Emma, a divorced single mother seeking to start her life over, moves to a small town in Arizona. She befriends Murphy, the older local pharmacist, but things turn complicated when her ex-husband shows up.
Similar titles
Reviews
The Worst Film Ever
Good concept, poorly executed.
Admirable film.
Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
Emma Moriarty (Sally Field) is a divorced 33-year-old, mother to Jake (Corey Haim). She moves to the small town of Eunice, Arizona to fix up a run down horse ranch and train horses. She befriends the local druggist Murphy Jones (James Garner). Her ex-husband Bobby Jack Moriarty (Brian Kerwin) shows up and she lets him stay. He promises to be better but he continues to be a thieving cheat. The two men starts competing for Emma.This is better than most May to December romantic movies. Garner is utterly charming. The beauty is their hesitation. The characters know their age difference and keep pushing away the romance. Sally Field is just as charming. Her horse riding is probably the most impressive thing in the movie. Garner and Field make an adorable couple despite their age difference.
Murphy's Romance is a pleasant easy to take movie about a May - October romance between widower James Garner and younger divorcée Sally Field. It's set in modern day Texas and it moves with grace of a gazelle and the speed of a Galapagos tortoise. And that's not meant in a negative way.Sally Field with the ink barely dry on her divorce from Brian Kerwin has moved to a small Texas town where she's now acquired a ranch which could use a lot of improvement. She's got her son Corey Haim in tow and they aim to start anew.The first and best friend they make in town is 60 year old James Garner, the local druggist. He's part of a disappearing breed in that he owns his own pharmacy. Given the way things are 23 years after Murphy's Romance, Garner's store if it still is operating is probably part of chain now, even in small town America.A steady reliable guy like Garner is all any girl could wish for, but ambling back into the picture is Kerwin who swears on a stack of Bibles he's a changed man. Why he's even a born again Christian.The man knows how to ring her bell, but that's about all he's good for. In fact he furnishes his own proof before the film ends.James Garner got his only Oscar nomination and I remember how much I wanted him to win that night watching the Oscars. It would have been great, but William Hurt won for Kiss of the Spider Woman. Murphy's Romance got one other nomination for cinematography, but it lost to the year's Best Picture, Out of Africa.Murphy's Romance is a tender and touching story about a couple of mature people, one a bit more mature than the other finding true love. As Garner says this is his last love and Field responds this is her first. It's a film for romantics of any age.
This could have been a timeless love story, but the Hollywood management had to assert their liberal policy toward nuclear energy, abortion, and the "ERA". The film is peppered with the agenda. It could have been a love story that transcends time and but not era. So, it is rumored that there is a possible remake. Will it be done right this time? Or will it only continue to echo the Holloywood agenda for the 2000's? Too bad, but the Holloywod agenda of the 80's replays as old hack. Anyone with an LA address will soon regret not building those nuclear power facilities in the 80s when the opportunity struck. The era of cheap energy is gone.
Comfortable, easy going, and dependable. That's "Murphy's Romance" for me, a film I've watched numerous times.That and "Seven and a Match" are movies I've gone back to just to simply enjoy. Neither is in any way special, yet I enjoy spending time with these interesting characters.James Garner and Sally Field are nicely matched, with Brian Kerwin making up the triangle. Each is excellent, with a good script and efficient direction. The photography sometimes looks dull and diffuse, as though crying for a better cinematographer. It's nice, though, spending time with these characters, and I derive much pleasure from each revisit.