One Special Night (1999)

Charming Romance

The most charming video with such wonderful actors will capture your heart. It is on my top three favorites list. James Garner & Julie Andrews are the perfect cast. All supporting actors are equally as good. The story line is warm & interesting & will make you want to replay it over again. The filming is well done & the scenery is beautiful. No place does winter better than Canada. One of my favorites to give as a gift. December 30, 2008

Excellent Acting Not Enough to Save this Movie

There were so many positive ratings for this movie and we don't understand how that could be the case????

PLOT OF MOVIE - This movie is about a man named Robert (James Garner) who is married to a woman with Alzheimer's. He is visiting her in a rest home when he is snowed in and a woman Katherine (Julie Andrews) a widower offers him a ride home in her vehicle. Robert is very disagreeable and rude.

Robert was an arrogant, grumpy man, a chauvinist who complains incessantly. Katherine is an independent, intelligent, and successful woman doctor. Where is the common ground? Why do they go from hating each other to love? The script did not address this.

PLUSES - Both leading actors are believable in the roles they act. We have enjoyed James Garner and Julie Andrews in many acting roles; unfortunately, this is not the case here. Despite their excellent acting it was not enough to save this movie.

MINUSES - Script, plot and character development. They could have had something special here, but, they missed the mark completely. They could have explored the difficulties of loosing a spouse to Alzheimer's or the difficulties of life as a widower. There are a lot of emotions that could have been explored to give this movie purpose and depth, but, were not utilized. James Garner's character in the movie NOTEBOOK is much better.
The character of Robert was so rude and disagreeable and then him falling in love with Katherine with his wife suffering from Alzheimer's and in the rest home for only a short time (his daughters discuss that their mom has gotten "bad" for the past FOUR months) makes his character non endearing.

CONCLUSION - We would pass on this movie. If you are looking for a good HOLIDAY ROMANCE MOVIE than I would recommend looking at:
A HOLIDAY FOR LOVE with Melissa Gilbert and Tim Matheson or
THE CHRISTMAS CARD with John Newton, Alice Evans and Edward Asner or
A SEASON FOR MIRACLES(Hallmark) with Carla Gugino, David Conrad, Patty Duke, Lynn Redgrave, Laura Dern and Kathy Baker or
CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT with Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan.

If you are looking for a good movie about RELATIONSHIPS set at the HOLIDAY TIME than consider:
ONE TRUE THING(get the Kleenex) with Meryl Streep, Renee Zellweger, William Hurt or
ABOUT A BOY with Hugh Grant, Rachel Weisz or
THE ULTIMATE GIFT with JAMES GARNER, Brian Dennehy, Abigail Breslin, Drew Fuller, & Bill Cobbs.
December 27, 2008

Great movie for the holidays or a snowy night!

This is a terrific movie to watch over the holidays, or just on a cold snowy night. Julie Andrews and James Garner are great as two opposites in the twilight of life. Garner's wife is afllicted with Altzheimer's and it is touching to see the impact this terrible disease has, not only on the afflicted, but the families that are faced with torment as well. It is not probed in depth, which is good for the tone of the movie. The other topics, Julie Andrews' husband's passing and her devotion to him, as well as the two daughters of James Garner, who seem at odds, give additional interest but Primarily, it is a cozy romantic movie. It is amusing that some reviewers here are panning it. Listen kids, it's not rocket science, just a movie! Enjoy!! December 19, 2008

Not About the Holidays, Poorly Written, Waste of Talent

I bought this dvd because I was looking for a movie about the Thanksgiving spirit. While the events depicted in the movie occur at that time of year, the movie itself has nothing to do with the holiday. I am frankly startled to note I am the first person to write a bad review for this movie. I like James Garner and Julie Andrews, so I thought how bad could it be? Well, I think they did their parts, but the plot and the script writing were so incredibly bad, I guess they did the best they could do with what they had. I didn't feel the movie explored in depth any of the following topics: Alzheimers, being the spouse or family member of someone with Alzheimers, widowhood, winter romance (ha ha), or even romance. The topic material had a lot of potential, but they just didn't go anywhere with it. To sum it up, that's two hours of my life I'll never get back. December 12, 2008

A sweet Christmas romance

I really enjoyed this heartwarming story. It is a wonderful movie that reminds us that no holiday is perfect like a Hallmark card commercial, but through all of the chaos, strife and family upheavals there is still time for hope and romance. Julie Andrews and James Garner did not disappoint. December 11, 2008

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