Almost You

Synopsis

On its surface, Almost You is potentially interesting. Considering the mid-‘80s production, you have Griffin Dunne, about to appear in Scorsese’s After Hours, but had already appeared in An American Werewolf in London. In this film, he is married to Brooke Adams, a.k.a. Mrs. Tony Shalhoub (Monk), but before that, had appeared in Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven, and had her own experiences in horror, appearing in The Dead Zone. As husband and wife, Dunne’s …haracter Alex feels rapidly disenchanted with their marriage, and says so just before they are about to leave on a trip to Erica’s (Adams) parents.

Unfortunately for Alex, things change as after they have an argument about Alex’s lack of desire to go on this trip, as Erica is hit by a car and is hospitalized for a couple of weeks. During this time, Alex does stick his toe into the water and tries to play around, but doesn’t do too well. When Erica comes home, she is assigned a physical therapist/nurse (played by Karen Young, Birdy), and Alex develops a crush on her. The nurse, named Lisa, has been dating an actor named Kevin for awhile, and feels the relationship getting stale and going nowhere.

Now, where you would normally think the husband strays but regrets it, the story, written by Adam Brooks (Wimbledon, Bridget Jones 2) becomes a little bit muddled. Kevin thinks Lisa is cheating on him, and stalks Alex for some strange reason that’s never fully explored. The fact that Kevin has got the flock of seagulls haircut but no real charisma hurts the picture to some degree. Erica’s also unhappy in the marriage, but that’s doesn’t really go anywhere either. The most lucid storyline is Alex’s, which is vague, up until the end, despite an appearance by a very young Dana Delany (China Beach). All in all, it seems like this drama wanted to try and say several different things, but didn’t know how to say them. And with the acting talent in this film, far more could have been accomplished.

Audio

The film has got Dolby stereo and Mono tracks, and it’s dialogue driven, so there’s not much workout for those who have rear speakers. But everything sounds OK with no issues.

Video

This disc has a full frame version of it on one side, and a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen version on the other. It maintains a consistent film grain and looks clear, but the overall picture looks grayish, perhaps as an artistic choice I suppose.

Special Features

A trailer, and not much more than that. A forgettable movie gets forgettable extras.

Closing Thoughts

There have been better movies about a marriage disintegrating, done by better directors, with better stories. Whether or not this one separates itself by one partner looking to reconcile is debatable, and ultimately the acting is good, but the story is just…confused. I’d skip by this if you’re bored and looking for a good rental.

Special Features List

• Trailer