Main Cast: Patrick Dempsey, Arye Gross, Daniel Stern, Annabeth Gish, Rita Taggart
Release Year: 1990
Country: US
Run Time: 98 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Three rebellious bickersome brothers reunite to drive their father's title car from their Detroit homes to Florida. The auto is to be a gift to celebrate their mother's birthday party. Along the way, their adventures are punctuated by pop tunes from 1963 that include "Louie, Louie," a song that inspires a hilarious debate as the three attempt to fathom the song's meaning. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Review
This comedy from future studio mogul Joe Roth and screenwriter Mike Binder is formulaic and predictable, with a trio of central characters that are more types than flesh-and-blood humans. Nevertheless, Coupe de Ville is a warm, gentle, and good-natured film that wraps up in a surprisingly winning, emotionally satisfying fashion. Of the three young stars, Daniel Stern makes the strongest impression as the rigid, autocratic Marvin, a departure from the actor's usual role of the naïve rookie or blissfully zonked-out airhead. His is an especially notable performance because, like Arye Gross and Patrick Dempsey -- the actors portraying his brothers -- Stern is saddled with a role that's over the top and annoyingly exaggerated at times. It's apt that he's the standout here, as Coupe de Ville, in its nostalgia for a bygone era, bears comparison to the Baltimore films of director Barry Levinson, the first of which, Diner (1982), also starred Stern. It's a shame that Roth and Binder couldn't create a film as observant and emotionally trenchant as those of Levinson; a unique variation of the standard road picture might have been the welcome result. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Joseph Bologna - Uncle Phil; Alan Arkin - Fred Libner; James Gammon - Doc Sturgeon; Ray Lykins - Rick; Chris Lombardi - Raymond; Josh Segal - Billy; John Considine - Kloppner; Steve Boles; Don Tilley - Cop; Edan Gross - Young Bobby; Michael Weiner - Young Buddy; Dean Jacobson - Young Marvin; Boots Crowder - Waitress; Terry Loughlin - Garage Worker; Fred Ornstein - Barney; Don Sheldon - Fishing Buddy; Reid "Pete" Shook - Gas Station Attendant; Rod Swift - Finkelstein
Credit
James Murakami - Art Director, Marci Liroff - Casting, Mike Binder - Co-producer, Larry Brezner - Co-producer, Paul Schiff - Co-producer, Deborah L. Scott - Costume Designer, Joe Roth - Director, Paul Hirsch - Editor, James Newton Howard - Composer (Music Score), Joel Sill - Musical Direction/Supervision, Carole King - Songwriter, Jeff Barry - Songwriter, Richard Berry - Songwriter, Ellie Greenwich - Songwriter, Mildred J. Hill - Songwriter, Patty S. Hill - Songwriter, Warren Moore - Songwriter, Phil Spector - Songwriter, Howard Greenfield - Songwriter, Bob Merrill - Songwriter, Ricardo Ray - Songwriter, Charles Johnson - Songwriter, Elizabeth Lambert - Makeup, Angelo P. Graham - Production Designer, Reynaldo Villalobos - Cinematographer, Jerry A. Baerwitz - Producer, James G. Robinson - Producer, Don Ivey - Set Designer, Greg Hull - Special Effects, Mickey Gilbert - Stunts, Mike Binder - Screenwriter, Stu Krieger - Screenwriter, Stu Silver - Screenwriter, Smokey Robinson - Featured Music, Harry Warren - Featured Music
