Themes: Family Gatherings, Wedding Bells, Eccentric Families
Main Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Danny Aiello, Laura San Giacomo, Gena Rowlands
Release Year: 1991
Country: US
Run Time: 115 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom made his American movie debut with this romantic comedy, starring Holly Hunter as Renata Bella, an aimless Bostonian thirtysomething who attends a seminar for aspiring condo salespersons. Here she meets hotshot salesman Sam Sharpe (Richard Dreyfuss), who immediately falls in love with her. After the marriage, Sam's well-meaning but obnoxious insistence on insinuating himself into every aspect of Renata's life rubs the rest of her family the wrong way. Though the script occasionally veers into both cliché and sentimentality, Once Around ends up a thoroughly charming experience, thanks to Hallstrom's knowing direction and the marvelous chemistry between Hunter and Dreyfuss. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Swedish director Lasse Hallström's first American picture met with a generally tepid reception from audiences and critics, but it's worth another look in retrospect. Once Around is of a piece with the director's shaggy, gently satirical portraits of tightly knit families and the forces that threaten to break them apart. The plot -- vulnerable Renata Bella (Holly Hunter) takes up with a smarmy condo salesman (Richard Dreyfuss) who alienates the rest of her clan -- is the stuff of television melodrama, but Hallström seizes on the script's ethnic clashes and meandering dialogue to craft a messier, more authentic vision of a proud American family. Despite the two performers' conspicuous lack of chemistry in 1989's Always, here they complement each other well. The over-animated Dreyfuss is used to good effect, as his impulsive, eccentric outbursts are played for tension as opposed to punchlines; it becomes understandable that Hunter's slightly manic Renata would be smitten with him. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
Roxanne Hart - Gail Bella; Danton Stone - Tony Bella; Tim Guinee - Peter Hedges; Greg Germann - Jim Redstone; Griffin Dunne - Rob; John Bennes - Minister; Gerald A. Benullo - Wedding Guest; Jonathan A. Cramer - Young Tony Bella; Lou Criscuolo - Uncle; Archie Fallon - Little Boy; Susan Felcher; Robyn Finn; Joan Gay - Aunt; Garry Goodrow; Michael Steve Jones - 2nd Trainer; Jim Kirk; David Kramer; Mandala Folk Dance Ensemble - Lithuanian Dancer; Mandala Orchestra - Lithuanian Musician; Dominic Marcus; Allen A. Mele - Roving Violinist; Caroline Parton - Honey Beach; Barry Reed - Young Joe Bella; Heather Reed - Young Renata Bella; Susanne Reed - Young Jan Bella; Sal Ruffino - Wedding Guest; Sabah - Belly Dancer; Craig Sechler; Myrtha D. Severe; Kate Skinner; Dorothy Stevenson-Bigby - Justice of the Peace; Myra Taylor - 1st Trainer; Sheilach Weymouth; William Wolkovich - Lithuanian Priest; Meg Simon; Fran Kumin; Cullen Oliver Johnson - Sonny
Credit
Michael Foxworthy - Art Director, Gretchen Rau - Art Director, Daniel Davis - Art Director, Renee Ehrlich Kalfus - Costume Designer, Lasse Hallström - Director, Andrew Mondshein - Editor, James Horner - Composer (Music Score), Danny Michael - Musical Direction/Supervision, David Gropman - Production Designer, Theo Van de Sande - Cinematographer, Richard Dreyfuss - Producer, Griffin Dunne - Producer, Amy Robinson - Producer, Judith James - Producer, G. Mac Brown - Producer, Lasse Hallström - Screenwriter, Malia Scotch Marmo - Screenwriter
Once Around is a 1991 romantic comedy/drama film about a young woman who falls for and eventually marries an overbearing older man who proceeds to rub her close-knit family the wrong way.
