Still Breathing

Plot synopsis:
As the movie begins we see Fletcher (Brendan Fraser) who seems very interested in a collage. He even needs an espresso to get him on the right track.In Hollywood, California we meet Rosalyn (Joanna Going) who seems to have given up on two things that she once thought were life's truths, one was that there was a perfect man for every woman and the second was that true love equaled happiness. Now she has grown up and no longer believes these are truths, seems she has met too many that do not even come close. Love has never meant happiness for her.As she walks from her truck to meet friends she is acosta by a man, we aren't sure what he wants, but certainly does not ask nicely and Roz is not waiting around to find out. He grabs her as she is moving and she manages to get her mace out of her purse and sprays him with it. She seems to get him really good with it, and yet as she is running away, now he has a gun pointed at her. She looks terrified, when suddenly we are with Fletcher again and he seems to see what is happening as yells out, "No!" It is all happening at once, the gun, Roz, Fletcher, when suddenly a car hits the man with the gun and drives off. A typical Los Angeles hit-and-run incident, but this one may have stopped a shooting. The man is out cold, Fletcher is relieved. Roz kicks him to be sure he is not conscience, then she kicks him again for her trouble and then takes his wallet and takes his money. As she walks away she kicks his gun into the gutter grate. Roz was on her way to meet friends and decides the idiot with the gun should buy a round, while the bartender tends to that she makes an anonymous phone call to 911 to report the hit-and-run but hangs up before giving her name.Fletcher now relieved says, "I got her" and now seems to know exactly what hair, eyes, and face to paste together to accomplish his goal. That together with the word "Formosa" and he is hot on the trail of his dream.
When he looks up Formosa he finds it is in China, so he plans a trip there with a layover in Los Angeles. We find Fletcher playing a trumpet on the river with his Grandmother (Celeste Holm) playing a tuba, she interrupts to state, "you sound different, something's changed, what's her name?" Fletcher pronounces he doesn't believe in all that stuff. His Grandmother reminds him that his Grandfather found her on a full streetcar and knew she had a mole on her back and she was still wearing her coat!" They continue to play. Then back at the house when speaking with her Fletcher shows her some of the collages he has put together. He believes she is in Formosa, China and that she is chinese. We also learn Fletcher is a very good Marionette operator who entertains with a group. Now he must tell them that he is leaving for China to find his dream girl, and shows them the collages of her.These scenes have jumped back and forth from Fletcher putting his girl together, speaking to Grandma and his friends to Roz setting up her latest con and finally getting him to buy her an abstract painting which is a story onto itself.Our girl who has out grown dreams has become a con artist with a partner in crime, Elaine (Ann Magnuson) who seek out rich men to fleece. Roz has begun to have odd dreams, that she is a little girl first laying in ivy, then playing with a little boy on a river, she does not know the boy or the place she only knows the dream makes her feel peaceful.She has to finish up this foreign con and does so easily. She invites to dinner. When he arrives she announces she'd rather order in and watch a video, she's feeling under the weather. He is interested in cashing in on his painting "investment" with her. When he asks if there is anything he can do to make her feel better. She asks him to get her some aspirin, when he goes in search of it he finds himself in her bedroom where he tests the bed. Then he notices an oxygen tank, a bed pan, and several prescriptions and brochures like, "Facts about AIDS" and "Now What?" Needless to say the guy practically leaves skid marks getting out of there.Roz continues to have the dreams of the river, the little boy, and her as a little girl. In this latest dream she hurts her knee and it's bleeding so the little boy uses the bottom of his shirt to dab away the blood. When she awakes she looks at her knee almost as if she expects to see something there. Elaine has her next mark lined but has to hand him off to Roz. Trouble is she hasn't all the information on him, She knows the family gets its money from gas and oil, that the man is not old, that he is peculiar, and he is from Texas and she will meet him the next afternoon at the Formosa.Fletcher is at the L.A. airport waiting for his connecting flight to China when he sees a woman reading an entertainment book about Hollywood and sees a photograph of the famous "Formosa" bar. Finally fate has put the two together at the same place.Fletcher arrives first and the place is all but empty. He shows his collages to the bartender and asks if he has seen this woman. Of course pieces of different women mean nothing to him and shakes his head no. Then a man comes in who is expecting to meet a woman. Fletcher immediately recognizes the man's Texas accent and the two briefly talk, and they find out they are both there to meet women. The mark goes off to use the phone leaving only Fletcher in the bar when Roz enters. So it becomes easy for her to find who she thinks is her mark and for him to meet who he thinks is his dream.They leave the bar and end up walking near Roz's apartment. Fletcher tells her he is an artist who stacks rocks. She doesn't undertsand so he shows her by stacking rocks on her hand. He explains that she needs to look at it from different perspectives. Once the rock scene is over, a large dog in a parked car barks and scares Roz and she falls down and hurts her knee which is now bleeding, so Fletcher uses the bottom of his shirt to dab the blood away. When he does this Roz is visibly upset, this is much too close to her dream and it frightens her.She just really does not understand how this could happen. She needs to continue her con, but the dream stuff really shakes her up. Her logical mind knows it isn't possible for someone to set something like that up, but her con-game self believes he's playing her somehow. This makes her double her effort to outwit this rich Texas man. She even finds herself leaving the comfort of her usual game at this man to make sure she has the upper hand at all times. The thing she doesn't know is, she has one directive and he has a completely different one in mind. They both are planning a con, but very different ones with very different outcomes. She plans to con him out of a lot money and flee, he plans to introduce her to his life in Texas and hope she finds both him and Texas impossible to not only leave, but to marry.Her best efforts in L.A. are not met with what she expects. In fact she ends up in Texas with the eccentric rich man waiting for her next move. The next move is not hers, Fletcher is called upon to entertain a dying little girl. Roz tags along but eccentric is not quite defining Flletcher's actions. His odd house, the fact that he likes to sleep on a piano, and that she still can not seduce him frustrates and confuses her.Then she finds out a party is to be thrown and she is the star. Fletcher finally tells her that the men in his family have traditionally dreamed about their true love, and when they have dreamed enough to know where they are they go find them and marry them. His Father found his Mother who was engaged to another man yet still won her.Roz begins to meet Fletcher's friends who have all seen the collage from before and can't believe what they are seeing. Fletcher dreamed of a woman, cut and pasted different parts of illustrations, drawings, and photos to get a good visualization of his love and found her.At the party all everyone can do is stare at her in amusement. Then Fletcher's Grandmother comes and recognizes her immediately and explains she knows exactly how she feels. Afterall, she has been through this herself and knows how uneasy the whole thing can make you feel. She then takes her in the house and shows her family memories and treasures. At the party she finds out that Fletcher is not an eccentric rich man, he is a kind man with a good life and good friends and family, things that she can't or wouldn't steal. She now doesn't feel good enough, and wants to leave.She leaves and resumes her life with Elaine, but while riding with the next mark, she sees unkindness and feels unfulfilled, she feels that no matter what dollar value goes with this man it isn't enough. She leaves him and goes back to Texas.The last scene is beautiful with Fletcher and Roz in tubes floating down a river, the one from her dreams and they are connected. It is a love story, but a very different one. enjoy.
Gremma, San Jose

Tags: romantic

Review:
Combining eccentricity with serendipity, Still Breathing is still, almost ten years after it was first released, one of the best fate-filled and wistfully magical love stories of all time.
Take one somewhat unusual street performer who is mystically drawn towards his soul mate - a hardened con artist miles away, and then back their journey towards, away and towards one another with a gorgeous soundtrack that moves effortlessly from Chopin to Carly Simon, and you've got one very touching if not markedly unique story.
The lovely locale of San Antonio, TX also adds to the charm of this special film that will leave you wondering if one soul is truly destined to be, exclusively, with another..
Brendan Frasier and Joanna Going have much more going for them then the typical fluff of Hollywood types and this movie displays their depth well.
It's the best modern movie about "true love" I've seen.
Like most people who discovered STILL BREATHING - written, directed, and produced by James F.
The beginning sequence just kept me curious and wanting to know more, what's going to happen to the two main characters and so on.
At the time, I just saw Brendan Fraser in "Blast From the Past" opposite Alicia Silverstone, and appreciated Joanna Going's role in another small gem, "Eden" (1997, written and directed by Howard Goldberg), as a wife-teacher-mother who has Multiple Sclerosis.
STILL BREATHING has magic, and it's so relaxingly delightful!You might say it's quirky, or want to dismiss it as mere fantasy romance.
The pairing of Brendan Fraser (as Fletcher, the goofy but smart, always a sincere aura about him) and Joanna Going (as the aloof, vulnerable and hesitating Ros) is a godsend unlikely possible couple.
It all seems so downright natural - even thought we know we're in a fantasy Hollywood movie.
Joanna Going's Ros seems perfect opposite Fraser's Fletcher.
(I'm repeating myself.) The supporting cast proves to be just as delightful: Celeste Holm as Fletcher's grandmother Ida who has versatile talents; Lou Rawls is the Tree Man who plays music; Ann Magnuson is Ros' social pal Elaine; Michael McKean is a momentarily rich business man.
Still Breathing is a cute, feel good movie for all romantics out there.
Brendan Fraser is terrific as Fletcher, and Joanna Going is splendid as Roz.
I enjoyed this movie very much and hope that, without becoming repetitive, there will be more like it..
I saw this at it's premiere in Austin at SXSW a few years ago--Joanna Going sat two seats over from me in the balcony at the Paramount on Congress Avenue in Austin--and the audience loved it.
The producer, a tall blonde BABE in a very lovely dress, gave me a CD of the soundtrack as I was leaving; I told her I thought the film was great and that I hoped she'd make a lot of money off it.
I can't remember how I came across this unheard-of movie a few years ago, but I am a fan of Brendan Fraser and so I settled back to watch it.
I'd never heard one little thing about this movie before, and I was so pleasantly surprised with the whole experience.
"Beautiful" and "Magical" are the only two words coming to mind to describe this movie.
Ladies...I guarantee that after this movie, your night will be filled with pleasant and slightly naughty dreams....especially the wife beater, personal serenity device...and OHMYGOD....the slide show scene.
I absolutely LOVED this movie.
Joanna Going's character, Roz, is a con artist but instead of disliking her you feel sympathy for her.
The music weaves throughout the film and makes you feel good..
Truly a 'feel good' movie to cheer you up.
Finally, a movie with a great ending!
Joanna Going and Brendan Fraiser are great together.
If only men do find their true love this way it would make a great reality-TV series.
If you get an opportunity to watch this movie, it is indeed, a true treasure of a film.
With "Still Breathing", Robinson takes a risky but brave approach to romantic comedy/light-drama with a dreamy concoction of unlikely bedfellows, quirky characters, implausibilities, capriciousness, paranormal events, art, and romance.
Fraser plays a Texas street performer who seeks out the girl of his dreams (literally) in Los Angeles, a hard-hearted and cynical scam-artist (Going).
The casting was really good in this movie.
This little film makes a simple statement about the much touted  "family values" that Conservatives love to invoke.
However, what makes it work are solid performances by Fraser and Going.
Too, Going has a delicate beauty and solid talent, which she showed off to great display in the TV miniseries NetForce in contrast to Scott Bakula's hamboning.
The logic of the true love is braking the walls between the standard way of living and the wish for filling a peace of the soul, if there is something in the world that can be worth, is to find it.
This is hands down the best performance from Brendan Fraser EVER.
He makes his "odd" character likable and charming, which was a big surprise...he's usually way too over the top for me.
The movie has some slow moments (like most of the scenes involving Joanna Going's character and a Spanish dude, and some other girl who always shows her cleavage) but other than that the flick flows nicely.
It's pretty low budget, but the score really makes you feel like you're watching a bigger movie - the score helps many moments in the film.
The best thing about the movie is how it handles love and romance, which is done in a very subtle, methodical fashion that makes you really understand and associate with the characters.
I love this movie and have been hoping it would come out on DVD.
It blows me away when I see true losers on DVD, but then have such a great movie neglected.
The first time I saw the movie, it was playing on HBO, I think I watched every showing of it until they quit playing it.
It is totally a feel good movie.
I am a huge Brendan Fraser fan, there have only been a couple movies he's done that I really think stink.
I highly recommend seeing this film, although one might consider it a chick flick, my husband really likes it too..
Joanna Going was wonderful as a cynic vexed by love.
The last few romantic movies I have been to had sound tracks that were obtrusive.
Brendan Fraser's heart is as warm as the San Antonio sun in this movie, and he shows us all just how beautiful life - and love - can be.
sometimes you just have to love pay-tv for letting you see movies that you would otherwise never see in theaters or on video.
I was just flipping by when I saw Joanna Going (who is really a babe on top of being a good actress) and Brendan Fraser necking in her living room, and I was hooked.Maybe I'm just a mushy romantic, geek but I liked both the story and the acting.
The harshness of LA and the humid, languid beauty of Texas fitted the mood of the film greatly.Did I mention that Joanna Going (who I first saw in Wyatt Earp) is a great actress and a babe as well?.
I don't recall this film being released in movie theaters.
I decided to rent it because I am a big Brendan Fraser fan and figured it must be a direct-to-video lightweight romantic comedy giving me the opportunity to gaze upon the gorgeous Mr. Fraser.
But this movie made a big impression on me.I think the film has all of the elements to become a cult classic, in the same way "Harold and Maude" did in the 1970s and "Somewhere in Time" did in the 1980s.
But when I saw how completely he believed in his one true love--hopping a plane to Taiwan, no questions asked--I wanted to see more.One of the things I liked so much about the movie was that I did not feel manipulated.
Like Roz, most of the moviegoing public are cynics and would fight tooth and nail before letting go and enjoying the ride.There are images that stay with you from the movie.
The film allows the protagonist (Going)and the audience to discover the truth at the same time.
Fraser is solid as is Going and the solid cast.
I love this movie.
I love Joanna Going.Perhaps I see this differently because I know so many Texan artists (yes, even ones who build monuments), and I see a purity to their art which Brendan Fraser's character touches with accuracy and sensitivity.
Art is a passion which glows in both Fraser and Going, in radically different ways, grounded as they are in San Antonio and LA.Each time I see the movie, I catch a new nuance.
And the final phrase of her last voiceover, which puts her choices into perspective.The ivy.The impromptu performance art of the slide projector and Going's body shows the depth of both characters, as well as being one of the most sensual non-nude scenes I've seen.The style and feel of San Antonio is perfect.
another reason I think I disagree with the critics; the seduction _would_ be slow, and more lasting.This is a laid-back, slow moving movie, with a magic between two unrelenting opposites of great character, played by two very sensitive actors, unusual enough to be several rungs above a typical romantic comedy..
Even though Joanna Going plays a gold digging artist, she acts like a lady.
Have you ever dreamed of your true love?.
With the increase of romantic comedies revolving around sex, this is romantic on a new level.This movie brings to life the fantasy of uniting with the one person who is supposed to be with you.
Although Brendan Fraser plays an especially eccentric character, you really begin to enjoy him as the movie continues as does Ros (played by Joanna Going).
Joanna is an eyeful and Brendan is at his best.
Thats the best way to describe the movie.
Maybe things like this happen in real life and if they do, I want it to happen to me.
Fraser once again give a great performance, Ms. Going is beautiful and just as talented as she is beautiful.
The movie might not have worked so well as it did, if it were not for the chemistry they two of them shared in this film.
I really don't believe much in love, but the movie makes me almost think that there might be a thing called love.
If it comes on cable and your home watch the movie, or go rent it.
It will be the best decision you've made when it comes to trying to figure out what to watch on a Tuesday or Thursday night....DID  I MENTION THAT I LOVED THIS MOVIE..
It's been a long time since I've seen a romantic movie I loved as well as this one.
'Still Breathing' was marred by tedious pacing, forced characters (I could have lived my whole life without seeing Brendan 'Encino Man' Fraser play with marionettes), and a story so threadbare it doesn't even wash as a fairy tale.
One senses that the plot got resolved when it did only because the director looked at his watch and realized how long the movie was getting.
Celeste Holme is stunning and perfectly cast.I just love this film..
The movie was ethereally beautiful.
Joanna Going is beautiful.
I'm glad this movie was done during Brendan Fraser's heyday!
Though it was underrated, it was actually a good romantic movie..
I'll watch this wonderful film anytime it comes up on Dish or cable.
It was captivating, yet low key; weird, yet very sane, even with the dreams.It was the first time I had ever seen Joanna Going - an exceptionally beautiful woman.
It has that feel.Brendan Fraser's character's stress on family and his relationship with his grandmother was something that is sorely lacking in films of today..
We have to keep dreaming that love is out there eh?Actors portrayed parts well and the movie works.One I'd watch again..
Do you believe in true love?.
Cynics and idiots have dismissed this movie as "unrealistic" or "a boring chick flick."  Too bad.
They just don't get it.This is a romantic comedy in the old style, where a lovable eccentric dreams of his one true love and goes to seek her out.
We would all like to believe (at least I hope we would) in true love.The folks who dismiss this movie are like the heroine, Ros: cynical, hard edged and business like, with no room for dreams or fantasies in their cold cruel realistic worlds.
Brendan Fraser finds his voice as the eccentric and honest puppeteer and Joanna Going is impressive in one of her first lead roles.
This film is like a vacation, a breath of air if you will, from all of the special effects-packed blockbusters that fail in the area of plot and character development.
This is a movie for all those who like movies about love and life!
It's a real movie!It's beautiful, and looks great in my TV!Joanna Going looks amazing!
Brendan Fraser gives ones of his most superb performances in this off-balance romance about the power of love.
Fraser's character is almost saintly in his belief of everything right and good while his L.A. love interest provides an interesting counterpoint with her deviousness and jaded outlook.
This may just be my favorite Brendan Fraser movie!.
I liked a movie with Brendan Fraser.
I think so many people are going to miss this movie just because it had Brendan Frazer when he is one of the best reasons to so the movie.
This movie does not move very fast and it really is a character drama in the truest sense of the word but somehow all the things that make you wonder why?
after watching a bad movie make you think yes that was cool after seeing this one.
Everything works and the film is really beautiful and totally original, I think.
In all honesty this movie has helped turn me on to romantic drama just by itself.
I am not a big fan of either Brendan Fraser or of romance movies, but I was forced to watch this at a friend's house one evening, and it surprisingly good.
She thinks she'll never find real love, and so makes a living as a scam artist without a conscience, which is completely different from his very artistic, trusting soul.
Finally, a movie that deals with "true love" and not lust.
Brendan Fraser is splendid as a quirky, romantic, "knows what he wants" man..
Brendan Fraser and Joanna Going trust the script completely, they surrender to it.
It's also great to see veteran actress Celeste Holm infusing the film with her sparkle and intelligence.A real pleasant surprise, you just find yourself melting into its gentle rhythms and not wanting it to end..
Unfortunately I missed the beginning of this film, so I couldn't tell what was going on at first, but the girl, the gun, the dead guy and the black & white dream sequence caught my eye.
Although I've watched it at least six times on tape, I'm still kicking myself because I would have loved to experience watching this movie on the big screen.
To be engulfed by all that ivy..."Still Breathing" is the first film that I've seen where colour was used so well.
In the scenes where she's unsure of what may happen, particularly the one where she's with Fletcher (Brendan Fraser) and a scam partner at the Formosa, hours after she skins her knee, and in most of the ones set in San Antonio, she wears black.
Brendan Fraser was wonderful and cuddly and gentle and oh-so loving and delicious and handsome and so on and so forth.
Joanna Going's beauty is what dreams are made of.
Not only did they work so well with each other, Fraser and Going looked beautiful together.I read a newspaper review that said the story was sexist because it was all about Fletcher dreaming of his true love and finding her and bringing her back to Texas.
I particularly liked the sequence where Fletcher tells Roz to close her eyes because of the way Chopin's "Berceuse" sets the mood.I was left with such a peaceful and happy feeling when this movie came to an end, I cried.
There was just something about Roz's expressive eyes and about the way the music swells as she lies down in the ivy that moved me to tears.This is a love story like no other.I know for sure the ivy had something to do with it..
Engaging story and nice setting makes for a treat for Brendan Fraser fans.
Brendan Fraser and Joanna Going are missing something essential to any good love story: chemistry.
And I didn't see any evidence that Rosalyn loved Fletcher, let alone even liked him.
I'd say the worst part of this movie was when Brendan Fraser's character had these dreams of the girl he goes out with.
Passable film concerning a cynical woman who dreams of true love while fleecing hand picked lovers.
It was spoken by Rosalyn (Roz) Willoughby (Joanna Going), in this film: Paraphrasing it a bit (I am a straight guy): "There are two things I always wanted to believe in but didn't dare.
Roz is a very successful con artist who is on her way to a path of destruction (Either on her own, or by someone else) until she meets Fletcher McBracken (Brandan Fraser), who is her soul mate (He goes from San Antonio to LA, to try and save her (He has a gift passed down through generations which is through dreams, the ability to find their true love)).
One more thing: If she likes chocolate, do not forget the Godiva's for her while watching (Chocolate will pop up in the film, so spring them on her then).