Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 2, 1991 TAG: 9102020393
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS GLADDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
As such, it suffers from the kind of narrative limitations that this kind of structure imposes.
But it's a big-hearted story that celebrates the resilience and adaptability of family. And it features some engaging performances as well as a commitment to confound audience expectations. Holly Hunter plays Renata Bella, the oldest daughter of a Boston family of Italian-Americans.
Renata feels the pressure to marry when her younger sister (Laura San Giacomo) marries. When she presses her fiance on the matter, he drops her.
On the rebound, Renata sets her sights on a flamboyant condo salesman. His name is Sam Sharpe and Richard Dreyfuss accomplishes a nifty job of acting by making Sam irritating and likable at the same time. He's rich, bumptious, ostentatious - and significantly older than Renata.
Particularly wary of Sam is Renata's father, Joe (Danny Aiello). Gena Rowlands, as the mother, is not as skeptical but neither is she solidly in Sam's camp.
Renata attempts to juggle her love and loyalty to her devoted family with her love for her husband and its not an easy chore.
Lasse Hallstrom, the Swedish director who made the hit "My Life As A Dog," is the director of this saga of family dynamics and he strives for the same combination of humor and sentiment. He's not as successful - partly because of the plot diffuseness and partly because of the sometimes hollow sound of Malio Scott Marmo's dialogue.
Nevertheless, "Once Around" seems to overcome its shortcomings through sheer good will, good performances and surprises of character development.
Like Sam Sharpe, Hallstorm is a good salesman who believes in his product and that's something hard to resist. `One Around': A Universal picture at Tanglewood Mall Cinema (989-6165). Rated R for language and sexual content; 120 min.
by CNB