The Accidental Tourist (film)
Encyclopedia
The Accidental Tourist is a 1988 American drama film starring William Hurt
, Kathleen Turner
, and Geena Davis
. It was directed by Lawrence Kasdan
and scored by John Williams
. The film's screenplay was adapted by Kasdan and Frank Galati
from the novel of the same name
by Anne Tyler
. One of the most acclaimed films of 1988, it was nominated for four Academy Awards
including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Geena Davis
won Best Supporting Actress for her performance.
Macon hires Muriel Pritchett, a quirky young woman with a sickly son, to train his unruly dog Edward, a Cardigan Welsh Corgi
, whom he cannot bear to give away because he once belonged to Ethan. Although Muriel at first seems brash and unsophisticated, Macon soon finds himself drifting into a relationship with her, spending most of his nights in her small, shabby apartment and even taking her son shopping for clothes. When Sarah becomes aware of the situation, she decides they should reconcile, even suggesting that they move back into their old home. Macon leaves Muriel and soon Sarah and he have set up house once more.
While visiting Paris
for research on a travel guide, it turns out that Muriel is not only on the same flight, but is also staying in the same hotel — she had found the info in Macon's travel guide. She suggests that they enjoy themselves as if they are on a vacation, but Macon insists that he is there strictly for business. After Macon becomes bedridden in his hotel room with back pain, Sarah comes to Paris to care for him as well as make his trips in order to complete his travel research. Despite Sarah's renewed interest in their relationship, Macon decides to return to Muriel. During his cab ride to the airport, Macon spies Muriel attempting to hail a cab with numerous suitcases and shopping bags at her feet. He tells the cab driver to pull over, and Macon and Muriel smile at each other.
Nominated:
William Hurt
William McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...
, Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner
Mary Kathleen Turner is an American actress. She came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in the Hollywood films Body Heat, Peggy Sue Got Married, Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Prizzi's Honor...
, and Geena Davis
Geena Davis
Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis is an American actress, film producer, writer, former fashion model, and a women's Olympics archery team semi-finalist...
. It was directed by Lawrence Kasdan
Lawrence Kasdan
Lawrence Edward "Larry" Kasdan is an American film producer, director and screenwriter.-Life and career:Kasdan was born in Miami, Florida, the son of Sylvia Sarah , an employment counselor, and Clarence Norman Kasdan, who managed retail electronics stores.His Brother is the writer/producer Mark...
and scored by John Williams
John Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
. The film's screenplay was adapted by Kasdan and Frank Galati
Frank Galati
Frank Galati is an American director, writer and actor. He is a member of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, an associate director at Goodman Theatre, and a professor of performance at Northwestern University. In 2004, Galati was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame...
from the novel of the same name
The Accidental Tourist
The Accidental Tourist is a 1985 novel by Anne Tyler that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction...
by Anne Tyler
Anne Tyler
Anne Tyler is an American novelist.Tyler, the eldest of four children, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her father was a chemist and her mother a social worker. Her early childhood was spent in a succession of Quaker communities in the mountains of North Carolina and in Raleigh...
. One of the most acclaimed films of 1988, it was nominated for four Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Geena Davis
Geena Davis
Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis is an American actress, film producer, writer, former fashion model, and a women's Olympics archery team semi-finalist...
won Best Supporting Actress for her performance.
Plot
Macon Leary is a Baltimore, Maryland writer of travel guides for reluctant business travelers. After the murder of his 12 year old son, Ethan, during a shooting at a fast-food restaurant, he and his wife Sarah find their marriage disintegrating. Eventually she moves out of the house and into an apartment. When Macon becomes incapacitated due to a fall down his basement stairs, he returns to the family home to stay with his eccentric siblings — sister Rose and brothers Porter and Charles — whose odd habits include alphabetizing the groceries in the kitchen cabinets, ignoring the ringing telephone, and playing an invented card game called "Vaccination." Macon's publisher, Julian, comes to visit and finds himself attracted to Rose despite their obvious differences.Macon hires Muriel Pritchett, a quirky young woman with a sickly son, to train his unruly dog Edward, a Cardigan Welsh Corgi
Cardigan Welsh Corgi
The Cardigan Welsh corgi is one of two separate dog breeds known as Welsh corgis that originated in Wales, the other being the Pembroke Welsh corgi. It is one of the oldest herding breeds.-Characteristics:...
, whom he cannot bear to give away because he once belonged to Ethan. Although Muriel at first seems brash and unsophisticated, Macon soon finds himself drifting into a relationship with her, spending most of his nights in her small, shabby apartment and even taking her son shopping for clothes. When Sarah becomes aware of the situation, she decides they should reconcile, even suggesting that they move back into their old home. Macon leaves Muriel and soon Sarah and he have set up house once more.
While visiting Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
for research on a travel guide, it turns out that Muriel is not only on the same flight, but is also staying in the same hotel — she had found the info in Macon's travel guide. She suggests that they enjoy themselves as if they are on a vacation, but Macon insists that he is there strictly for business. After Macon becomes bedridden in his hotel room with back pain, Sarah comes to Paris to care for him as well as make his trips in order to complete his travel research. Despite Sarah's renewed interest in their relationship, Macon decides to return to Muriel. During his cab ride to the airport, Macon spies Muriel attempting to hail a cab with numerous suitcases and shopping bags at her feet. He tells the cab driver to pull over, and Macon and Muriel smile at each other.
Cast
- William HurtWilliam HurtWilliam McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...
as Macon Leary - Kathleen TurnerKathleen TurnerMary Kathleen Turner is an American actress. She came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in the Hollywood films Body Heat, Peggy Sue Got Married, Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Prizzi's Honor...
as Sarah Leary - Geena DavisGeena DavisVirginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis is an American actress, film producer, writer, former fashion model, and a women's Olympics archery team semi-finalist...
as Muriel Pritchett - Bill PullmanBill PullmanWilliam James "Bill" Pullman is an American film, television, and stage actor. Pullman made his film debut in the supporting role of Earl Mott in the 1986 film Ruthless People. He has since gone on to star in other films, including Spaceballs, Independence Day, Lost Highway, Casper and Scary Movie 4...
as Julian - Amy WrightAmy WrightAmy Wright is an American actress. She has appeared in such films as The Deer Hunter, Breaking Away, The Amityville Horror, Heartland, Wise Blood, Stardust Memories, The Accidental Tourist, Hard Promises, Crossing Delancey and Miss Firecracker.Wright is married to actor Rip Torn and the couple...
as Rose Leary - David Ogden StiersDavid Ogden StiersDavid Ogden Stiers is an American actor, director, vocal actor, and musician, noted for his roles in Disney movies, as well as his performances in the television series M*A*S*H as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III and the science fiction drama The Dead Zone as Reverend Gene Purdy...
as Porter Leary - Ed Begley, Jr.Ed Begley, Jr.Edward James "Ed" Begley, Jr. is an American actor and environmentalist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He is best known for his role as Dr. Victor Ehrlich, on the television series St...
as Charles Leary
Awards
Won:- Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressAcademy Award for Best Supporting ActressPerformance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
- Geena DavisGeena DavisVirginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis is an American actress, film producer, writer, former fashion model, and a women's Olympics archery team semi-finalist... - USC Scripter Award 1988
- Golden Horse Award for Best Foreign Actor - William HurtWilliam HurtWilliam McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...
Nominated:
- Academy Award for Best PictureAcademy Award for Best PictureThe Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
- Academy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayAcademy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayThe Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
- Academy Award for Original Music ScoreAcademy Award for Original Music ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
- BAFTA Award for Best Adapted ScreenplayBritish Academy of Film and Television ArtsThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
- Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - DramaGolden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - DramaThis page lists the winners and nominees for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama, since its institution in 1951. The organizer, Hollywood Foreign Press Association , is an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications...
- Golden Globe Award for Best Original ScoreGolden Globe Award for Best Original ScoreThe Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is one of several categories presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association , an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications outside North America, since its institution in 1947...