Miracles is a 1986 comedy film about a newly divorced couple who can't seem to get away from one another. The film was written and directed by Jim Kouf, and stars Teri Garr, Tom Conti, Paul Rodriguez, and Christopher Lloyd.
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The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
The "spoilers" in this review are very generalized, and I don't believe any specific plot lines or jokes are ruined by it.While there may be grounds to criticize this movie for its dialogue and directing, I still cannot help myself--I really liked it. Perhaps it is the talent; I really like Teri Garr (very talented actress) and Paul Rodriguez (comedic genius). Tom Conti has his moments, too.Terri Garr turns in a very good performance in this movie. Paul Rodriguez, manages to be outrageous, yet believable, and is excellent in this role. Christopher Lloyd is, well, Christopher Lloyd. In this case that is a good thing, and I wish he had a little bigger role in this movie. Even Tom Conti, turns in a decent performance despite an occasional flat delivery. I think a lot of some reviewers' negative reactions to him in this film are due to his character's "Type A," and CLASSICALLY "surgeon-esque" personality. In this, he plays it entirely realistically. While not all surgeons are like that, having known a number of them during my medical training, I can assure you, many are.However, it is the title character of this movie that is the true star. This movie shows many goods being brought from what seem like (minor to extreme) inconveniences to the main characters, all heading toward and contributing to the main miracle, which turns out to be the point to the whole adventure/s."All things work together for good to those who love God." So goes a verse in The Bible, and it applies aptly to this movie. This movie is denominationally neutral, however. Even if you don't believe in God, this movie should not offend. It easily allows one to imagine some unseen force in the universe that uses what seems to be random, unrelated mishaps to come together to accomplish a greater good in a cause larger than ourselves.I personally find it comforting and even spiritually enlightening to know that even the crosses we bear* can be turned to the good by the Almighty, and that in the process we can even be used as instruments for a much greater good than our tiny brains could imagine.I think this is why, despite the sometimes-poor dialogue and occasional flat deliveries, I really appreciate this movie. Even to the point of unembarrassedly saying that it is one of my favorites. I bought two because the tape on which I taped it off of cable years ago has worn out. VCR tape doesn't last very long, and I sorely wish that this title were on DVD.*(Yes, I'm Christian, so I phrase it in that context. Wear whatever you want.)
At the time my personal TV was a black and white one, with only 3 active channels (OH MY GOD, WHAT A TRAGEDY THAT WAS !!). Anyhow, back then, I was having a very dull afternoon. But with this movie, it turned into Miracles! All of its elements clicked, especially the cast. Teri Garr is outrageously sexy. She can be innocent, annoying, comic, angry, and vivid, while being so hot in the same time. I rather think she's hot because of doing all of these previous things so self-evidently ! It's great to see her in a movie of this sort. Too bad that cinema didn't use her that well. She could have been a star of some romantic comedies at the time. But alas. In any case, I know that this is a reason why her fans, including me, must cherish this movie best.Tom Conti is fine. He made a productive duet with Teri (loved the scene in which the plane falls down while the 2 are insanely laughing on the situation itself). However why I thought that he was having a strange paroxysm of Peter Sellers ?? He seemed to me haunted, during the whole movie, by the late actor's soul, moves, voice, etc !I love this comedy. It's filled up with action and mad events. The thing about it is that everything you don't expect happens. Yet, the best of it remains at the fact that this action comedy is about the return of love between 2 people. I just adore genre movies when they have MEANING.For a buddy-movies' freak like me, this movie IS important. It has the formula of "arguing man and woman on the run, who become lovers at last" (a common theme in these movies instead of "2 arguing men on the run, who become friends at last"). This formula is so familiar since older godfathers like Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) and Foul Play (1978). Now in relation with 1986 I listed other similar movies of the same kind were produced, like for instance (No Mercy) and (Shanghai Surprise). Well, they ranged between disastrous and more disastrous. And it's clear that (Miracles) surpasses. Simply nothing was as funny, lusty, or lovable.Finally, it was black and white TV set, but – believe it or not – I just can't forget this movie's colors !
Unless one nurses a passion for the totally insipid, this movie can not be recommended, since even a talented performer as is Teri Garr can not lift a single scene above a level of mediocrity. Roger (Tom Conti) and Jean (Garr) Briggs are divorcing after ten confrontational years of marriage and as they are separately driving to and from celebratory functions, their vehicles collide due to a swerving maneuver by Jean to avoid striking a fleeing burglar, played by Paul Rodriguez. The felon, Juan, kidnaps the Briggs pair and removes them to his residence where he, along with confederates, robs them and bundles the bound victims into a closet. The duo do not long remain secured and, when Juan's house is unaccountably assailed by a large contingent of police he, along with the Briggs couple naturally escape, evading pursuers while driving to an airport where Juan's partner in crime Harry ( Christopher Lloyd) awaits with a cargo plane laden with illegal narcotics. This aircraft takes off amid police gunfire, flying toward Latin America, piloted eventually by the nonexperienced Roger as the two criminals bail out and the film meanders on, with such as Mexican village police, a native witch doctor, and an assortment of odd miscellany contributing to what is apparently meant to be a type of madcap comedy. The awkwardly organized series of episodes that comprises the film is plotted for comedic effect, but the dialogue is consistently trite and forced, and intended witty bickering of Roger and Jean falls flat. Direction and story are both by Jim Kouf, and each is weak, with featured players having to verbally fill gaps in the action because of flaccid helmsmanship, a flaw that post-production polishing fails to eliminate through the editing process. Conti is miscast and his essays at fervid emotional expression only embarrass a viewer, with talented Garr betrayed throughout by a double handicap of a foolish screenplay and hapless direction.
This is probably the last movie ever made using a script that was written for Abbott and Costello. Even the incidental music was reminiscent of the slapstick comedies of the 40-s. It's the Bowery Boys in modern dress. It's worse than Ishtar. Parts that were spoken in Spanish were subtitled in English---but parts that were spoken in Indian were subtitled in Spanish!This film could be used for instructional purposes in a film school: Don't ever, ever, ever do anything the way it was done in this film.