Movie Review

On a Clear Day
I hesitated to call a movie uplifting mostly in an effort to retain some remainder of my guyness, however, it's hard to avoid on this one. So, what is an uplifting movie for a guy? Well, in the tradition of Rudy, and dare I say it, The Full Monty the main character must be gruff - or work in a job that (stereo)typifies manhood (such as the steel industry - sorry Rosy the Riveter, Football, etc.) so that all of us cubicle jockies, academicians or wine shop junkies can identify with them (can you feel the sarcasm?). In this case the main character, Frank, is downsized from a shipyard at a time when he should be thinking about retirement.

There's plenty of gruffness, unspoken angst and other classic "guy" qualities, i.e. emotional deadness. To fight off the "on-the-dole" blues Frank decides to secretly train to swim the channel (while his wife secretly drives the bus). There's plenty of father-son non-communication going on too, which tends to be somewhat formulaic for sappy movies (see Big Fish). All of the issues are slowly worked through, for better or worse, during the course of the movie.

I won't ruin the ending, but it is "uplifting."

3/4 stars