Up Close & Personal poster & wallpaper

Glenn Plummer, James Rebhorn, Joe Mantegna

Here's a classic Hollywood star vehicle. Up Close and Personal--the story of Tally Atwater (Michelle Pfeiffer), an inexperienced but ambitious TV news personality, and her well-weathered journa...( read more  read more... )listic mentor, Warren Justice (Robert Redford)--was carefully tailored to fit its stars. What began as a screenplay based on the biography of troubled TV anchorwoman Jessica Savitch (Golden Girl, by Alanna Nash) took more than eight years to reach the screen, written and rewritten, on and off, over the years by husband-and-wife team John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion, mainly because they needed the work to qualify for the splendid Writers' Guild health-insurance plan. Although the considerable charisma of Pfeiffer and Redford go a long way, in many respects Nash's original nonfiction book (and even Dunne's peculiarly disingenuous "insider" account of the writing of the screenplay, Monster: Living Off the Big Screen) offers tales more compelling than the one that eventually made it to the screen. But, all things considered, that's a little like comparing apples and oranges, since the slick Up Close and Personal bears about as much resemblance to its gritty original source material as...well, an apple does to an orange. Critic Roger Ebert, who awarded the movie three stars, nevertheless said he was reminded of the time producer Samuel Goldwyn commissioned a screenplay about the Lindbergh kidnapping. Only, to quote Goldwyn, "it can't be about kidnapping, which is against the Code. For legal reasons, we have to change the name from Lindbergh. And the kid's father shouldn't fly." Read the book, see the movie, read the book about writing the movie. Anyone interested in how movies are made will learn an entertaining lesson about the studio system by devouring all three. --Jim Emerson

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65% liked it

4,490 ratings

PG-13, 124 min.

Directed by: Jon Avnet

Release Date: March 1, 1996

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DVD Release Date: February 20, 2001

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Stats: 498 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (498)

  • clooneyfan
    August 19, 2007
    clooneyfan
    I didn't think I would like this from the movie trailors but it ended up being a rather interesting film about journalism.
  • ktravis
    February 13, 2007
    ktravis
    One of the most riveting movies i have seen in a long time. full of passion, emotion, intrigue. Sappy? maybe. Intense -- depends on your definition of intense. But one thing is for certain, Michelle and Robert work very well together. This is definitely a must see.
  • dreamfaeries
    November 7, 2006
    dreamfaeries
    So sweet and romantic.
  • merlynsprankling
    November 17, 2007
    merlynsprankling
    A classic and remarkable movie. Robert's portrayal of a dedicated journalist has been an encouragement to others in similar situations. Yes, I don't fear for my career.
  • mvieaddict
    October 27, 2009
    mvieaddict
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    I simply love Robert Redford in every movie he was in.Up close and personal was just a nice romance drama in the broadcast world.Ther...( read more)e were so many good things about this movie and there were some flaws too.Robert and Michelle had great chemistry and I liked the way he looked at her, the things he said to her, what he did for her to help her become what she wanted to be. So nice and romantic. Overall the movie was just okay.
  • sweetilusion691
    October 15, 2009
    sweetilusion691
    Long time agooooooooooo
  • danbacunawa
    September 23, 2009
    danbacunawa
    i cry all over and over with this film...the impossible dream....
  • doryrd
    September 22, 2009
    doryrd
    ugh...! been looking for a vcd or dvd copy of this film but i an't find one :( tis really a good movie for me, i cried ha ha ha. i just love michelle p and robert r.
  • LelandPalmer
    July 17, 2009
    LelandPalmer
    Another movie that I saw and forget.
  • psyclock7
    June 29, 2009
    psyclock7
    Good but kind of sad too.

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