Love Affair (1994 film)

Love Affair is a 1994 American romantic drama film and a remake of the 1939 film of the same name. It was directed by Glenn Gordon Caron and produced by Warren Beatty from a screenplay by Robert Towne and Beatty, based on the 1939 screenplay by Delmer Daves and Donald Ogden Stewart, based on the story by Mildred Cram and Leo McCarey. The music score was by Ennio Morricone and the cinematography by Conrad L. Hall.
The film stars Beatty, Annette Bening and Katharine Hepburn in her final film role, with Garry Shandling, Chloe Webb, Pierce Brosnan, Kate Capshaw, Paul Mazursky and Brenda Vaccaro.[4]
== Plot ==
Ex-football star Mike Gambril (Warren Beatty) and singer Terry McKay (Annette Bening), each of whom is engaged to marry someone else, meet on a flight to Sydney. The plane makes an emergency landing and passengers must wait until a piece of equipment is delivered.
Mike and Terry visit his elderly aunt Ginny (Katharine Hepburn) on the isle of Moorea. They see each other with new eyes and fall in love. When they reach New York City, they agree to reunite at the top of the Empire State Building in three months' time. Terry breaks up with her fiancé Ken Allen (Pierce Brosnan), as does Mike with his, Lynn Weaver (Kate Capshaw).
Terry finds work as a singer, mostly in advertisements. Mike quits his job as a Los Angeles television sports announcer. He finds work as a coach at a small school and also returns to his true vocation as a painter. One of his pieces is of Terry in prayer from their idyllic day on the island.
Come their rendezvous, Terry, in her haste, is struck down by a car while crossing a street. Gravely injured, she is rushed to the hospital. Mike, waiting for her at the observation deck at the top of the building, is unaware of the accident. After many hours, he finally concedes at midnight that she has rejected him.
Now unable to walk, Terry refuses to contact Mike, wanting to conceal her disability. Instead, she finds a job as a music teacher. Six months after the accident, she sees Mike with his former fiancée at a holiday concert featuring Ray Charles (as himself), which Terry is attending with her former boyfriend. Mike does not notice her condition because she is seated. Each can only manage a hello.
Christmas Eve arrives and Mike makes a surprise visit, claiming to have come across her address while looking up another name in a telephone directory. Although he steers the conversation to make her explain her actions, Terry merely dodges the subject, never leaving the couch on which she sits.
About to leave her life for good, Mike mentions the painting that he had done of her, which that very afternoon had been given away to a woman who admired it. He is about to point out that the woman was in a wheelchair when he suddenly pauses. Mike walks into Terry's bedroom and sees his painting hanging on the wall. He now knows why she did not keep their appointment. They embrace.
== Cast ==
* Warren Beatty as Mike Gambril
* Annette Bening as Terry McKay
* Katharine Hepburn as Ginny
* Garry Shandling as Kip DeMay
* Chloe Webb as Tina Wilson
* Pierce Brosnan as Ken Allen
* Kate Capshaw as Lynn Weaver
* Harold Ramis as Sheldon Blumenthal
* Ray Charles as Himself
* Linda Wallem as Lorraine
* Cylk Cozart as Dr. Punch
* Meagen Fay as SSA Flight Attendant
* Ray Girardin as Wally Tripp
* John Hostetter as Ben
* Elya Baskin as Ship Captain
* Savely Kramarov as Cable Officer
* Oleg Vidov as Russian Businessman
* Herman Sinitzyn  Russian Waiter
* Taylor Dayne as Marissa
== Background and production ==
The film is a remake of the 1939 film Love Affair with Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne and of the 1957 film An Affair to Remember with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, both directed by Leo McCarey. The name of Terry McKay's character remained the same in all three films, while a different one was chosen for each of the three leading men.
Love Affair was Hepburn's first big-screen appearance in nearly 10 years[5](although she had made several TV movies in this time) and marked her last appearance in cinema. It includes the only time that she ever said the word "fuck" on-screen. Beatty personally lobbied 86-year-old Hepburn to appear in the film. He rented a house for her in Los Angeles and had her referred to a special dermatologist, but she did not give a definitive answer until the day of filming. Luise Rainer was also considered for the role.[6]
Filming took place in New York City, Los Angeles and on the islands of Tahitiand Moorea in French Polynesia.
== Reception ==
The remake was neither a critical nor a commercial success at the box office. It grossed $18 million domestically over a budget of $60 million[2] and holds a 30% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was nominated for one Razzie Award, Worst Remake or Sequel.[7]