The couple isn't what is important here. The individuals are.

In "The Fountainhead," Ayn Rand wrote: "To say 'I love you,' one must know first how to say the 'I.'" These characters don't know, at first, but they're open to life, and they find out, playing with and against friends, neighbors, and lovers. Their journey is what will enthrall you. The ending almost doesn't matter.

See this, on cable or disc, and give it your full attention. You will be rewarded!