Available at Amazon.com
Sony Pictures presents A Perfect Day. 91 minutes. Written by Joyce Eliason. Based on the novel by Richard Paul Evans. Not rated.
Directed By:
Peter Levin
Cast:
Christopher Lloyd……….Michael
Rob Lowe……….Robert Harlan
Paget Brewster……….Allyson Harlan
The Film:
Made for TV movies never bode well for quality entertainment. If it were a good story it would have made it all the way to the big screen. Then when you see the film is presented by Johnson & Johnson any faith you had left that you were going to be watching a good film goes right out the window.
A Perfect Day is the story of Robert Harlan (Rob Lowe). As his story begins he is fired from his radio job. With free time on his hand he finally finishes that book he’s been writing. After a struggle to find an agent and get the book published he is sent on the rollercoaster ride of life when it turns out to be a bestseller. However fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be as strain begins to build between his family. Things really begin to change for Robert when the mysterious Michael (Christopher Lloyd) starts appearing every time things get really bad. Then the real twist pops up when the mysterious man tells Robert he’ll die Christmas day.
This is why this film fails: I have been trying to get an agent for my book for a long while now. So when Robert begins going through this similar struggle with his book this should have been something I related to. Of all the people to watch this film, this should have grabbed me, sucked me in, sold me on the whole film. But it didn’t. This part of the film, like the rest of it is nothing but a trite, clichéd mess that I hesitate to even call a film.
Watching this film makes you feel really bad for everyone involved. It’s a painful film to watch and one can only imagine that it was a painful film to make. About the only enjoyment you’ll get from the film is laughing at the truly awful moments but that doesn’t make the film so bad it’s good. It’s just bad. Bad and wretchedly sappy. And just when you think it can’t get any worse the last five minutes proves that it can.
I hesitate to even make the reference but the film almost seems like it’s trying to have an It’s A Wonderful Life feel but without any heart. The film opens when Robert is obviously at the bottom then we flashback to where it all started. Robert is faced with ever temptation fame has to offer and he almost loses the ones he really loves in the process. Throw that it with the “mystical” presence of Michael who is a Clarence type guardian angle without any of the charm, and any originality gets thrown out the window. When Robert yells, “I want my life back!” one can’t help think of George Bailey yelling, “I want to live again!”
The DVD:
This film is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen. Sound is in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. Can be watched in French, Portuguese and Thai. Subtitles in French Portuguese, Chinese and Thai.
Extras:
None, and frankly I’m glad. The less time spent with this film the better.
The Inside Pulse
With so many holiday films out there and so few good ones it’s a wonder why so many more bad one’s keep getting made. It’s very sad to see Rob Lowe in such an awful film.
