Movie Review: Violets Are Blue (1986)

Genre: Romantic Drama

Director: Jack Fisk

Starring: Sissy Spacek, Kevin Kline, Bonnie Bedelia

Running Time: 86 minutes

Synopsis: Renowned news photographer Gussie Sawyer (Sissy Spacek) returns to her hometown of Ocean City, Maryland, for a family visit. She bumps into her former high school sweetheart Henry Squires (Kevin Kline), now running the local newspaper. Although Henry is married to Ruth (Bonnie Bedelia) and father to Addy, passion immediately re-ignites between him and Gussie. She also gets involved in his investigation of a corrupt land deal that threatens local wildlife.

What Works Well: Ocean City is a scenic location, and a yacht race is expansively filmed.

What Does Not Work As Well: A talented cast is wasted on a miserable script by Naomi Foner. The drama defaults to awkward silences and stares-into-the-distance as adults first forget how to talk then behave with the hormone-driven immaturity of adolescents. Gussie and Henry carry on their affair in full view of a small town, and neither his impulsive decision to chuck his life and join her on foreign assignment nor the local conspiracy-against-the-ponies are remotely convincing as anything other than desperate attempts to stretch the flimsy material.

Conclusion: Selfish with a side of senseless is a bad recipe for romance.



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