Cousins (film)
Encyclopedia
Cousins is a 1989 remake of a French film (Cousin, cousine
Cousin, cousine
Cousin, cousine is a 1975 French film which tells the story of cousins-by-marriage who have an affair when they discover that their spouses have been unfaithful. It stars Marie-Christine Barrault, Victor Lanoux and Marie-France Pisier....

1975 directed by Jean-Charles Tacchella
Jean-Charles Tacchella
Jean-Charles Tacchella is a French screenwriter and film director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his film Cousin, Cousine , which was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and which was later remade in a US version starring...

), with Ted Danson
Ted Danson
Edward Bridge “Ted” Danson III is an American actor best known for his role as central character Sam Malone in the sitcom Cheers, and his role as Dr. John Becker on the series Becker. He also plays a recurring role on Larry David's HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm and starred alongside Glenn Close...

, Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini is an Italian actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model. Rossellini is noted for her 14-year tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her.-Background and early life:Rossellini is a...

, Sean Young
Sean Young
Sean Young is an American actress, best known for her performance in films from the 1980s such as Blade Runner, Dune, and No Way Out.-Early life:...

, William Petersen
William Petersen
William Louis Petersen is an American actor and producer, best known for playing Dr. Gilbert "Gil" Grissom on the hit CBS series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He portrayed President John F...

, Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Vernet Bridges, Jr. was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role of Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt, the most-popular syndicated American TV series in 1958...

, and Keith Coogan
Keith Coogan
Keith Coogan is an American actor. He is a grandson of actor Jackie Coogan.-Biography:Coogan was born Keith Eric Mitchell in Palm Springs, California, the son of Leslie Diane Coogan Mitchell, an actress...

.

Plot summary

Larry Kozinski (Danson) and Maria Hardy (Rossellini) meet at the marriage of Larry's uncle Phil and Maria's mother Edie (Aleandro). Newly made cousins-by-marriage, they find they have more in common than expected as their respective spouses, insecure Tish (Young) and boorish Tom (Petersen) begin an affair. Over a series of ritualized family events, dreamer Larry and repressed Maria decide to exact revenge on their spouses by pretending to have an affair themselves. Their good-natured plan takes on unexpected gravity when they learn not only are they great friends, but they realize they're falling in love with each other.

They consummate the affair, but the ramifications shake their families, including Larry's artistic son Mitch (Coogan) and Maria's adorable but aggressive daughter Chloe (Isabelle). They end the affair to bring stability back into their families' lives. Meanwhile, (after the sudden death of Uncle Phil), Larry's father Vince (Bridges) becomes interested in his widowed sister-in-law Edie and courts her.

Larry and Maria meet again some time later at Vince and Edie's wedding. Encouraged by Tish (who had split from Larry earlier in the film), he asks Maria to "dance with him", angering Tom but convincing Maria to break free from her unhappy marriage. In an epilogue, Larry and Maria are seen sailing away with their children, living a fantasy they had shared from their earlier affair.

Cast

  • Ted Danson
    Ted Danson
    Edward Bridge “Ted” Danson III is an American actor best known for his role as central character Sam Malone in the sitcom Cheers, and his role as Dr. John Becker on the series Becker. He also plays a recurring role on Larry David's HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm and starred alongside Glenn Close...

     as Larry Kozinski
  • Isabella Rossellini
    Isabella Rossellini
    Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini is an Italian actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model. Rossellini is noted for her 14-year tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her.-Background and early life:Rossellini is a...

     as Maria Hardy
  • Sean Young
    Sean Young
    Sean Young is an American actress, best known for her performance in films from the 1980s such as Blade Runner, Dune, and No Way Out.-Early life:...

     as Tish Kozinski
  • William Petersen
    William Petersen
    William Louis Petersen is an American actor and producer, best known for playing Dr. Gilbert "Gil" Grissom on the hit CBS series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He portrayed President John F...

     as Tom Hardy
  • Lloyd Bridges
    Lloyd Bridges
    Lloyd Vernet Bridges, Jr. was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role of Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt, the most-popular syndicated American TV series in 1958...

     as Vincent Kozinski
  • Norma Aleandro
    Norma Aleandro
    Norma Aleandro Robledo is an Argentine actress and screenwriter, born in Buenos Aires to Pedro Aleandro and María Luisa Robledo, both actors. Her sister, María Vaner, was a famous actress in Argentina.- Life and career :...

     as Edie Hardy Kozinski
  • Keith Coogan
    Keith Coogan
    Keith Coogan is an American actor. He is a grandson of actor Jackie Coogan.-Biography:Coogan was born Keith Eric Mitchell in Palm Springs, California, the son of Leslie Diane Coogan Mitchell, an actress...

     as Mitch Kozinski
  • Gina DeAngeles as Aunt Sofia
  • George Coe
    George Coe
    George Coe is an American film, stage, and television actor. He is best known for having been a cast member on the first three episodes of Saturday Night Live, as well as for his work on various television shows.-Career:...

     as Phil Kozinski
  • Katharine Isabelle
    Katharine Isabelle
    Katherine Isobel Murray , better known by her screen name Katharine Isabelle, is a Canadian actress, best known for her portrayal of Ginger in Ginger Snaps, and as Gibb in Freddy vs. Jason.-Biography:...

     as Chloe Hardy (as Katie Murray)

Production

The film was directed by Joel Schumacher, known mostly for his works St. Elmo's Fire
St. Elmo's Fire (film)
St. Elmo's Fire is a 1985 American coming-of-age film directed by Joel Schumacher. The film, starring Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Mare Winningham, is a prominent movie of the Brat Pack genre, and revolves around a group of friends that have...

and The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys is a 1987 American teen comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrmann, Alex Winter, Jamison Newlander, and Barnard Hughes....

. Although not identified as such, the locations were primarily shot around Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, among the first times the city was featured so prominently, and led to the city being used as a film location much more. The soaring score was composed by Angelo Badalamenti
Angelo Badalamenti
Angelo Badalamenti is an American composer, known for his movie soundtrack work for director David Lynch, notably Blue Velvet, the Twin Peaks saga and Mulholland Drive...

, who was extremely popular at the time from his work with Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...

and Blue Velvet director David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...

. Film Score Monthly described Badalamenti's melodic score as a definite asset to the film, underscoring several scenes with comical, Henry Mancini-like cues, and others with a delicate, poignant theme that blossoms into a waltz over the end credits.

Reception

The film has received mixed reviews, with an aggragate score of 50% fresh at Rottentomatoes.com based on 8 reviews. At the initial release, the film received two thumbs up from Siskel & Ebert. The films grossed US$22 million total, with an opening weekend of $3.5 million.

Individual praise went to Rossellini, whose performance of Maria has a winning simple sweetness. Danson crafts a likeable character who has nice chemistry with Rossellini. Supporting performances by William Peterson and Lloyd Bridges are also standouts. Other comments called the film "underrated" and "While not amongst the great movie romances, there is something undeniably touching—and dare I say heart-warming—about Cousins".
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