Speechless (1994 film)

Speechless is a 1994 American romantic comedy film directed by Ron Underwood. It stars Michael Keaton, Geena Davis (who also co-produced with her then-husband, director Renny Harlin), Bonnie Bedelia, Ernie Hudson, and Christopher Reeve.

For the 2012 film, see Speechless (2012 film).
Speechless
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRon Underwood
Produced byGeena Davis
Renny Harlin
Written byRobert King
Starring
Music byMarc Shaiman
CinematographyDonald Peterman
Edited byRichard Francis-Bruce
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • December 16, 1994 (1994-12-16)
Running time
99 minutes
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million
Box office$20,667,959[1]

Plot

Julia Mann (Davis) and Kevin Vallick (Keaton) are insomniac writers who fall in love, but their romance is thrown for a loop because both are writing speeches for rival candidates in a New Mexico election. Julia is working for the Democratic candidate and Kevin for the Republican candidate.

Also complicating matters are Kevin's ex-wife (Bedelia), who is on the Republican's campaign trail, and "Mr. Flak Jacket," television war correspondent "Bagdad Bob" Freed (Reeve), Julia's estranged fiance, who wants her back.

Cast

Reception

The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 11% based on reviews from 27 critics.[2] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B on scale of A to F.[3]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 2 out of 4, and wrote: "The level of humor is dialed safely down to the Sitcom setting, which limits what can happen, and how much we can care about it."[4] Gene Siskel, gave the film 1 out 4 and was critical of the lack of chemistry between the leads and the script, writing: "This script needed to be completely overhauled before filming began."[5] Brian Lowry of Variety wrote: "Never achieves the madcap hilarity of the '40s romantic comedies it seeks to emulate, and some of the dramatic moments feel a bit forced."[6]

Marjorie Baumgarten of the Austin Chronicle gave a positive review and wrote: "It comes down to the charms of Keaton and Davis in the end. You like these characters and root for them to score."[7]

Geena Davis was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her performance.

Box office

The film debuted at No. 5 in the United States and went on to gross $20.6 million.[8][1] In Latin America, several countries released the film with the title "No se tú", taking advantage of the 1992 hit by Mexican singer Luis Miguel, included in the soundtrack of the film.

Year-end lists

Soundtrack

The soundtrack included "2 Sides", a track also present on James Armstrong's 2000 album, Got It Goin' On.[11]

Further reading
  • Kauffmann, Stanley (January 23, 1995). "Speechless.(movie reviews)". The New Republic.
  • Stolee, James (August 28, 1995). "Sleepless or speechless, this is only so-so comedy". Alberta Report / Western Report. United Western Communications Ltd.

References
  1. "Speechless (1994)". The Numbers. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  2. "Speechless (1994)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  3. "SPEECHLESS (1994) B". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
  4. Ebert, Roger (December 16, 1994). "Speechless Movie Review & Film Summary (1994)". Chicago Sun-Times.
  5. Siskel, Gene. "CARREY'S 'DUMB AND DUMBER' IS SMART ENOUGH TO WORK". chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on 2015-10-22.
  6. Lowry, Brian (12 December 1994). "Speechless". Variety.
  7. "Movie Review: Speechless". Austin Chronicle.
  8. "Weekend Box Office : Jim Carrey's Not-So-'Dumb' Fee". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  9. MacCambridge, Michael (December 22, 1994). "it's a LOVE-HATE thing". Austin American-Statesman (Final ed.). p. 38.
  10. Howe, Desson (December 30, 1994), "The Envelope Please: Reel Winners and Losers of 1994", The Washington Post, retrieved July 19, 2020
  11. Skelly, Richard. "James Armstrong". Allmusic. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
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