Coast to Coast (2004)

Richard Dreyfuss and Judy Davis shine in this contemporary story of a couple whose marriage has literally gone astray, part in fact due to the infidelity of both partners and the fact that their eldest son was killed in a car accident 8 years before.Davis looks like she has really gone through the ringer here. As the emotionally distraught, she depicts an emotional and psychological hang-up which is certainly memorable. She is equally matched by Dreyfuss, who also pulls no punches as the husband.They plan to end their marriage by going out to Los Angeles to attend the wedding of their surviving son and making important stops along the way. These stops are memorable as they depict the sudden demise of the co-writer, wittingly played by director Paul Mazursky. There is also the daughter, not married, pregnant girl who has broken up with the baby's father to only start a new relationship with a basketball player.This is definitely a poignant story brought to the screen by great performances as well as a sharp dialogue.The musical score is wonderful here.

This is certainly an enjoyable movie with some very sharp witty remarks scattered throughout the dialogue.The main criticisms I have are:1. The awful music score. It sounds as though it was put together on a cheap and nasty electronic keyboard. It grated on me throughout the film.2. Some of the longer scenes of two people talking to each other were just too long. A cut-away or two would have relieved the tedium. Yes, the 'conversations' were, in the main, very relevant to the plot, but were just too long. A few more snips with the scissors in the editing room would not have gone amiss.3. Those infernal maps! Ugh! They lent a real 'cheap and nasty' air to the movie, which was a pity.As far as I'm concerned, the 'test' for a good movie is whether I will watch it again or not. This one scores scores a definite 'maybe'.

As I was watching this movie, I found myself struck by what seemed to be a number of similarities with the movie "Ordinary People." Like the story in that movie, Richard Dreyfuss and Judy Davis play a couple whose marriage is falling apart as they deal with the accidental death of their son a number of years before. "Coast To Coast," however is not as good as "Ordinary People," although it's not a bad movie at all and while it definitely didn't captivate me, it definitely did pull me in and keep me interested."Coast To Coast" is an often heavy movie, although the heaviness is broken up somewhat by rather low-key comedy, which is largely introduced by making Dreyfuss' character of Barnaby Pierce a comedy writer. Essentially, Barnaby and Maxine (Davis) set off from their home in Connecticut to attend their surviving son's wedding in Los Angeles. (In another scene strikingly similar to "Ordinary People" the surviving son is having problems of his own dealing with his brother's death, as they were in the car together when the accident occurred.) Along the way, Barnaby and Maxine have encounters with several old friends and acquaintances, all of whom seem to have lives even more dysfunctional than theirs. The most notable (to me) of those encounters was with one of Maxine's former professors (played by Maximilian Schell) who has married a young bombshell, but whose ex-wife still lives in the house, coming out only at night and never interacting with the ex-husband. Essentially the central part of the movie is the trip to Denver, when Maxine has a rather difficult encounter with an old flame, played by Fred Ward.Somehow, any real suspense is lacking here. I never had any doubt that Barnaby and Maxine would eventually reconcile, and that reconciliation is certainly hinted at by the last scene of the movie.The performances of Dreyfuss and Davis were the highlights here. Dreyfuss is always excellent, and this was no exception. Davis I was unfamiliar with, having not seen any of her previous work, but she also did a very commendable job with her role. These performances pull a basically OK movie up another notch. "Coast To Coast" didn't blow me away, but on the strength of an interesting story, memorable characters and the above mentioned performances, I still give it a 7/10

This is a funny movie with some smart dialog and a couple adults in adult situations for a change. Thoroughly enjoyable. Dryfus is in control and not doing his "cute" routine. Davis is believable and always nice to see an old vet like Fred Ward. Sometimes you just have to sit back and enjoy a movie and be entertained.In an era of movies pandering to functional illiterates with the attention span of a bi-polar humming bird on crank, it's enjoyable to see a movie with people actually speaking to each other in complete sentences. Or if it isn't your style, there is always the latest Ben Stiller movie. I understand there is a hum dinger staring a blind ferret.