The smoldering chemistry between Richard Dreyfuss and Holly Hunter generated in Steven Spielberg’s 1989 romantic fantasy “Always” led audiences to demand a follow-up, which they got just over a year later with director Lasse Hallstrom’s English-language debut ONCE AROUND (115 mins., 1991, R; Mill Creek).
Ok, wait, “Always” wasn’t a big hit, and most viewers felt Hunter seemed a little out of her element as an object of men’s desire in Spielberg’s just “alright” remake of ‘40s Spencer Tracy fantasy “A Guy Named Joe.” Thus, Hunter’s near-immediate reunion with Dreyfuss in “Once Around” initially came off as a curious casting choice for both performers, though this Boston-set family drama is a far superior movie with Hunter in particular giving a much more relaxed performance.
Writer Malia Scotch Marmo also spent a couple of years in Spielberg’s orbit, co-writing “Hook” and taking a pass at “Jurassic Park” (she was credited in early promotional materials), and her script for “Once Around” looks at the unmarried, eldest daughter (Hunter) of a Boston area family presided over by parents Danny Aiello and Gena Rowlands. When her youngest sister (Laura San Giacomo) goes away on her honeymoon, Hunter’s “Renata” goes on a Caribbean trip to find out how to sell condos. Instead, she meets, and is quickly swept away by, an overbearing yet goodhearted – and much older – businessman (Dreyfuss) whose near-immediate attraction to Renata leads to immediate friction between him and her parents, especially her construction worker father.
A little bit episodic and unsure of its focus – ultimately deciding that it’s a movie about Hunter, plus Hunter and Dreyfuss, and Hunter and her family – “Once Around” seems as if it was aspiring to be a Boston variation on “Moonstruck.” However, with the movie’s attention being divided to a degree that no single element comes off as feeling fully nurtured, the picture lacks the dramatic pull of Norman Jewison’s 1987 hit, and the downbeat, melancholic elements of its final act are a little bit much.
Still, there are some lovely moments in “Once Around” and performances to match: Hallstrom had a connection with character-driven dramas, often embracing ensemble pictures like this and juggling big stars in the process. This especially holds true with both Dreyfuss and Aiello, the latter being effectively dialed down (for the most part) from his typical performances seen around this time. Dreyfuss also does a good job underplaying the movie’s most emotional moments, but for the most part this is Hunter’s movie and she’s up to the task. Her heroine is sympathetic and, affected “Baws-tahn” accent aside, highly appealing as she finds happiness from an unexpected source.
James Horner scored “Once Around” but it takes nearly 40 minutes for his sparse score to appear – there are times it doesn’t even sound like Horner, at least until the lovely, melodic conclusion to the movie that’s unmistakably his work.
Shot in and around the Boston area (with interiors apparently filmed in North Carolina), “Once Around” earned some good reviews at the time of the film’s release but – having opened in the sleepy weeks of January 1991 – made little impression at the box-office. This first HD release of the film in Mill Creek’s double feature – paired with the Newport, Rhode Island (at least it makes sense geographically) lensed EVENING (117 mins., 2007, PG-13), likewise making its Blu-Ray premiere – features a serviceable if somewhat older looking Universal master (1.85) with clear 2.0 DTS MA stereo sound.
