Green Card (1990)

Director:

Peter Weir

Writer:

Peter Weir (written by)

Release Date:

11 January 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

Tagline:

An irresistibly charming comedy!

Plot:

A man wanting to stay in the US enters into a marriage of convenience, but it turns into more than that.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Greenhouse | Green Card | Immigration | Central Park New York City

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Gérard Depardieu	...	Georges
Andie MacDowell	...	Brontë
Bebe Neuwirth	...	Lauren
Gregg Edelman	...	Phil
Robert Prosky	...	Brontë's Lawyer
Jessie Keosian	...	Mrs. Bird
Ethan Phillips	...	Gorsky
Mary Louise Wilson	...	Mrs. Sheehan
Lois Smith	...	Brontë's Parent (Mother)
Conrad McLaren	...	Brontë's Parent (Father)
Ronald Guttman	...	Anton
Danny Dennis	...	Oscar
Stephen Pearlman	...	Mr. Adler
Victoria Boothby	...	Mrs. Adler
Ann Wedgeworth	...	Party Guest

Also Known As:

Green Card (France)

Runtime:

103 min | UK:107 min | USA:107 min (TCM print) (dvd release)

Country:

Australia | France | USA

Language:

English | French

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:L | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (cable rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Chile:14 | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)

Trivia:

First film in English for Gérard Depardieu.

Goofs:

Plot holes: Georges repeatedly tells immigration officers about his Africa trips. The script overlooks that fact that INS would have or request a copy of his passport to process his case. In real life, INS would have realized immediately that the Africa story was not real: no entry/departure stamps in his passport.

Quotes:

Georges: [in response to Bronte's telling him that she will donate her time to a children's agriculture charity] If it amuses you, then do it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Book That Wrote Itself (1999)

Soundtrack:

River

Different

Usually, romantic comedies are all the same, concerning their tone and their dialogue. „Green Card` by the great director Peter Weir („Truman Show`, „Witness`!), is a little different, which alone makes it sympathetic.

The film evokes interest right at the beginning because if people don't know exactly what it is all about, they might not get immediately what's happening. Brontë is already married to Georges the French composer. Other directors or screenwriters would have shown their wedding in detail, peppered with gags. But Weir sees that this is not necessary, it would only follow the convention.

Later we have unexpected plot twists and changes in the characters that are not always convincing but give the film an interesting, not too light base tone. And actually, Peter Weir is a too enthusiastic director to make a visually rather undemanding romance film. So he introduces some wonderful visual ideas like the scene where Georges is standing in front of Brontë's door, covered with a blanket, calling her name, while the camera shoots him from inside, through the „watcher`. I'm not particularly fond of Andie MacDowell because she always seems even more nervous than my English teacher, always presenting herself with a pained smile. In „Green Card` of course, the fact that she is not at all likeable (to me at least) fits perfectly, and one little wonder of the movie is that Gérard Depardieu can convincingly play that he is falling in love with her.

A comedy surprise.