Somewhere in Time  

By Jeff Shannon

It's silly, it's superficial, it's so desperately earnest about its tale of time-spanning love that you almost wish for a cheap flatulence gag just to break the solemn mood. But there's something so unabashedly gushy and entertaining about Somewhere in Time that you can't begrudge its enduring popularity. The film has become a staple of romantic-movie lovers since its release in 1980, and endless showings on cable TV have turned it into a dubious classic of sorts--a three-hanky weeper that anyone can enjoy as a guilty pleasure or a beloved favorite, with no apologies necessary.

In his first film after the star-making success of Superman, Christopher Reeve stars as a contemporary playwright who visits a posh hotel and sees the portrait of an actress (Jane Seymour) who had performed there in 1912. He becomes obsessed with this beautiful woman and learns all he can about her, and then discovers a method of hypnotically transporting himself backward in time to meet her. "Is it ... you?" she says upon seeing the lovestruck playwright, and it's clearly a mutual attraction. But even the slightest reminder of the playwright's modern time can jar him from his seemingly real existence in the past, so his wonderful love affair is constantly just a step from being stolen away.

Based on Richard Matheson's novel Bid Time Return, this flaky film may strain one's tolerance for plot holes and corny romance, but it's hard to deny its lasting appeal--and let's face it, guys, it'll make wives and girlfriends swoon if they're in a tearjerker mood.

Academy Awards

Somewhere in Time received an Academy Award nomination for Costume Design (Jean-Pierre Dorleac).

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		Your Memories Shared!

"My father took me to see Somewhere In Time when it came out in 1980, I was just 9. I feel so in love with the movie I have never forgotten it. I played the music for my 2 children while they were still in my tummy, I've watched the movie over and over. I now how found myself getting remarried. The wonderful thing is that I will be married at the Grand Hotel and my dress will be a replica of "the man of my dreams" scene. Oddly enough, the man I am to marry is from Michigan and his family has owned a cottage just accross the lake from the Grand Hotel since the turn of the Centry. My connection to this story is truely "somewhere" in time!!" --Kimi