Once Around (1991) * * * *

Directed by:  Lasse Hallstrom

Starring:  Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Danny Aiello, Gena Rowlands, Laura San Giacomo, Griffin Dunne

We think Once Around is headed for the usual payoffs.  Instead, it goes against our expectations and is all the more satisfying because of it.  It is a tricky film fraught with risk, but it works splendidly.   

The film focused on a working-class Boston family, the Bellas, headed by Joe (Aiello) and Marilyn (Rowlands), who live in a picturesque suburban home.  That home is hosting the wedding of their youngest daughter Jan (San Giacomo) as the film opens.   The wedding puts subtle pressure on the oldest, still unwed daughter Renata (Hunter) to be next to walk down the aisle.   She has a boyfriend
who puts it bluntly, "I have no interest in marrying you."  Heartbroken, she decides to join a seminar in the Caribbean where she will learn to sell condos.   

It is there she meets Sam Sharpe (Dreyfuss), a gray-haired, tanned salesman who is said to have sold a record number of condos and became filthy rich.    Sam speaks at the seminar and tells jokes that would likely get him sued for sexual harassment today, but Renata is enthralled by him.  They fall in love and soon he is meeting her parents, where he says things like, "I want to shake the hand of the first man my Renata ever loved."  But he regales them with generosity and Renata loves him, so they keep quiet about their natural suspicions about him.  "We don't know anything about this man," Joe says during a quiet moment, of which there are few once Sam arrives on the scene.

What is the story with Sam?   He's rich, yes, but he's also always "on", as if he doesn't know how to switch off being the condo salesman guy who at times can be a bit aggressive.   He means well and wants to ingratiate himself with Renata's family, but he can't read people.  He is the last to catch on that he acts inappropriately, even though others around him are clearly uncomfortable.  His entire personality is a high-wire, high-pressure sales act.  This clashes with Renata's conservative family, culminating in a blowup at Joe's mother's memorial service where Sam insists on singing a Lithuanian song even though no one wants to hear it.    

Yet, there are a few crucial scenes in which Sam reveals the depths of his affection for Renata and her family.  He turns down the wattage just enough to allow himself to be vulnerable, especially in the aftermath of the memorial service where Renata tells Sam, "You're tearing us apart."  I also especially loved Sam's response when Renata defends him after her parents tell him he is no longer welcome at their house.    

We think we know where Once Around is headed and to my relief, we don't. It doesn't end with a tidy, happy conclusion. We expect one type of film, but what we get is something else entirely.  I won't reveal how it all works out, except to say that it doesn't quite work out.  I admired the life the actors bring to these people.     I rank this among Dreyfuss' best performances.   Could the same guy who hires a belly dancer to perform at Joe's birthday party also be the same guy who is able to sensitively guide Renata during the trickiest situation in her life?   The answer is yes and that's why I love Dreyfuss in this film.   Danny Aiello is a treasure, handling family matters with authority and conviction as best he can, even though he's not sure exactly what the right answers are.   Gena Rowlands provides a sweetness to the proceedings as a mother who wants the best for all involved, so she would be the last person you would expect to take a stand when Sam steps over the line once too often.

Holly Hunter is a short bundle of energy who dives headlong into what she calls "an adventure" with Sam.   Hunter is never less than convincing as she transforms from a sheltered woman who early on asks to sleep in the same bed with her parents to one who takes a mature stand when needed.     We sense that she will be ok and we hope her adventure continues.   

Once Around is not the type of film that gathered big box-office grosses when it was released in early 1991.  It isn't a cookie-cutter film that can easily be pitched as a "such and such meets such and such".    It contains laughs and tears.  It has characters that change and evolve, capable of creating havoc and miraculous moments that ring completely true.  It is truly remarkable.