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The Majestic is a 2001 film, written by Michael Sloane, and directed by Frank Darabont. It stars Jim Carrey, Bob Balaban, Jeffrey DeMunn and Hal Holbrook.
It was released by Warner Brothers on December 11, 2001.
Plot summary
The film is set in the United States during the 1950s. Peter Appleton (played by Carrey) is an up-and-coming young screenwriter working on B-Movies, but hopes to work his way onto the "A" list. Unfortunately. he is accused of being a Communist. It turns out that in 1945, he had attended a Communist organization in college known as the "Bread Instead of Bullets" club, which he reveals towards the end of the movie that he did for a girl. In an instant, his new film (which he hopes will get him onto the "A" movies) is dropped, and his contract is dropped. His career in ruins, he gets drunk at a seaside bar and gets into a car accident. When he wakes up, his memory lost, he is in a small town called Lawson. The townsfolk believe him to be Luke Trimble, one of the town boys killed in World War II 9 1/2 years ago. "Luke" settles in to "his old life", and with his "father" Harry (Martin Landau) and his "girlfriend" Adele (Laurie Holden), start to rebuild The Majestic, an old movie theatre that had been closed after the war after families did not feel like going to the movies.
Meanwhile, in Washington D.C, Committee member Elvin Clyde (Bob Balaban) is convinced that Appleton's disappearance (no one knows about Appleton's accident since he was alone and miles away from Hollywood) is proof that he is an important Communist operative, and sends two federal agents to search for him. Back in Lawson, not everyone believes that "Luke" is back. Bob Leffert, a one-handed soldier who knew the real Luke and did not like him (claiming that Luke rubbed him the wrong way) not only is convinced that Peter is not Luke, he also believes that this stranger is setting the town up for more heartbreak.
A few days later, the town throws a welcome home party for "Luke", and ask him to play the piano (which he used to do when he was a kid) but instead of playing one of the classics he was taught to play, he instead jumps into a roadhouse boogie tune. On his way home, he runs into Bob, who confronts him about the suspicions he has had about "Luke". He then punches "Luke" in the face when he makes a comment about how the war must have changed him. Finally Peter, Harry, Adele and the rest of the townfolk succeed in rebuilding The Majestic. In the events, Peter also convinces the town to finally place up a memorial that President Roosevelt had commissioned to the town after the war, but that the town did not have the heart to put up.
Unfortunately, from that point, things take a turn for the worse. Peter soon regains his memory after seeing one of the movies he helped write showing at the theatre. Soon, Harry has a heart attack and dies, on his death bed, Peter not wanting to make Harry's last moments sad by telling him the truth, lets him die beliving that he is still Luke, and then breaks down in tears after Harry dies. At the funeral, he tells Adele that he is not Luke. Adele says that she had a feeling that he wasn't. To make matters worse, the whole town discovers the truth when the two agents that Clyde sent to find Appleton confront him in front of the whole town (two boys discover his car washed up in the beach). There, they send him a summons to appear in court back in Los Angeles. That night, he is at the theatre.
Critic reaction
- The movie was not particularly well received by the critics (for example, Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times commented that it was a "derivative, self-satisfied fable that couldn't be more treacly and simple-minded if it tried"). Its Capra-esque quality was also noted by a number of critics. This movie is often cited as one of Jim Carey's biggest flops during his time when he wanted to be known as a serious actor (although he would get some praise for his performance in the film Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind).
Cast listing
- Jim Carrey (Peter Appleton)
- Bob Balaban (Elvin Clyde)
- Jeffrey DeMunn (Ernie Cole)
- Hal Holbrook (Congressman Doyle)
- Laurie Holden (Adele Stanton)
- Martin Landau (Harry Trimble)
Trivia
- The bar Jim Carrey goes to in the film, is called Congo Bongo. The night club in the 1994 film The Mask is called the Cocoa Bongo.
- Laurie Holden's character is inspired to become a lawyer by the film The Life of Emile Zola (1937). Holden's real-life grandmother, Gloria Holden, was one of the stars of this film.
- One of the voices in the two screenwriting conference scenes is famous director and screenwriter Garry Marshall. Other voices belong to Carl Reiner and his son Rob Reiner.
- Director of "Sand Pirates of the Sahara" is "Ferenc Arpad". This is Frank Darabont's first and middle names translated into his native Hungarian.
- Bruce Campbell, star of the Evil Dead series, plays as Roland the Intrepid Explorer.
External links
2001 films | American films | Drama films | Jim Carrey films
"The Majestic"