Every blockbuster has its inferior clones. Peggy Sue Got Married follows the line of 1985's massively successful Back to the Future, with its protagonist travelling back in time a few decades to a world of rock 'n' rollers and high school dances. The similarities end here though, as Peggy Sue swaps Back to the Future's action comedy basis for a sweet romantic fairytale.
Kathleen Turner stars as the titular heroine reliving her own youth. She gives a strong dramatic performance, never faltering in her conviction. She emphasises overwhelming emotion of seeing her past brought to life over a sense of surprise, and the character is all the stronger for it. The only trouble is, being in her early thirties she no longer had the appearance of a teenager, but then nor does she quite come across as the knowledgeable older woman. Nicholas Cage by contrast chooses to ham it up with a silly cartoon voice, although funnily enough he does capture the essence of a dopey teenager, albeit in a daft caricature. He's also quite convincing when aged up for the 1980s scenes. Towards the end there are some lovely cameos by veteran performers Leon Ames, Margaret Sullivan and John Carradine. Ames and Sullivan are just wonderfully steady and relaxed, with Ames managing to give eye-catching presence without actually doing much. Carradine is on screen for just a few seconds but he is really memorable with that old familiar voice of his.
The director is Francis Ford Coppola. Although his post-70s projects have tended to be disappointing he still has talent as a moviemaker, with the elaborate yet subtle visual compositions that are his forte. The early scenes at the school reunion look fairly random, but notice how Coppola is carefully drawing our attention to various figures who will reappear in 1960, even relatively minor ones like the one played (then-unknown) Jim Carrey. A good example of Coppola's cunning arrangements comes after Nicholas Cage comes off stage after his performance at the party. The camera is behind Kathleen Turner's back, and we back away with her as Cage advances, moving their half of the screen round beside a pillar. The shot looks very natural and unforced, but it's subtly manipulating us and making us share in Turner's slight sense of revulsion.
The problem with Peggy Sue Got Married, as with most of Coppola's 1980s output, does not lie in his direction or the efforts of his cast, but in a substandard screenplay. A major fault is that no explanation is given for Turner's time travel jump. Granted, a story like this doesn't need a science answer like in Back to the Future, but even something as light-hearted as a fairy godmother would have sufficed to give things a bit of sense, and would have been a whole lot better than that corny speech about time being a burrito that you fill with memories. The basic idea of the movie is a cute one, and it's not without its emotional tugs (greatly enhanced by a tender musical score), but the story lacks the cohesion and the characters lack the depth to make it a real tearjerker. Peggy Sue Got Married may be only an indirect reworking of Back to the Future, and yet it is as mediocre and dissatisfying as any cheap rip-off.
Kathleen Turner stars as the titular heroine reliving her own youth. She gives a strong dramatic performance, never faltering in her conviction. She emphasises overwhelming emotion of seeing her past brought to life over a sense of surprise, and the character is all the stronger for it. The only trouble is, being in her early thirties she no longer had the appearance of a teenager, but then nor does she quite come across as the knowledgeable older woman. Nicholas Cage by contrast chooses to ham it up with a silly cartoon voice, although funnily enough he does capture the essence of a dopey teenager, albeit in a daft caricature. He's also quite convincing when aged up for the 1980s scenes. Towards the end there are some lovely cameos by veteran performers Leon Ames, Margaret Sullivan and John Carradine. Ames and Sullivan are just wonderfully steady and relaxed, with Ames managing to give eye-catching presence without actually doing much. Carradine is on screen for just a few seconds but he is really memorable with that old familiar voice of his.
The director is Francis Ford Coppola. Although his post-70s projects have tended to be disappointing he still has talent as a moviemaker, with the elaborate yet subtle visual compositions that are his forte. The early scenes at the school reunion look fairly random, but notice how Coppola is carefully drawing our attention to various figures who will reappear in 1960, even relatively minor ones like the one played (then-unknown) Jim Carrey. A good example of Coppola's cunning arrangements comes after Nicholas Cage comes off stage after his performance at the party. The camera is behind Kathleen Turner's back, and we back away with her as Cage advances, moving their half of the screen round beside a pillar. The shot looks very natural and unforced, but it's subtly manipulating us and making us share in Turner's slight sense of revulsion.
The problem with Peggy Sue Got Married, as with most of Coppola's 1980s output, does not lie in his direction or the efforts of his cast, but in a substandard screenplay. A major fault is that no explanation is given for Turner's time travel jump. Granted, a story like this doesn't need a science answer like in Back to the Future, but even something as light-hearted as a fairy godmother would have sufficed to give things a bit of sense, and would have been a whole lot better than that corny speech about time being a burrito that you fill with memories. The basic idea of the movie is a cute one, and it's not without its emotional tugs (greatly enhanced by a tender musical score), but the story lacks the cohesion and the characters lack the depth to make it a real tearjerker. Peggy Sue Got Married may be only an indirect reworking of Back to the Future, and yet it is as mediocre and dissatisfying as any cheap rip-off.