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Health & Fitness

Movie Review: Darling Companion

I reviewed the new film Darling Companion starring Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline. It's a great film about love, fighting and a dog!

Cherry at the movies – Darling Companion

I saw the film and really enjoyed seeing adults on the big screen dealing with issues like ... well people who are far from perfect but adults in a realistic manner.   When I say realistic I mean passive aggressive, fighting over petty things, door slamming, eye rolling and just plain old rehashing of the same fight over and over.  You know like normal people. 

I think that what made the film ring true to me is that Beth (Diane Keaton) and Joseph (Kevin Kline) reminded me so much of my grandparents.  They would bicker and fight about anything and everything but were still together (got divorced, than moved in together but never remarried), happy and/or unhappy but the history kept them tied more than a marriage license ever could. 

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I watched a movie that had a catalyst of a living creature to show the fractures that any long term marriage faces as time passes them by, the passion fades, kids grow up and all of a sudden you are truly alone together. 

The movie starts with Beth and her daughter Grace (Elizabeth Moss) driving from the airport after dropping off her daughter’s family after a visit.  As Grace is driving Beth sees something on the side of the road that turns out to be a dog.   Freeway as they named it to commemorate the happenstance of his entering their lives creates a new pattern for Beth and Joseph.  In Beth’s eye she has something new to love and to Joseph, he sees an interloper who crash landed into their comfortable home.  

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As the film progresses the Lawrence and Meg Kasdan film shows the love of and from a dog is not only enriching but forces you to change your life since you have a living creature depending on you. 

I got the opportunity to interview Mr. and Mrs. Kasdan and Kevin Kline at a press junket.  I asked all three of them about love and making a marriage work since between the three of them they’ve been married longer than I’ve been alive.  To sum up their comments it’s about staying married, liking the person you’ve married and sticking it out. 

For me it’s revolutionary since divorce is so easy and looking for easy perfection is the ideal you see on the screen that you expect in real life but like Darling Companion it’s about staying married.   Life is a journey that will have you go off the path, will put up landmines, that’s sometimes easy but often than not is hard.   Where you have to sometimes ‘go for it’ and seize your happiness in unexpected places but also knowing yourself enough to know what works for you to be happy. 

If you are looking to see a film that will make you laugh, shed a few tears at the difficulty of life and changing with the time I strongly recommend seeing Darling Companion.  I REALLY enjoyed seeing a film written and aimed towards grownups.   I love seeing a vapid action movie as much as the next person, but sometimes I want to see a movie based in reality!

Director: Lawrence Kasdan - Cast: Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Dianne Wiest, Richard Jenkins, Sam Shepard

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