MovieChat Forums > Love Affair (1994) Discussion > An Affair to Forget

An Affair to Forget

posted 17 years ago by WatchCat
6 replies | jump to latest

Go ahead, blast me for using an oh-so obvious subject title but come on!

This re-telling of "An Affair To Remember" seemed more like a screen test than a film. EVERY time Benning and Beatty used the exact or near-exact same dialogue, I couldn't help but compare their deliveries with those done by Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr et al.

All things being (un)equal, I'm afraid the correct actors were chosen to deliver those lines the first time. The money spent on this effort was wasted.

Though An Affair To Remember IS dated (and I never did understand how people thought Kerr was attractive,) each time I see that version, Grant and Kerr STILL manage to have me reaching for the Kleenex!

The story-line is a good one and as film makers try yet again to update it in the future, I will watch. THIS film, however, was a real stinker. (Too bad, too, I do like a lot of both Benning's and Beatty's previous works.)

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] rebecca32602 16 years ago

"All things being (un)equal, I'm afraid the correct actors were chosen to deliver those lines the first time."

Then you would be referring to Charles Boyer & Irene Dunne in the original Love Affair, which An Affair To Remember was a remake of.

[–] WatchCat 16 years ago

Thank you for the correction, rebecca32602. You are absolutely right. "An Affair To Remember" WAS a remake from "Love Affair."

I've seen that version, too, but saw it after many viewings of "An Affair To Remember." Having seen Grant's & Kerr's performances (and gone through BOXES of Kleenex!), I'm afraid the original version didn't do it for me, either.

Guess it would have been more correct to say that I believe Grant's and Kerr's deliveries of the lines beat ALL the versions to date.

[–] janeelliot-1 16 years ago

I absolutely agree with you - I saw this movie two hours ago and was disenchanted - I even was incapable of weeping, as I was thinking all the time about Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr version... Without Katherine Hepburn this would have been a complete waste of time. IMO

[–] sirjeremy 12 years ago

I haven't seen An Affair to Remember yet. Didn't like this film much - nothing worked successfully at all and even though I usually love the bones of Annette Bening I thought there were times she wasn't even trying, the first time I've ever seen a less than steller performance from her. Beatty was dreadful (the scene at the end where he sees the painting, for example, was excrutiating - I thought Jeff Bridges would have been a better fit), the screenplay flat, supporting characters barely made any sense, the music was intrusive at times, the cinematography too lavish and indulgent....gosh, this film could have been so wonderful.

[–] riggs4-1 11 years ago

I'd encourage those of you who have never seen the original version of "Love Affair" (yes, "An Affair to Remember" is not actually the original!) to watch the 1939 version of the same title. It stars Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne and it has quickly become one of my favorite romantic movies ever. It's so charming. I've never actually seen the most popular version "An Affair to Remember" but I do think "Love Affair" ('39) is sorely underrated and not well-known today. Give it a watch if you can!