2006, Canada/Malta/UK
Comedy, Drama, Romance
READ THE REVIEW AT The Desert Sun.
Extended version:
Joan Carr-Wiggin makes her sophomore directorial effort (along with triple duties as writer and producer) with A Previous Engagement, a film that asks the big romantic "What If?" What if I stayed with the Frenchman who swept me off my feet and onto the beach in Malta back when I was a reckless twenty-something? What if I left my dud of a husband and whiny grownup daughters to fend for themselves?
The film centers around the age-old lovers pact. Bypassing the classic agreement by two singles to get married at a certain age, this one involves two lovers who choose to meet in the exact same site of their tryst 25 years later. Why were they so foolish to part in the heat of passion? The world may never know, but Julia and Alex find themselves wound up in the same feelings with nearly three decades of distractions between them, including Julia's family and Alex's assistant and sometimes lover who have come along for the ride.
Carr-Wiggin was thrilled to helm a film about a woman her own age with whom she could identify – still vibrant, still adventurous, still dreaming. Unfortunately, the character is surrounded by a family who is such a one-dimensional joke that it is a wonder she never Googled her soul mate long ago and sped up the rendezvous. When it is revealed that Julia settled for a life with her insurance-selling husband rather than becoming the carefree writer she strived to be, it becomes apparent that it is not only love but her own happiness which got lost in the shuffle.
Juliet Stevenson (Emma) curses her way through Julia's problems and fawns over the long-lost Alex, played by Tchéky Karyo (Taking Lives). Daniel Stern leads her ungrateful family brood and prefers to work on his puzzles than admire the Mediterranean paradise or his wife.
More frequent shots of the stunning view would have been appreciated, as the entire production was filmed on location. One would hardly know it by the limiting sets. Instead, the audience is pummeled with forced comedy, flat dialogue and a cheesy soundtrack that attempts to guide the action.
There is no sympathy as Julia struggles to make a choice; her ungrateful family does not deserve her. The attraction between the old lovers is apparent when they are entangled, but otherwise the drama of returning life to the right track is muddled by a comedy of errors. Rather than being a charming series of mistakes and monkey business, there is little desire to watch the characters flounder and head towards an obvious conclusion. Time would be better spent watching the island nation's tourism video.