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Griffin & Phoenix
MGM // PG-13 // September 11, 2007
List Price: $22.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Call me sentimental, but Griffin and Phoenix worked on some level for me. This implausible yet heartfelt romantic endeavor from director Ed Stone is all over the place in consistency and believability; however, Dermot Mulroney and Amanda Peet's unarmored characters deliver enough honest couth and earnest dialogue that they nearly swallow up the discontinuity. What results is a sincere, humorous, and, at times, evocative little story that touches on building love through physical ailment's scary walls.
The Film:
Originally aired on the Lifetime network, Griffin and Phoenix remakes the 1976 direct-to-television film about a man's desperate strife to grasp happiness amidst his failing health. Instead of Peter Falk in the lead, we've got Dermot Mulroney as the transitioning Griffin. A divorced father of two, Griffin makes his living as a workaholic life insurance agent who emotionally detaches himself from humankind. His demeanor is, in part, built in to his personality, though a darker secret is the real cause. As a surviving cancer patient with painful lesions spread across his chest cavity, he starts to lose grip on his place in the world. Seems like the perfect time to enter into a college-level course for his work that delves into the fragility and coping properties of death, doesn't it? It's here that his life would, ironically, start anew.
There, Griffin meets Phoenix (Amanda Peet), a gentle soul with a warm yet distanced personality. Though it takes some time for them to trust one another, they start to build a bond hinged on grasping the jubilant, fleeting moments in life. They do this through archetypal "to do" lists packed with a lot of adrenaline-fueled excitement. Initially, neither of them makes it easy for the other to invest any emotional wealth. Griffin doesn't easily reveal his painful secret to Phoenix; she, on the other hand, has her own secret looming in her heart that's not too simple to divulge. Once these barriers collapse, they both realize their importance to the other and push harder to ensnare the moments that they have left.
Griffin and Phoenix is better than you'd expect your typical television movie about this material to be, though it's still an incoherently meddled effort. The first half of the film, even though it sets up our individual characters well enough, is contextually puzzling. Neither character's motives make fluid sense throughout most of the first act, even taking the misconstrued pressures of illness to heart. It makes the cohesiveness between the two a little hard to believe initially, taking some rendering of disbelief from the viewer to understand it. It might be the lack of a solidified demeanor, since the film dances frequently between bubbly and brash manners. Like the characters themselves, the film and its situational conflicts struggle to be both impulsively pleasant and weightily melancholy. It's a struggle the film wins by the skin of its teeth on sheer charm.
Once we roll over that middle hump over into character rapport, Griffin and Phoenix starts to overshadow its initial misgivings and delivers a bit of gleaming dramatic vigor. As the couple grows closer and starts to nourish their individual desperations truthfully, we absorb their effort to give and take from one another in a heartfelt manner. Oh, but you've got to watch out for some very clich�, almost cringe worthy, one-liners and situational setups. Some of them are saccharine enough to roll off of you with a chuckle or merely a smirk, whereas an equal amount of Griffin and Phoenix will really test that envelope. Some of this excess can be enjoyably touching, while others push the line.
What makes Griffin and Phoenix soundly likeable, though, is Mulroney and Peet. Typically, I've carried a little bit of empathy for both performers through their supporting positions. Peet's performance as a hitman groupie in The Whole Nine Yards still charms me to this day. In Ed Stone's film, both actors try to soak into their roles, striving with earnest force to deliver Griffin and Phoenix through a gaudy script. While their romantic connection sparks at mere satisfactory levels, its when each character stands either alone or with focus directed on them that prowess really starts to shine. Several scenes, such as one involving the mistreatment of a child in Phoenix's eyes and another focusing on the limits of absolutism before Griffin's, really pack a hearty punch. Even when their activities and statements make very little realistic sense, I couldn't help but enjoy their individual demeanors and connective rapport. Their link feels a bit forced; however, through the context of the film, you can see where they might have a compulsory property with their relationship.
Ultimately, I couldn't forget about the follies within Griffin and Phoenix, but it still stood touchingly digestible and worthy of a few compassionate sparkles. Sure, it wobbles over into stereotypical sappy romance novel land more often than I'd typically like. The affinity you build with the characters is pleasant enough, though, to make the story worth your attention and pretty darn likeable. Both Phoenix and Griffin give us enough potency and genuine tenderness to keep us intermittently roped into the gush.
The DVD:
Griffin and Phoenix comes delivered from MGM Home Entertainment in a standard keepcase presentation with bland, typical romance-style artwork and discart.
The Video:
You know, I enjoyed Griffin and Phoenix's anamorphic widescreen image. It was full of color and solid detail. Mosquito noise and some edge enhancement leak into the presentation fairly frequently, but they weren't terribly annoying. Darker scenes stood pretty solid, as did several other textures. It gets a bit grainy here and there, but overall the film's image held pretty strong.
The Audio:
The 5.1 Dolby mix isn't much of a stunner, but it serves its purpose well enough. Surround activity is pretty much a mute point, as the film is almost wholly driven by dialog. However, the generic mix-tape of music poured through solidly enough, as did any sporadic ambient effects. Most important is vocal clarity, and it holds its own here. There are a few scenes when inklings of voices fade into slight obscurity, but it happens very infrequently and not to a distracting level. It's a serviceable aural treatment. Subtitles are available in English and Spanish.
The Extras:
Unless you're itching for a quality Scene Selection menu, then you'll be sad to see that nothing else is included with Griffin and Phoenix.
-----
Final Thoughts:
For what it is, I liked Griffin and Phoenix more than I thought I was going to. It plays a little heavy on intangible levels of saccharine entertainment and tries a bit hard to make you weepy, but the strength within more dramatic scenes was enough to strike a mild chord. I wish that the film would've been around 15 to 20 minutes longer and more adhesive with tone, preferably with the darker, more poignant insight that trickles in here and there. It's a painful story of romance that suffers purely from malnourished character substance and situational inconsistency. Amanda Peet and Dermot Mulroney's emotional performances and enjoyable dialogue, however, makes this one worth a solid Rental.
Thomas Spurlin, Staff Reviewer -- DVDTalk Reviews | Personal Blog/Site
The Film:
Originally aired on the Lifetime network, Griffin and Phoenix remakes the 1976 direct-to-television film about a man's desperate strife to grasp happiness amidst his failing health. Instead of Peter Falk in the lead, we've got Dermot Mulroney as the transitioning Griffin. A divorced father of two, Griffin makes his living as a workaholic life insurance agent who emotionally detaches himself from humankind. His demeanor is, in part, built in to his personality, though a darker secret is the real cause. As a surviving cancer patient with painful lesions spread across his chest cavity, he starts to lose grip on his place in the world. Seems like the perfect time to enter into a college-level course for his work that delves into the fragility and coping properties of death, doesn't it? It's here that his life would, ironically, start anew.
There, Griffin meets Phoenix (Amanda Peet), a gentle soul with a warm yet distanced personality. Though it takes some time for them to trust one another, they start to build a bond hinged on grasping the jubilant, fleeting moments in life. They do this through archetypal "to do" lists packed with a lot of adrenaline-fueled excitement. Initially, neither of them makes it easy for the other to invest any emotional wealth. Griffin doesn't easily reveal his painful secret to Phoenix; she, on the other hand, has her own secret looming in her heart that's not too simple to divulge. Once these barriers collapse, they both realize their importance to the other and push harder to ensnare the moments that they have left.
Griffin and Phoenix is better than you'd expect your typical television movie about this material to be, though it's still an incoherently meddled effort. The first half of the film, even though it sets up our individual characters well enough, is contextually puzzling. Neither character's motives make fluid sense throughout most of the first act, even taking the misconstrued pressures of illness to heart. It makes the cohesiveness between the two a little hard to believe initially, taking some rendering of disbelief from the viewer to understand it. It might be the lack of a solidified demeanor, since the film dances frequently between bubbly and brash manners. Like the characters themselves, the film and its situational conflicts struggle to be both impulsively pleasant and weightily melancholy. It's a struggle the film wins by the skin of its teeth on sheer charm.
Once we roll over that middle hump over into character rapport, Griffin and Phoenix starts to overshadow its initial misgivings and delivers a bit of gleaming dramatic vigor. As the couple grows closer and starts to nourish their individual desperations truthfully, we absorb their effort to give and take from one another in a heartfelt manner. Oh, but you've got to watch out for some very clich�, almost cringe worthy, one-liners and situational setups. Some of them are saccharine enough to roll off of you with a chuckle or merely a smirk, whereas an equal amount of Griffin and Phoenix will really test that envelope. Some of this excess can be enjoyably touching, while others push the line.
What makes Griffin and Phoenix soundly likeable, though, is Mulroney and Peet. Typically, I've carried a little bit of empathy for both performers through their supporting positions. Peet's performance as a hitman groupie in The Whole Nine Yards still charms me to this day. In Ed Stone's film, both actors try to soak into their roles, striving with earnest force to deliver Griffin and Phoenix through a gaudy script. While their romantic connection sparks at mere satisfactory levels, its when each character stands either alone or with focus directed on them that prowess really starts to shine. Several scenes, such as one involving the mistreatment of a child in Phoenix's eyes and another focusing on the limits of absolutism before Griffin's, really pack a hearty punch. Even when their activities and statements make very little realistic sense, I couldn't help but enjoy their individual demeanors and connective rapport. Their link feels a bit forced; however, through the context of the film, you can see where they might have a compulsory property with their relationship.
Ultimately, I couldn't forget about the follies within Griffin and Phoenix, but it still stood touchingly digestible and worthy of a few compassionate sparkles. Sure, it wobbles over into stereotypical sappy romance novel land more often than I'd typically like. The affinity you build with the characters is pleasant enough, though, to make the story worth your attention and pretty darn likeable. Both Phoenix and Griffin give us enough potency and genuine tenderness to keep us intermittently roped into the gush.
The DVD:
Griffin and Phoenix comes delivered from MGM Home Entertainment in a standard keepcase presentation with bland, typical romance-style artwork and discart.
The Video:
You know, I enjoyed Griffin and Phoenix's anamorphic widescreen image. It was full of color and solid detail. Mosquito noise and some edge enhancement leak into the presentation fairly frequently, but they weren't terribly annoying. Darker scenes stood pretty solid, as did several other textures. It gets a bit grainy here and there, but overall the film's image held pretty strong.
The Audio:
The 5.1 Dolby mix isn't much of a stunner, but it serves its purpose well enough. Surround activity is pretty much a mute point, as the film is almost wholly driven by dialog. However, the generic mix-tape of music poured through solidly enough, as did any sporadic ambient effects. Most important is vocal clarity, and it holds its own here. There are a few scenes when inklings of voices fade into slight obscurity, but it happens very infrequently and not to a distracting level. It's a serviceable aural treatment. Subtitles are available in English and Spanish.
The Extras:
Unless you're itching for a quality Scene Selection menu, then you'll be sad to see that nothing else is included with Griffin and Phoenix.
-----
Final Thoughts:
For what it is, I liked Griffin and Phoenix more than I thought I was going to. It plays a little heavy on intangible levels of saccharine entertainment and tries a bit hard to make you weepy, but the strength within more dramatic scenes was enough to strike a mild chord. I wish that the film would've been around 15 to 20 minutes longer and more adhesive with tone, preferably with the darker, more poignant insight that trickles in here and there. It's a painful story of romance that suffers purely from malnourished character substance and situational inconsistency. Amanda Peet and Dermot Mulroney's emotional performances and enjoyable dialogue, however, makes this one worth a solid Rental.
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