Sweet childhood; whiffs of multigenerational nostalgia. Please, why don`t you just pound a truckful of saccharin down my throat?
Well (sigh), after viewing ”Avalon,” I`m compelled to revise my rather harsh assumptions. I actually found this movie quite touching. Heck, it made me nostalgic, and I`m only 15.
Sam Krichinsky, immigrant, arrives in Land o` Dreams on the 4th of July, 1914, a fact he repeats quite often. He joins his brothers in the family business and gets hitched to a gal named Eva. They all raise families in the same house, resulting in constant family reunions. They`re like many reunions- I still don`t know who all those people were. No matter. Flash forward 20 years.
Sam`s married son Jules (Aidan Quinn) and cousin Izzy go into business. They are fruitful and multiply their assets, prompting a move to suburbia. There`s lots of nice scenes here, interspersed with grandfatherly flashbacks and one assault-and-battery.
Unfortunately, a disaster that I won`t specify strikes their store. Stupid Izzy. In bittersweet, realistic fashion, the family drifts; it almost warrants hankies.
Whenever artistically beautiful ”Avalon” descends into Hokeyland, the actors skillfully hold the fort. Simply peachy performances by Aidan Quinn and Elizabeth Perkins; the kids act sufficiently wide-eyed.
This movie rates a sob, a sniffle, a giggle and a snicker. For those who persist in that stuffy star method: (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
