THAT OLD FEELING

Name: THAT OLD FEELING
Item: THAT OLD FEELING
Author: Review

"Heavenly Feeling or Matrimonial Hell"

Family Content: -3 Excessive sex, violence, immorality, and/or worldview problems. (Sometimes excessive content such as violence is in otherwise redemptive movies.)

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

What You Need To Know:

In THAT OLD FEELING, Lilly Leonard and Dan DeMauro her ex-husband, are brought together for the marriage of their daughter, Molly (Paula Marshal), to a senator. There is only one problem: they hate each other and canít be together without creating a scene. However, the line between love and hate is very thin, and they cross it. Lilly and Dan wind up in a car fornicating while their spouses from their second marriages enjoy Mollyís wedding reception. Mollyís husband shows his true character when he sleeps with Mollyís stepmother. At first, Molly is portrayed as a moral young woman who is waiting until her wedding to have sex, but by the end of the movie, Molly has given up her moral stand to adopt her parentsí position advocating flagrant infidelity.

While the acting ranges from adequate to good, THAT OLD FEELING is distressing in that it makes a mockery of marriage and responsible parenthood. While THAT OLD FEELING attempts to put a comic spin on love relationships, the movie sends a tragic, immoral message that infidelity is acceptable. The audience is manipulated into cheering for marital unfaithfulness. By the end of the movie, no one ends up at peace with each other because God is left out of the picture

Content:

(Pa, Ab, LL, V, S, NN, A) Pagan worldview with extensive adulterous behavior between ex-spouses; 1 profanity, 13 obscenities & 14 vulgarities; mild slapstick violence & extensive verbal fighting; several incidents of adulterous sex implied, reference to dogs gnawing at private parts, sexual fondling, & sexual innuendoes; brief nudity & sexy lingerie; alcohol abuse, reference to drugs & taking of prescription drugs for manic-depressive condition; and, lying, reference to illegitimate child & cosmetic surgery.

More Detail:

In THAT OLD FEELING, Lilly Leonard (Bette Midler) and Dan DeMauro (Dennis Farina), her ex-husband, are brought together for the marriage of their daughter, Molly (Paula Marshal), to a senator. There is only one problem: they hate each other and canít be together without creating a scene. However, the line between love and hate is thin ó very thin, and they cross it. Lilly and Dan wind up in a car fornicating while their spouses from their second marriages unknowingly enjoy Mollyís wedding reception.

The newly reunited couple sneak off in the middle of the night. Molly and her new husband (David Rache) console the spouses left behind, and Molly sets out to try to bring her parents and their spouses back together. Mollyís husband shows his true character when he sleeps with Mollyís stepmother and shows more concern for his political career than his new bride. A subplot involves the developing love interest between Molly and Joey (Danny Nucci), a tabloid photographer whom she hires to help her track down her mother.

Molly is portrayed as a basically moral young woman who is waiting until her wedding night to have sex and attempts to persuade her parents to return to their spouses. The tabloid photographer also shows some positive moral characteristics in that he gives up opportunities to take valuable photographs of Lilly (mother) because of his affection for Molly (daughter).

While the acting ranges from adequate to good, THAT OLD FEELING is distressing in that it makes a mockery of marriage and responsible parenthood. Lilly and Dannyís first marriage began after Molly, their ìlove child,î was born, and their marriage ended due to infidelity. Lilly gloats in front of Danís wife when she steals him back. Lilly and Dan encourage their daughter to abandon her husband, even before they know of his infidelity. Lilly advises her daughter, ìYour twenties are for fornicating with the wrong people, not for getting married.î They also lock their daughter in a hotel room with Joey and hope for a romantic relationship to develop. In addition, Mollyís dad walks away from her when she is upset rather than risk losing a dinner reservation.

While THAT OLD FEELING attempts to put a comic spin on love relationships, the movie sends a tragic, immoral message that infidelity is acceptable. In fact, by the end of the movie, Molly has given up her strong moral stand to adopt her parentsí position advocating flagrant infidelity. The audience is manipulated into cheering for marital unfaithfulness.

One of the few words of wisdom come from a piano player at a bar, who points out that successful marriages take a lot of work. However, the words lose their power because they are spoken to Lily and Dan while they are masquerading as a still-married couple. The two donít end up being at peace with each other, despite their attempts to find fulfillment through infidelities, second marriages and renewed romances, because God is left out of the picture.