The Accidental Tourist

1988 romantic comedy that isn't funny

Rating: 11/20

Plot: Following a tragedy, a travel writer and his wife split up. He meets a whimsical dog trainer who won't leave him alone.

This movie becomes really unlikable when it turns into a Burger King commercial, almost as ridiculously obvious as the McDonald's commercial in Mac and Me. All it needed was Geena Davis rapping in a bear suit, something that I'm kind of surprised wasn't actually in the movie. She has the acting chops of an animated mannequin in this, and that William Hurt's character didn't file a restraining order at some point really makes the whole thing difficult to believe.

William Hurt's character, like this somnabulistic Garfield, is difficult to connect with. It's hard to buy the character in any state the character happens to be in because Hurt's performance is so deadpan. There's a moment when he loses his cool, and it almost seemed like a continuity error. I didn't really like Hurt or his character here, but I think the performance might have been made worse by the drooping John Williams score that kind of weighs down the entire movie. It's almost like Hurt's character is wearing the John Williams score, and I don't mean that in a good way.

Any nice tender moments in the screenplay--and I did like the final shots of this--are ruined by the acting of Geena Davis's kid. The performance of the dog was better.