Speechless (1994 film)

Speechless
Speechless
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ron Underwood
Written by	Robert King
Produced by	Geena Davis; Renny Harlin
Starring	Michael Keaton; Geena Davis; Bonnie Bedelia; Ernie Hudson; Charles Martin Smith; Gailard Sartain; Christopher Reeve;
Cinematography	Donald Peterman
Edited by	Richard Francis-Bruce
Music by	Marc Shaiman
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	December 16, 1994;
Running time	99 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$30 million[citation needed]
Box office	$20,667,959

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.

Plot[]

After meeting each other for the first time in the gift shop of the Las Cruces, New Mexico hotel where they are both staying, insomniac writers Julia Mann (Davis) and Kevin Vallick (Keaton) fall in love, but because both are speechwriters for rival candidates in a New Mexico Senate election, with Julia working for Democratic candidate Lloyd Wannamaker and Kevin for Republican candidate Ray Garvin, their romance causes great confusion, as they have to decide whether love and politics can mix.

Also complicating matters are, amongst other things, Kevin's cutthroat ex-wife Annette (Bedelia), who is on the Republican's campaign trail, and "Mr. Flak Jacket," television war correspondent Robert "Baghdad Bob" Freed (Reeve), Julia's estranged fiance, who wants her back, as she believed he wanted a cheering section more than he wanted a wife.

Cast[]

Michael Keaton as Kevin Vallick
Geena Davis as Julia Mann
Bonnie Bedelia as Annette
Ernie Hudson as Dan Ventura
Christopher Reeve as Bob Freed
Charles Martin Smith as Mike Kratz
Gailard Sartain as Lee Cutler
Ray Baker as Ray Garvin
Mitchell Ryan as Lloyd Wannamaker
Willie Garson as Dick
Harry Shearer as Chuck
Steven Wright as Eddie
Jodi Carlisle as Doris Wind

Reception[]

The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 11% based on reviews from 28 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.^{[citation needed]}

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[]

Honorable mention – Michael MacCambridge, Austin American-Statesman^[9]
8th worst – Desson Howe, The Washington Post^[10]

Soundtrack[]

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

References[]

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

External links[]

[numbers-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Speechless (1994)". The Numbers. Retrieved 2019-08-30.

[tomatoes-2] "Speechless (1994)". Rotten Tomatoes.

[3] "SPEECHLESS (1994) B". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.

[Ebert-4] Ebert, Roger (December 16, 1994). "Speechless Movie Review & Film Summary (1994)". Chicago Sun-Times.

[trib-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

[AMG-11] Skelly, Richard. "James Armstrong". Allmusic. Retrieved October 28, 2010.

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