Griffin & Phoenix (2006)

I am surprised at the low number of votes for this movie as it is really good movie and should have more exposure. Granted it was a little contrived sometimes but there are also many times where it doesn't fall into clichés.Amanda Peet and Dermot Mulroney have done an amazing job. They have brought the characters to life. Everybody else has a small role as movie belongs to the two leads.There are some obvious faults in the movie. It is not very realistic and a little contrived. But at the same time it also breaks some norms associated with these type of movies. While it may be unpalatable to some people, I liked this movie because of those parts. The part I am referring to is when Griffin who is portrayed by Dermot Mulroney, goes to meet his kids after coming to know that he has one year to live(It is not really a spoiler as we come to know about it just when the film starts). Instead of sharing a bonding moment, his efforts are rebuked by his kids. We see in him a realization that it is a little late to make up for the time he has ignored them in the past. He knows that he can get their affection if he tells them that he is going to die, but he chooses not to, treating it as his comeuppance.

I had no idea what the movie was about since i had queued it ages ago. Well...this was no light-hearted comedy, to put it lightly! I ended up sobbing through the entire second half and kept crying for an hour afterward. I just decided to let myself go with it and embrace it--forgetting what that can do to you the next day--and woke up with a vicious headache.But it was very good. Amanda Peet was flawless in this role. I love how she never overacts in her films and this was no exception. Mulroney was also very good & I don't usually care for him. Some may call this film too sentimental. To which i say: So what? Be sure to grab a big roll of paper-towels. And make it Bounty (the quicker dryer-upper.) And take 2 Advil ahead of time or you'll pay for it later. I sure did. This is not one of those gratuitously depressing films.~NN

I don't like spoilers but you really can't review this movie without it so I beg your indulgence.Two people, each with terminal cancer, meet and fall in love and only by accident does each one find out the other's "secret." This may not be a good way to start a relationship but, in this case, it works and it makes for a wonderful albeit sad movie.Griffin is told he has a chestful of tumors and, at most, a year to live. He has 2 sons by his first wife and, realizing he has little time left, he spends more time with them.He also attends a Life Against Death type of class where he meets a different, almost kooky girl named Phoenix (somewhere, midway in the film we learn her first name is Sarah. I'm not sure we ever learn Griffin's first name). She likes Griffin though she thinks he's a bit off the wall but she doesn't want to get involved with Griffin because she has a secret. One morning after they've spent the night together, she finds books in his apartment about dying. She thinks he bought them because he knows her "secret." Then, after screaming at and pummeling him, he tells her the books are his. Yes, they're his, he said, but he bought them for himself and is reading them because HE is is dying. She then tells him she is dying too ... she also has cancer, she says, that started in her ovaries and is now all over the place. Once they share their secrets, ironically, they really start to live, love and enjoy one another. They realize they've found their soul mates but they have only a limited time to enjoy and appreciate one another. And this they do with a vengeance.There are some goofy, silly scenes in the movie that could have been left out although they illustrate the idea of doing what you've always wanted to do and to enjoy each day as if it were your last.But at the end (and I won't say what happens; it's not as obvious as you think), I found myself saying, "I'd give my SOUL for a love like that." It's the kind of love story most of us women crave and I'm no exception. Another plus for this movie is Dermot Mulroney is so handsome! I actually envied Amanda Peete because (in this movie) she gets to fall in love with and make passionate love with him. Oh, lucky lady!

I got the DVD because I wanted to see more Amanda Peet after watching 'Something's Got To Give'. I must say it was worth the cost. I was mesmerized by Amanda as the repressed and depressed Sarah Phoenix.Sarah Phoenix has been dumped by her previous lover and is now facing her death without much emotional support from anyone. She talks to her mother on the telephone, but has obviously not revealed how precarious is her health.Dermot Mulroney really came across as the workaholic Griffin who has to face his approaching death without the support of the family he ignored too long. Dermot managed to convey his inner turmoil with nothing more than his expressions and body language.Griffin and Phoenix meet at a college lecture on death and dying and they feel an immediate attraction. Phoenix tries to dismiss Griffin's advances, but eventually starts to allow him into her heart. Part of her reluctance is the pain of her previous romantic breakup, but more pressing is her depression at her declining health.It was amazing to watch the personal growth of Griffin as he emerged from his shell to cherish his new love through the difficult and painful experience of her terminal illness. We get to see the new couple find a way to live the best days of their lives during the most difficult and painful experience they will ever face. Even in the midst of his own problems Griffin can reach out to support someone else in time of need.One thing puzzled me in the film. Phoenix has had a sudden decline in her health and is admitted to the hospital for probably her final few days of life. Where is her mother? Surely, Sarah would not keep her mother in the dark at such a difficult time in her life.The film finale just tore at my emotions. I have grown to know and admire Phoenix. The early Christmas Griffin provides Phoenix is at once precious and painful to watch. The love between these two dying people is made so real that I hated to watch the view fade out to the screen credits.This TV movie was far superior to many higher budget efforts that actually received theater screening. The two lead actors really surpassed anything else I have seen them in. I never tire of watching this film.