Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Absolutely the worst movie.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

I read Anne Tyler's Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant but haven't read The Accidental Tourist. Still, this movie is a masterpiece, and William Hurt displays his top quality acting skills, especially the scene where he's called to identify his deceased son at the morgue. His facial expression says it all. That scene alone is worthy of three Oscars, and should be shown to all acting students. Why William Hurt didn't even get an Oscar nomination for this role is a mystery for the ages I guess (I say that with due respect to those nominated of course).Another scene is where Macon attempts to explain to his siblings Rose, Porter and Charles, why he has kept the corgi. When we flashback to Macon's son having a wonderful time with corgi, nothing needs to be said, and Rose, Porter and Charles understand with much sympathy. It brings a tear to the eye. I don't know if they makes movies like The Accidental Tourist anymore, as I guess Fast and the Furious and comic book heroes dominate the cinematic landscape (not that I'm being condescending of course). But this movie is timeless.

'The Accidental Tourist' is a Human-Drama, that is honest, unspoken & devastated. Accomplished Filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan delivers a film, that truly ranks amongst his best works to date, and his handling to this tough & gritty subject, is excellent. But, the Greatest Merit & Strength of 'The Accidental Tourist', is it's Lead-Star, Academy-Award Winner William Hurt, who's masterful performance, leaves you spell-bound. He delivers one of his finest performances in here. 'The Accidental Tourist' Synopsis: An emotionally distant writer of travel guides must carry on with his life after his son is killed and his marriage crumbles.'The Accidental Tourist' is a heart-felt, human-drama, that is honest, unspoken & yet devastated. The Journey of it's Protaganiost is filled with sadness, motivation & emptiness. The Adapted Screenplay by Kasdan himself, is moving & well-worded. Kasdan's direction, on the other-hand, is excellent & he makes each moment felt. Perofmance-Wise: As mentioned right from my summary, Hurt's performance is the greatest merit of this film. He delivers a performance, that can easily be credited as an embodiment. What Hurt achieves over-here, is "impossible" to pull off. In short, it's a performance that demands & deserves your utmost attention. Geena Davis, in an Oscar-Winning performance, is decent. Kathleen Turner is dependable. Amy Wright & Bill Pullman lend support. On the whole, If your a fan of Hurt, don't dare to miss this one. And even if your not a fan by a chance, yet don't dare to miss his masterful performance.

Anne Tyler's novel about a reluctant travel writer drifting through life more like a passenger than a participant presents an interesting dilemma: how to adapt a story about dull, listless people without it becoming a dull, listless film? The outcome is a halfhearted compromise, mixing Tyler's attention to mundane detail with Lawrence Kasdan's typically glossy direction. Casting high profile stars (all of them, by the way, upstaged by a pet dog) in low profile roles further undermines the scenario, leaving a cast of offbeat characters stranded in a decidedly conventional movie. Geena Davis provides a token spark of interest as a kooky animal trainer who draws William Hurt out of his shell, but Hurt's effort to appear distant and distracted only makes him look constipated. And Kathleen Turner's role is little more than a convenient plot device, serving no purpose except to provide Hurt's character with a choice (ex-wife or new girlfriend?), the making of which seems, in the end, only an extension of his indecisiveness.

Accidental Tourist (1988)So, for starters, Geena Davis won a best supporting actress for this role. She is a surprising presence, but she is only a shadow, to me, of William Hurt's deceptively taut and perceptive role. Weakest of the three main actors is Kathleen Turner, who is brought far down from the energy she had, say, in "Peggy Sue Got Married" just two years earlier. This might be because Davis is lifted so high.The story is by Anne Tyler, who won awards and praise for her novel, as literature, before the movie. The hook implied by the title is just the starting point. Even though "Accidental Tourist" deals with totally, very, beautifully serious things, there is a kind of gleam to it all, a knowing despondency, as if the writer knew what tricks to use to make us feel deep things. And it's sort of okay, even at the end, which is improbable the way it is played out, but is emotionally really satisfying.I liked the movie a lot, for sure. It's about feelings and real people, without crime and violence, and I like all that. But maybe the Oscar might have gone to William Hurt, who pulls off a subtle role with absolutism. He nails the detached, patient, observant, fearful person that his character is. Geena Davis with all her idiosyncratic energy, and later with her more mainstream domesticity (the two are never resolved), is a perfect spark for his smolder. And it pulls together, most of the time, but there are oddities that are meant to be quaint and fun that throw it off course. The agent is awkward, the Leary family is like a comic idea that just makes the depth of the principles odd for their seriousness. And the sudden attempt at reconciliation seems improbable, at least with the knee-jerk way it comes off. The music is oddly repetitive and annoying if you notice it, too.One element, of course, that infects how you look at all this, is the role of the two children, the two sons. They make everything the adults do significant, even if still sometimes questionable. But hey, it's actually a soap opera, which I love, with emotions flying this way and that, and echoes of our own lives everywhere. So dive in and give it all a go. Even it feels slow at times, give it a moment. Hurt, who isn't always on target in other films, is really perfectly cast here, and he makes it work.