- 1991movierewind
Episode 19: Impromptu
Listen to Episode 19 of the Podcast here while you enjoy the show notes.
SUMMARY - Impromptu tells the story of George Sands, a famous French novelist (played by Judy Davis) who refuses to conform to societal norms by dressing in pants and makes a habit of leaving broken hearts in her wake. When she encounters composer Frederic Chopin (played by Hugh Grant), George faces a challenge in seduction that she must conquer.
Screenplay by Sarah Kernochan; Directed by James Lapine, and released on April 12, 1991.
FILM DISCUSSION
We quickly get a sense of George Sands' character and personality
And we also get a grasp on the sense of humor early on. Here's one of George's exes looking to jump out of the window to avoid her.
There are a lot of characters to get introduced to early on, all based on real people like Eugene Delacroix
Franz Liszt and Marie D’Agoult
But the most important is Chopin played by Hugh Grant.
The movie tries too hard to create silly, madcap situations including not just one...
...but two duels.
and a horse pooping on some writing.
and a lot of unnecessary side stuff involving kids
and while this play looks absurd, it really isn't. It all means it takes a long time before the love story gets a chance to progress
By that time, it's mostly told through an end of movie montage, so it was all underwhelming.
Awards Talk - At the Independent Spirit Awards, Judy Davis won the Best Female Lead and Emma Thompson was nominated for Best Supporting Female.
TRUE CRIME & POP CULTURE
This week our crime segment focused Hugh Grant and his controversies and battles with the paparazzi.
If you want to read up more on it, here are a couple of our sources.
For music, we have a new entry in our tracking.
The Top US Song was
Londonbeat - I’ve Been Thinking About You
The Top UK Song was
Chesney Hawkes - The One and Only. We've talked about this one a couple of times now.
The Top R&B Song was
Johnny Gill - Wrap My Body Tight - Here's another new song to enjoy
For TV, we watched whatever sketches Peacock decided to let people watch for the
Saturday Night Live hosted by Catherine O’Hara and musical guest REM. Yeah, the music performances were missing from the episode, along with some other segments in the stream, but we provided thoughts on what we were able to see.
RANKINGS & RATINGS
Nikki 1-5 star scale - 2 out of 5
Jon 0-4 star scale - 1/2 out of 4
Would you watch it again? - No. The last twenty minutes weren't terrible, but it was a long haul to get to that point. We'd rather go for some other period piece or adaptation of a Jane Austen story instead.
If you want to watch Impromptu, as of this recording on June 2021, it’s available on Tubi, Hoopla, Digital Rental, VHS, DVD. Check your local listings.
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Join us next time for Barton Fink available on Digital Rental, VHS, DVD
