Name: Retro Film Review: Six Days Seven Nights (1998)
Item: Six Days, Seven Nights
Rating: 15
Author: @drax

(source:tmdb.org)

Some films are remembered not for being particularly good or particularly bad, but simply due to some circumstances not directly involved with the production. One of such films is Six Days Seven Nights, 1998 romantic comedy directed by Ivan Reitman.

The film starts with Robin Monroe (played by Anne Heche), workaholic editor employed by prestigious women's magazines. She finally grabs the opportunity to spend holiday with her fiance Frank Martin (played by David Schwimmer) and flies to Tahiti. What was supposed to be six days and seven nights of tropical bliss is interrupted by Robin's boss and Robin is ordered to attend photo shoot. The only connection to Paepete is an vintage aeroplane owned by old and grungy pilot Quinn Morris (played by Harrison Ford). He agrees to fly Robin but when their plane gets caught by storm they are forced to crash-land on deserted island. Cut off from the outside world, Quinn and Robin are forced to find a way to survive. Their biggest problem, however, is the fact that they can't stand each other. In the meantime, Frank, convinced that Robin died in crash, finds solace in the arms of Quinn's girlfriend Angelica (played by Jacqueline Obradors). As time passes, Quinn and Robin finally manage to overcome their difference and actually start liking each other. But the band of pirates led by Jager (played by Temuera Morrison) would wreck their newfound idyll.

In its time Six Days Seven Nights created a lot of publicity after its main star Anne Heche had announced her lesbianism. The film's subsequent failure at the box office was often attributed to audience's bigotry - people could accept homosexual characters being played by heterosexuals, but heterosexual characters being played by homosexual actors were apparently quite different matter. In any case, Heche's career quickly took a nosedive and all hopes of turning Heche into new queen of Hollywood romantic comedies were quickly dashed. However, bigotry alone can't explain film's failure. Poor quality is more likely and more convincing answer, especially to those familiar to the opus of film's director and producer Ivan Reitman. In 1990s Reitman made series of terribly disappointing comedies and Six Days Seven Nights wasn't exception. The film was burdened by Thomas Browning's inept script, terrible dialogue and poor characterisation. Even the Hawaiian locations look too beautiful to be taken for deserted island. Suspension of disbelief is finally shattered with the arrival of pirates whose arrival looks like an insult of viewers' intelligence. On the other hand, acting is tolerable. Heche, lesbian or not, can play heterosexual characters and create some sort of chemistry with Ford. Two of them, unfortunately, can't rescue this film from sinking into well-deserved oblivion.

RATING: 2/10 (-)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on May 27th 004)