Green Card
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Movie Reviews of Green Card
Movie Review: More Thoughtful than Appearances
Summary: 4 Stars
It is fascinating how people have such diverse and even incompatible understandings of films and books, not to mention other slices of life.
My take on "Green Card,", unlike other Amazon reviewers, is that it is a fairly serious film, despite its wonderful comic moments and tone. I saw an unusual plea for the strength, mystery and nobility of marriage in this engaging account of two people who enter into a contrived marriage for their self-seeking ends. The film actually works for me on two different levels, one as a metaphor for all marriages and another as a sly attempt to break through the modern mentality that sees the institution of marriage as irrelevant.
In the film two perfect strangers to each other marry to achieve their individual goals--Georges the Frenchman to get a green card and Bronte the American girl to get a prized apartment with a rare greenhouse. Their plan was to quickly divorce afterwards and never see each other again. They are busy pursuing personal ends when this unusual arrangement throws both of their lives into disorder. Because the INS is suspicious, they are forced to spend time together to prepare for an examination of their marriage. As a result they fall in love by the story's conclusion and emotionally assent to their legal status as husband and wife.
In every marriage the man and woman bring many personal and selfish goals into the relationship. They are not necessarily getting married out of pure, selfless love for the other and they may not be truly committed to the marital relationship. The emotional power of love acts as a certain force to overcome some of this natural selfishness. Love is typically the force that overcomes earlier resistance to marriage but it is not enough to make marriage work. Marriage also requires a foundational sacred meaning to make people take their marriage promises seriously. When they do so, their love grows in maturity, loyalty and selflessness.
Obviously most people are not plotting to deliberately use marriage as a temporary instrument to achieve a personal wish like Georges and Bronte. But we are not so different from them as we might think when we use marriage for personal wish fulfillment, rather than as a sacred relationship of community building. We may feel caught in the marriage web wondering how we got into this mess in the first place, much
like Bronte does in the film. But when we stay committed to our spouse and keep our marriage vows, love grows. In an abbreviated manner, Georges and Bronte too experience the growth of true love after getting married and experiencing the trials of being chained to each other.
I also saw the film as a clever endorsement of marriage in an age where many people don't take marriage seriously, either not believing that marriage is important or necessary like many Europeans or reducing marriage to meaning whatever they want it to mean. In this light the doorman in Bronte's hotel could be viewed as an advocate for a deeper and more profound understanding of marriage. His life is so far removed from the trendy liberalism of Bronte and the streetwise permissiveness of Georges, both of whom were destined for a lifetime of serial relationships and may never have married anyone absent this quirky twist of circumstance. His admittedly brief role reminds the viewer of the many decent and unassuming people who take their responsibilities, particularly of marriage and parenthood, seriously. By the end of the film, Bronte and Georges are becoming more like the doorman and less like themselves. They both speak tenderly and with appreciation of each other's good and unique qualities in their interviews with the INS officials. Georges thinks of Bronte's well-being rather than his own lost green card when he is caught in a mistake and their entire scheme is exposed. Many moderns brought up to disdain natural law and religious interpretations of the deep significance of marriage might at least be tricked into a grudging respect for the marital institution through life experience like Georges and Bronte.
Is it just romantic chemistry at work here? Many may think so but I dissent. The film depicts romantic chemistry undergirded and galvanized by the bond of marriage, a connection that even when lightly undertaken and even more lightly appreciated, forces a man and woman to think more seriously about the nature of human relationships. What is the hope for Georges and Bronte at the end of the film, when Georges is to be taken away for probably deportation by the INS just after the two realize their deep love for each other and have emotionally confirmed their legal marriage? Again, it is the fact that they are married to each other that will provide the likely impetus for their future reunion. Absent marriage, they are just two lovers who could as easily move on to the next attractive and interesting partner who moves into their environment. Absent marriage and a high view of marriage, there is never a compelling and authoritative reason for people to stay together. But as married man and wife, they can never forget that their love has a legal and traditional bond that must be intentionally broken to be dissolved, that they have participated in an ancient institution that reflects the complementary and procreative nature of man and woman. Marriages can be broken and ended as our divorce rates instruct us. But the ending of a marriage means tearing a man and woman apart at a level far deeper than the breaking of any other relationship. Despite the many different ideas about marriage today, I think most people would at least recognize that divorce is qualitatively different from breaking up.
I give this thought-provoking film four stars only because a few plot details were not convincing, at least in my one viewing. Otherwise I found the film to be excellent.
Movie Review: Bona Fide or Bogus Marriage
Summary: 4 Stars
This amusing romantic comedy stars the beautiful and talented Audie MacDowell who plays Bronte, a botanist and gardner, and the charming teddy-bear like Gerard Depardieu, who is a music composer but moonlights as a waiter until he hits the big time. Each with their own agenda, agree to a marriage of convenience and break the law. Bronte's purpose is to have enough money to continue her projects of creating gardens in the inner city for the disadvantaged. George's purpose is to obtain the coveted green card, since he arrived only on a visitor's visa. The unexpected twists and turns in this creative comedy provide great entertainment, making it a "must see" film ...
The Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) pull a surprise visit to spoil their plans ... Bronte had just moved into an exclusive apartment. She had been interviewd by the tenant's committe to whom she lied that her husband was in Africa, doing academic research on music of the region. George moves in with Bronte as they scheme how to outwit the INS who are investigating if theirs is a "real marriage" or a ruse to trick the government. When their personal habits clash - the two realize just how little they know about each other. They share personal information and create a detailed nonexistent past - to outwit the government agents. Gerard Depardieu is amazingly funny as he ad libs scenes inventing stories to cover up his fake husband role ... He is especially effective in scenes where Bronte meets her good friend Lauren, played by the ever dead-pan comedienne, Bebe Niewirth, who is intrigued by George. George does an outstanding performance to impress Lauren's parents at a dinner party in their home. He wins Bronte's affections due to his creativity. Even Bronte's parents are won over by George's antics. Bronte does all she can to make their relationship appear like her cover story and then surprise (!!!), Philip, her boyfriend enters the picture. Next, the INS visitors arrive and everything goes topsy turvey. The film has one of those unexpected endings that leaves the viewer satisfied but craving for more. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]
Movie Review: An Interesting Twist on Romantic Comedies
Summary: 4 Stars
To be honest, I don't remember how I heard about Green Card. I think it was as simple as seeing it in a video-rental store and thinking, "What the hey?" At any rate, it was one of the first DVDs I ordered when expanding my own library a couple of years later.
Bronte is a single woman set on living in an apartment with its own greenhouse. She would need to be married to do so, so a friend suggests the unorthodox: marry a stranger that she will never see again. Enter George, a Parisian on the verge of deportation. As romantic comedies go, Bronte and George are forced not only see each other, but even live together while the INS gauges the validity of their marriage. Poor George tries to give Bronte breaks from his intrusion in her life, but fate keeps shoving him back in her path. The pair is highly mismatched, and it is that which makes the sexual tension between them both surprising and pleasing.
The only reason I gave this movie four stars was because of Andie McDowell. There are scenes where George's slovenly behavior drives Bronte (McDowell) up the wall, but instead of releasing real human rage on him, she states her insults in an even-paced, albeit loud, monotone. It wasn't enough to ruin the movie, but it did make me frown, just a moment. She does, however, redeem herself in the final scene, giving a display that made me proud.
Gérard Depardieu makes up for any shortcomings in spades. His talent overflows in this film and makes you see NOT Mr. Depardieu, but George, an immigrant desperate to stay in the US. Even with his unkempt habits and knack to get in the way, George manages to emerge an endearing character, one that you want to see succeed and get exactly what he wants.
Overall, Green Card triumphs to be a sweet, slightly quirkier-than-most romantic comedy, one that I enjoy pulling out now and again. I especially grow nostalgic for a viewing when watering my houseplants.
Movie Review: A Timeless Charmer
Summary: 4 Stars
Green Card (1990) Andie McDowell, Gerard Depardieu
While this is basically yer garden variety "chick movie", it goes one better by having some superbly done, charming scenes and clever plot devices. In one engrossing scene, for instance, our two would be lovers have only a weekend to get to know each other, create a history for themselves and memorize facts before interviews at the INS office on Monday. They end up having so much fun faking photographs in bogus locations and laughing it up that when, the doorbell rings suddenly - instantly sucking them back into the real world - they are genuinely startled. So is the viewing audience....you get that caught up in the characters. Ethan Phillips (Nelix from Voyager) is great as a suspicious INS agent who is on to their scam. This one was directed by Peter Weir (I assume in one of his earlier American film efforts) and he throws in a couple of clever plot devices such as starting out the movie with Gerard's & Andie's characters on their "wedding day" and taking a little while to let us in on the rationale of why they did this thing. Another good one is Depardieu's character's original "composition" which is preceded by a moment of silence that rivals the chasm of the grand canyon. Not to give anything away, but the ambiguous ending is just the icing on this entertaining slice-of-life cake, which got the Golden Globe for best picture that year.
Movie Review: entertaining
Summary: 4 Stars
I enjoyed the film. The story is nothing to write home about but it's clever enough. The cast is what makes it. Many folks here pan Andie MacDowell and I admit that I got the film inspite of her. But she was surprising good. I thought she and Depardieu had great chemistry and their odd-coupling was just absurd enough to work.
I loved her apartment and that wonderful greenhouse! The other shots of New York are fun to see, particularly their hike across Central Park.
All in all I thought the film held together well and it makes an entertaining two hours. (hated D's hair style though; he looked like Javier Bardem in No Country for old Men!)