Grand Canyon, the Movie

There are so many reasons! I once counted all the times the word "miracle" is used in the film...over a hundred. Why? Good question. I think it is because life itself is a miracle, and then all the little coincidences and twists and turns that make it so astounding are mind boggling. There is plenty of evidence of that in the film, but there is also all the despair that life can bring, in all kinds of ways, little and big.

Throughout the film characters say things that are life lessons for anyone really listening. Many of the situations have timely answers for anyone who thinks about how the circumstances might apply to them. I have seen the film many times, and each time I identify with a different character's dilemma and find a great answer. This is definitely a film that makes you think.

Genre:
Drama

Directed by:
Lawrence Kasdan

Actors:
Kevin Kline
Steve Martin
Mary McDonnell
Danny Glover
Mary Louise Parker

First of all there is the conflict Kevin Kline's character, Mack, faces, trying to figure out the meaning of life and some of the things that have and are happening in his life. There is the cute secretary who wants him, the wife who wants a new baby, the guy he just met whom he credits with saving his life and draws him into a different world than anything he has previously imagined, one where racism rears its ugly head.

Then there is Mary McDonnell's character, Claire, who finds a baby in the woods while running. This baby awakens her motherly instincts so much that she then becomes relentless in her pursuit of adopting the baby. It reminds her that her teenage son is growing up and becoming a man, and that she misses nurturing a little one.

Danny Glover plays the wise old soul who understands life, even though he is a relatively poor black man. He is a good guy for the ages, helping Mack, helping his sister, helping his nephew, and really wants no credit, just wants to do the right thing always. He has a deaf daughter in college whom he raised alone....he's just a truly good person, and he gets rewarded with true love by way of Mack's introduction.

Mary Louise Parker plays the secretary in love with her boss who will not leave his wife. She loses the boss and the job, but figures it out eventually.

Steve Martin plays a producer who seems to have it all: lots of movies, lots of money and the much younger girlfriend, until he gets accosted and shot by a random criminal and almost loses his life. He survives only to have a permanent limp, and a seeming change of heart concerning the movies he produces...but he resolves his conflict in a novel way, by justifying his choices in a soliloquy that is completely un-Steve Martinesque, showing his acting ability!

Alfre Woodard plays a wise black woman who gives great advice to Mary Louise Parker, and she and the wise man eventually find each other. They have funny things to say about whites....

The central conflicts that envelop and flavor everything in the movie are the assumptions that occur between races and classes in Los Angeles. Blacks are depicted as gang hoodlums and as heros. The police are portrayed as bigots who don't give blacks a chance...and then some of them are depicted as really understanding caring men. The heroes of the movie are black, and the people who cause all the problems are black.

The rich lawyer is shown as a good guy, a caring father and as an unfaithful husband who treats his employee coldly after he cheats with her. The dirty, homeless man who mumbles is actually an important messenger and embodies the miracles that seem to occur with regularity in the film and in life. The mom who is super organized is actually a sweet nurturing kind loving mother who has lost her way. The teenaged son is having growing pains and insecurities...but he is the one who helps his dad see how selfish he has been, and he is an unsung hero of the movie. All of the characters are very real and talk about existential issues and miracles in life.

All conflicts resolve at the Grand Canyon, just in time for a tour through its majestic walls as if you were a bird flying between those soaring rocks, accompainied by a symphony of music that perfectly complements the tour...

Life in the city, versus life as nature painted it...another conflict, another resolution, and the final miracle of the movie.

Buy at AllPosters.com