Phenomenon (1997, VHS)

My wife came into the bathroom the other day and found me upon the Porcelain Seat of Contemplation and Reflection with a Portugese-English dictionary. This didn't phase her; she's long been accustomed to my eccentricities. She did want to know, however, why I had installed solar panels on the bathtub and a manure-power contraption to my electric toothbrush. Maybe I DO get just a little over-enthusiastic at times...I dunno.

My apologies to Eric Clapton for borrowing the opening line to his song "Change the World" (one of my favorite songs) for the title of this review. The song is used in the closing scene of the movie Phenomenon .

John Travolta stars as George Malley, friendly mechanic in a small peaceful town where everybody seems to know everybody. George is of average intelligence, kind-hearted and has a youthful spirit, and generally gets along with everyone to the point where nearly everyone in town turns out at the local bar to celebrate his 37th birthday. Me personally, I would settle for the cranky town doctor, (Robert Duvall, who wears the role like a well- fitting glove) known mostly throughout the movie as "Doc" mooning me from his office window, which he gleefully does to George as a way of saying "Happy Birthday". George is also out to win the heart of Lace,well played by Kyra Sedgwick, who is a newcomer to the town,and because of hurts in a past relationship, spends most of her time trying to avoid George's advances. George also seems to have a pet project; drawing his best friend Nate(Forest Whitaker in a low-key well done role)out of his shell and his fantasies of Diana Ross.

On this particular birthday, all is not the norm for George, who wanders out into the street at midnight, and is struck by a mysterious beam of light from the sky and knocked off of his feet. No one else sees or hears this incident, and it is laughed off as being evidence of George's inebriated state, and a bemused George goes home, and it all begins.

George is changing inside; he can't sleep, he starts reading books at an incredible rate, he starts at four books a day and works his way up to thirty books a night, and he has ideas...little "what if" ideas, and some "big Holy Cow" ideas... he senses an approaching earthquake by sense of touch alone, hours before the earthquake hits, and he cracks an encrypted military message picked up on Nate's short-wave radio. Soon he's building solar panels to improve the growth of plants, building a car engine that gets ninety miles to the gallon of methane from processed pig manure, and creating a miracle fertilizer, and if that wasn't enough, he develops the power of telekinesis.

George's friends are now getting a little spooked; with the exception of the doctor, who is concerned for George's health. As George's powers grow, he is getting physically and emotionally exhausted and frayed.

The Powers That be in the form of the FBI step in; George's cracking the military code has been discovered. After exhaustive interrogation and tests, George is released, but watched closely. George does develop a bond with Lace and her children, and in a very touching scene, Lace helps him prepare for one of his ideas; a public appearance at a local fair show that he can explain himself and share his ideas. The appearence goes unfortunately awry as people keep pressing in on him wanting more than he wants to deliver, and the event ends in his collapse.

The truth finally is discovered by the doctor; George has a massive inoperable brain tumor; and while it is squeezing out healthy tissue, the rest of the brain has awakened and energized. But it is killing him, and time is very short.

I will not go any farther. The final scenes are very touching, and I won't spoil the rest.

Now for the analysis; John Travolta has just gotten better over time. I remember his early television appearance as Vincent Barbarino in the series "Welcome Back, Kotter"; he's come a long way since then. His George is gentle, warm, very likable, and very believeable. As he starts to unravel somewhat, you can see and feel the tension that has shattered this peaceful man's world.

Robert Duvall deserves special mention as "Doc"; he wears the role of the cranky yet good-hearted doctor so well, I could not "see the acting", so to speak. His affection for George is evident and well played, and the character is seamless...very well done.

Kyra Sedgwick is a great Lace; she's cold, yet civil to George in the beginning, and as she begins to thaw, she becomes a warm and genuinely sweet character to watch.

Forest Whitaker plays best friend Nate Pope very mellow and quiet. He's very likeable in the role, and cool to watch; he is a great "best friend type" all throughout the film.

The rest of the background characters and the town itself tremind me of Thorton Wilder's three-act play "Our Town" and his setting of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire. I've seen an ocassional peaceful town like this, but they are few and far between. Well done.

The pace of the movie is a little slow at times, but when I think about it, so is the pace of a peaceful little town.

This is a sweet film; I've called it a "good date movie", which it is. It will hold you, make you think a little, and touches you just right.


yours until the panel of judges on "American Idol" decide to claim the title themselves and become a performing trio,

-Hugh U. Kidden