This Week's Selection: "PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED"

Francis Ford Coppola directed his nephew Nicolas Kim Coppola (aka Nicolas Cage) in this story about love, choices, and the chance to live your life over again. The studio's tagline for this film was, “Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?” And that's the premise of the movie, in a nutshell. Would you make the same choices? Marry the same person? Peggy Sue gets the opportunity to ask herself these questions, and maybe decide on creating a whole new, exciting future for herself, while being given the chance to re-live high school.

Kathleen Turner is Peggy Sue Kelcher Bodell, wife to Charlie Bodell (Cage), and mother to Beth (Helen Hunt) and Scott (Randy Bourne). She and Charlie are having marital problems due to his need to rediscover his youth through extra-marital affairs. Both are invited to their high school's 25th reunion and the now married high school sweethearts each decide to attend. Their daughter Beth accompanies Peggy Sue; Charlie arrives alone, sans his new bimbo girlfriend. As Peggy Sue is re-elected prom queen, her body lapses into a coma while her mind travels back to when she was in high school (or at least that's how I interpret it). Retaining all of her 43 years of wisdom, memories and experiences, she gets to be a teenager again. Talk about confusing. Isn't it tough enough to go through high school once? Peggy gets the chance to change the course of her life, if she so chooses. Will she still pick Charlie or will she go for that guy that everyone considered different, even slightly dangerous? Or, will she choose the one guy in her high school class who she knows will amount to something big?

Kathleen Turner does a wonderful job of portraying a grown woman in a teenager's body. Nicolas Cage is interesting as the Bobby Rydell-type high school boyfriend. For some reason he chose to do the part using Gumby's voice, but he's talented enough to get by with it, though it is a bit distracting. The supporting cast features a great performance by the at-that-time little known Jim Carrey. Helen Hunt is barely in the film but she is convincing as Turner and Cage's daughter. Joan Allen and Catherine Hicks, both of whom make you believe that despite their appearances they are indeed teenagers at heart, play Turner's best friends in high school.

Peggy Sue Got Married isn't the best film done by Coppola, Turner or Cage, but it is a fun movie that makes those of us who enjoyed our high school years, nostalgic for all the trappings that go with being a teenager in love.

Rated PG-13 / 104 Minutes


Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Produced by: Barrie M. Osborne
Screenplay by: Jerry Leichtling & Arlene Sarner
Costume Designer: Theadora Van Runkle
Original Music By: John Barry
Production Designer: Dean Tavoularis
Casting: Pennie DuPont
Peggy Sue Kelcher Bodell - Kathleen Turner
Charlie Bodell - Nicolas Cage
Carol Heath - Catherine Hicks
Arthur Nagle - Wil Shriner
Maddy Nagle - Joan Allen
Walter Getz - Jim Carrey
Jack Kelcher - Don Murray
Evelyn Kelcher - Barbara Harris


Interested in purchasing "Peggy Sue Got Married?"