An Affair to Remember (1957)

Okay, so I don't hate this movie. However, it does pale in comparison to the 1930s version with Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer. Heck, in even the 1990s remake with Annette Benning and Warren Beatty the two leads have better chemistry. In "Sleepless in Seattle", which features the film, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks have more chemistry in their limited screen time together.For me, Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant just don't have that much on screen chemistry, which is odd considering this film's reputation as one of the greatest on screen romances. Grant even had more chemistry with Katherine Hepburn and Grace Kelly (who by the way, I cannot stand as an actress!) Grant plays pretty much the same character he played in most of his movies- a wealthy, charming, suave and sophisticated playboy. Although he was clearly getting on in years by the time this film was made, he still had the same charisma he always did.To me, Kerr was a lovely lady but she pretty much always played one-dimensional English Rose type characters. Sort of like Grant, she seemed to play the same kind of role in every film like Grant did. Here, Kerr plays a singer. Hmm... yet, she had to be dubbed here just like in "The King & I." Odd that back in the day, producers would cast an actor who couldn't sing to play a singer. Seems like it would have been more cost-effective to just cast an actor who could actually sing in a film that required singing. But I digress...Anyway, several things about this film bother me. One is how ungrateful Kerr's character is to her long-suffering boyfriend, Ken, who does so much for her throughout the film, including support her both emotionally and financially. I'm sure I will have people disagree with me, but in my opinion, she should have picked him at the end of the film, but of course (MAJOR SPOILER HERE) she's going to pick Cary Grant because, well, he's Cary Grant. The scenes with the kids singing were also rather annoying, and kind of pointless.Anyway, I wouldn't tell anyone not to see this film since again it is not terrible or anything. However, I would advise you to see the Charles Boyer/Irene Dunne version first.

Honestly this movie would give you warm fuzzballs. Grant and Kerr were excellent on their acting as the couple who fell in love on a cruise. I even loved the scene where they visited the grandmother in Italy like it was just so so sweet! Where do you get a movie like that nowadays as sweet as that?!I did notice that Grant did have a bump on his forehead, it looks awful sore but since he admitted that he had since childhood, I guess thats where it came from after all! I swear Kerr was absolutely stunning, she was like Princess Grave Kelly but except with the short hair. I really like this movie, I give it a 8/10 especially the ending where he understood why she never met him on the date they were suppose to say they will marry each other ♡

Among the most sentimental and the most unforgettable romances of old Hollywood, Leo McCarey's AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER is a top notch production. It is full of intense sentiment, irresistible charm, emotional musical pieces and, foremost, an aspect it is probably most remembered for, the great leading couple: Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant.In an interview, Ms Kerr said interesting words about one of the most cherished leading men on screen, labeling him as "a great believer in keeping a kind of image he has built up." Yet, no matter what we consider as a Cary Grant characterization, one thing is certain, AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER is a mutual work of both Mr Grant as Nickie Ferrante and Ms Kerr as Terry Mc Kay. Their affair, childish and sentimental as it may seem, especially being touched by the test of time, is what emerges from this charming film. But two words or even (I dare say this) realities evoke here: MEMORY and LOVE.Bosley Crowther of New York Times called their marriage pact as "ridiculously childish for a couple of adult people to make" but this critical instance is transformed in Variety review that labels their romance as "never maudlin but a wholly believable relationship." Among all these movie scholars who always manifest slightly radical viewpoints on classic productions, Helen Fredericks is perhaps closest to the truth hailing the movie as a "wonderful and witty tale of a true Love." She adds that this LOVE changed them and conquered their fears." Mind you this word 'Love' written in capital letter. No wonder there is Love because it is, after all, a romance. But memory? In one of the most beautiful film's sequences, Nickie's grandmother (Cathleen Nesbitt) who lives in an idyllic, blissful place somewhere in the Mediterranean, utters a truly remarkable line: "You are young, you have to create memories." She combines the experience of the old generation with the understanding of the young one. The quintessential aspect of the film is therein incorporated. When Nickie revisits the place, her words echo in his mind (supposedly, she is dead but her advice of wisdom lives on).The film's a typical romance in the sentimental mode and that is what you may expect from the start. The musical pieces, including the line "Close your eyes, make a wish and you're there" is the essence of fantasy. Yet, Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr and the true chemistry between them make for a really remarkable love affair depiction. It lacks today's irony and offers yesterday's feeling.Pauline Kael once pointed out that the film can boast "timing and nonchalance" This observation, which appears particularly right in the context of the protagonists, proves an almost flawless viewing experience for both the viewers' of the film's period and the viewers of today.AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER is a wondrous romance you will rejoice remembering long after viewing it. 9/10

An Affair to Remember is a movie which begins with great promise. Unfortunately that promise ends up being well and truly squandered. Cary Grant plays Nickie Ferrante, a well-known playboy-type sailing from Europe to New York. Waiting for him in New York is his exceedingly wealthy fiancée. Their wedding is huge news, the famous ladies' man settling down. Reporters can't wait to get a piece of Nickie when he gets to New York. But on the ship there are complications. Those complications come in the form of Terry McKay, played by Deborah Kerr. Terry, much like Nickie, has a lover waiting for her in America. But, despite a seeming initial distaste for one another upon first meeting, Nickie and Terry fall in love. Theirs is a very chaste affair, this is a film made in 1957 after all, but there is no doubt that by the time they get to New York Nickie and Terry desperately want to be with one another. So then what? Well sadly then the movie falls apart.Grant and Kerr have an easy, appealing chemistry as their characters fall in love aboard the ship. Their efforts to keep their newfound relationship hidden away from the prying eyes of their shipmates are amusing. When the ship docks briefly in France a visit by the couple to Nickie's wonderfully sweet grandmother warms the heart. It is during this visit that they realize their true feelings for one another. Back on the ship they go and there is no longer any pretense: they're in love. But their being in love will cause all kinds of problems. Nickie is about to be married and, with no income of his own, marriage to a very wealthy woman can be quite useful. Meanwhile Terry's boyfriend seems to have marriage on the brain too. Can Nickie and Terry extricate themselves from their respective relationships? Should they? Toss away these long-standing relationships to be with someone you just met? Nickie and Terry come up with a plan. They'll take some time apart, sort things out and reconnect months later. The best laid plans...So, things don't really go according to plan. The movie contrives a way to keep Nickie and Terry apart. And thus does the movie fall to pieces. Whatever charm the movie had with Grant and Kerr working together is completely lost when they're apart. The second half of the film is a boring slog. Quite a drag. Then a bunch of kids show up out of nowhere for a couple of truly excruciating musical numbers. By this point the movie is a total disaster. It would be bad enough if there was at least a reason to keep Nickie and Terry away from one another. But there isn't, there's just one character being so stubborn and stupid that it's mind-boggling. It's a false way to try to create drama and it fails miserably. The movie just goes on and on, going on for so long that you forget why you were ever interested in the first place. The great promise shown in the first half of the movie comes to nothing. And then after boring you to tears for the better part of an hour the film rushes through a climax which is absurdly jarring and abrupt. Add it all up and this becomes a movie to forget.