Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Gone Sailing", February 24, 2004
4.5 stars. I was walking up and down the aisles of my local video store the other day and I was getting frustrated. The new release I wanted to rent wasn't there, none of the films on my short rental list were even available. So I wandered the aisles, sulking, when I noticed a movie I hadn't seen in years. It was "Cousins," with Ted Danson and Isabella Rossellini. Why not? I really didn't remember much about it other than rave critical reviews from the time. I was a teenager at the time so it is not really surprising that I don't remember a romance film. That was the last thing on my mind. Anyway, I got it home, dished up some spaghetti, and sat down to watch an "okay" movie. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself interested in the goings on of each and every character in this large ensemble cast. But the throughline story involves the two main actors, Ted and Isabella. Their romance is both realistic and fantastical, where they are able to see all the wonders of the world merely by staring into each other's eyes. Now, at first that may sound sappy. Believe me, I'm the last man on Earth to be attracted to a romance film, but somehow this one got to me. It could have been Isabella Rossellini, who for a large part of the film resembled her gorgeous mother, Ingrid Bergman. It was like watching a "classic romance" filmed for a different era, Mrs. Bergman's daughter absolutely glowing like her mother used to. There are also obvious nods to the film "Moonstruck" with its sometimes quirky characters caught in realistic situations. This movie could have been called "3 Weddings and a Funeral." It has a Hollywood ending, complete with sailing off toward the horizon, all the couple's dreams coming true, but somehow I loved it. I must be getting old. :) What's impossible to believe is that this was directed by Joel Schumacher, who directed the abysmal "Batman and Robin." It's really too bad he didn't stay with films about real people, because this film shines. This is a nearly lost, mostly forgotten gem of a film, and it is easy to recommend.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Coveting cousins, May 4, 2000
Cousins is the most romantic movie in my collection. It didn't aim to be great art, but it did manage to be a touching story. It's a remake of a French film but I don't think it suffers by the comparison. Ted Danson and Isabella Rossellini star in the film as the two lovers, Larry and Maria. Unfortunately they are both married, to other people.
The two of them are thrown together during a series of weddings and funerals and they share a bond of adultery. Not their own, but their spouses. At first the responsibility each of them feels toward their respective families, prevents them from taking their attraction for each other any further. As a result we are treated to a bitter sweet suspense. Harry and Maria, whilst not consummating their relationship, use the situation to gain a subtle retribution on their partners.
In addition to the central love story there are lots of side plots. These conspire to create more weddings and funerals than in any other film I have seen. Of course this is the perfect excuse to throw our controversial couple together again and again. I also enjoy watching Larry's son and Father interact. Both are interesting characters.
Along with the subplots, there are a host of supporting characters who do a lot to make the story more real. Larry's father and son are both terrific and the illicit lovers who start it all are wonderfully shallow. Here we see the true 80's love affair; hedonistic and almost unrepenting.
Cousins renews your faith in human nature. It recharges the batteries of your romance and makes you feel like doing something wonderful for your special loved ones. If you are tired of watching films where sex seems to be used as a weapon between enemies, then give this film another look.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delightfully romantic, June 24, 2000
For once Ted Danson does himself justice as an actor. Of course he is helped by the delectable Isabella Rossellini and the superb Sean Young in a love story with a difference. Danson is a dance instructor, Rossellini a housewife who become cousins by marriage when they meet at the wedding of her mother to his uncle. At the same wedding Danson's wife played by Sean Young meets Rossellini's husband, handsomely portrayed by William Petersen. An affair ensues and it is only a matter of time before their respective spouses find out. But when Danson and Rossellini do find out they decide on a perfect revenge. They pretend that they too are having an affair. This is done gently, with great humour and many funny moments, like when Danson buys Rossellini a hat because her husband "hates them" and Rossellini does the same with boxer shorts and it's not long before their philandering partners are getting a taste of their own medicine. Add to this Danson's crotchety father ably played by Lloyd Bridges who turns up when his brother dies of a heart attack, as well as Danson's teenage son who wants to be a horror movie director, and you have a delightful comedy filled with great moments that leave you chuckling away whilst at the same time wiping away the occasional tear from your eye. The story line could be complicated but isn't though it might take you a few minutes to sort out who is related to whom in the film! It is a nice love story about how two people who fall in love and have to make up their mind whether they stay together or try to make their marriages work. As well as this you have the blossoming love between Rossellini's mother (now widowed) and Danson's father, watch the scene when Danson's son helps his grandfather get ready for his first date, it's hilarious. All in all this is a great film and the music score is absolutely brilliant. So for a film that is gentle, funny and touching don't look any further, "Cousins" is all you need.
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