Pretty Good

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Fresh and Exciting

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This is a fairy tale. A wonderful, beautiful, sweet fairy tale. Whether you believe the fantasy is real, or not, or perhaps moments of hallucination or an intervention if angels, if you can enjoy the love and human experience of opening your heart and soul to your lover or your muse or your best friend, this is just an outstanding film front to back. Brando is outstanding, conflicted and absorbed in this story of his own transition, while fully embracing and celebrating his wife, who in the end, is completely engaged in their life journey together. All the actors are excellent in these roles, the music is perfect, it starts well and ends well, and all the moments in between are filled with sincerity and humor. Love it!

Continuing my plan to watch every Johnny Depp movie in order, I come to Don Juan De Marco (1994)Depp's performance is a must see. In Edward Scissorhands, Benny & Joon and What's Eating Gilbert Grape he showed the talent an actor needs to slip into the darkness of the soul and find comedy there. Like both of those films, this one deals with mental illness: Depp plays a character who is convinced he is Don Juan, the world's greatest lover. He gets other people to believe it, too, in dialogue that maybe only Depp could have delivered it, with his big soulful, expressive eyes. He must be one of the few actors who can get away with sincerely speaking the dialogue in this movie, dressed like he is, but he does. Like with Edward Scissorhands and Benny & Joon he is both touching and more importantly totally convincing. Brando sleepwalks through this movie on autopilot in a bloted, self-indulgent performance, mumbling his dialogue so badly its often inaudible, no one else could have gotten away with this performance. In the 50's he proved he can be one of the best actors in movie history, by the time he phoned this one in, he was proving he could be one of the worst. When he is told "You've been phoning it in for ages now". The irony is not lost. He totally spoils the movie. It's your quirky, oddball Depp movie that I love, and he drags it down, sapping all the fun out of it. There are certain parallels with Brando then and the Depp of the last 10 years, that is too obvious to ignore. Both seemingly became very bored with acting after becoming stupidly popular, and then began phoning it in, in paycheck movies!!Like Benny & Joon, this movie also had a hit single attached to it. The Bryan Adams track Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?I would have ranked it 8/10, but it loses a point for Brando.Don Juan Demarco was not a hit at the domestic box office. It was the 74th highest grossing movie of the year, with a domestic haul of $22 million against a $25 million budget.

What an enchanting tale of love and idealism in a world where the reality is so often harsh and unforgiving. Johnny Depp shines as the seemingly delusional patient who falls into the hands of a retiring shrink who has lost his sparkle, and manages, with his captivating tales of passion and sadness, to awaken the good doctor to his own repressed and forgotten feelings. The fact that we later discover that he is most likely just a sad young man who lost his father is a car crash and was left alone after his mothers decision to become a nun hardly tarnishes the fantasy he portrays, that of being Don Juan, lover of every magnificent aspect of a woman's sensuality. There are some pretty funny moments in this film – almost farcical. But there are also moments when you really think about mental illness and how it impacts community in different ways. Depp and Brando, in the end, help each other and everyone has a happy ending.Visually stunning from the sun drenched villages in Mexico to the indisputable glory of Johnny Depp on the beach in an open shirt with his perfect torso, seductive eyes and killer cheekbones, this is a real gem for every romantic or even more so for those who have forgotten what romance really is. The point of the movie is the endless search of real love any person has, even the well known Don Juan. There is only one word to describe this film and that is 'beautiful'. The acting, directing, plot and even Don Juan's accent can be described as beautiful. Their clothes, hair, make-up are all cherished like one would cherish an amazing wildflower, or a spectacular sunset. Brando does a great job portraying a character who must maintain the rational perspective of a psychiatrist, but who is also a man - a husband - complete with his own needs and regrets. The music accompanies the story so beautifully that the songs simply will not leave one's mind after watching this flick. The Michael Kamen score as well as Bryan Adams: "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" play fragrantly throughout carrying us through fanciful tales. The pace is too slow for today's instant gratification crowd, but for those into some of these hidden film jewels, this will be a total joy.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

If you've ever seen the Joanne Woodward and George C. Scott film "They Might Be Giants", then you'll no doubt recognize this plot in "Don Juan DeMarco". The film begins with Johnny Depp making a sexual conquest in modern day America---yet he THINKS he's the legendary lover Don Juan. Later, when this lover suddenly is found contemplating suicide, an aging psychiatrist (Marlon Brando) is called in to help. Not surprisingly, Don Juan DeMarco is committed to the institution where Brando works and Brando fights hard to get assigned him as a patient--even though he's due to retire very soon. The Doctor tries hard as he works with his new patient NOT to medicate him. After all, the Doc LIKES hearing all of his patient's weird stories of love, sex and adventure. And, through the course of the film, DeMarco starts rubbing off on his doctor--to the delight of the man's wife! Johnny Depp is very nice playing a suave Latin lover and Brando is really good because he seems nice and relaxed. My only big complaint is not them but the bafflingly stupid ending. Really. Up until then, I could suspend disbelief and enjoy the film, but the ending really left me shocked at its silliness. Still, worth a look.