Forever Young (1992)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Steve Miner

Writer (WGA):

J.J. Abrams (written by)

Release Date:

16 December 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Time waits for no man but true love waits forever

Plot:

A 1939 test pilot asks his best friend to use him as a guinea pig for a cryogenics experiment. Daniel...

Plot Keywords:

Pilot | Test Pilot | Cryogenics | Hibernation | Rapid Aging

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Capt. Daniel McCormick
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Claire Cooper
Elijah Wood	...	Nat Cooper
Isabel Glasser	...	Helen
George Wendt	...	Harry Finley
Joe Morton	...	Cameron
Nicolas Surovy	...	John
David Marshall Grant	...	Lt. Col. Wilcox USAF
Robert Hy Gorman	...	Felix
Millie Slavin	...	Susan Finley
Michael A. Goorjian	...	Steven
Veronica Lauren	...	Alice
Art LaFleur	...	Alice's Father
Eric Pierpoint	...	Fred
Walton Goggins	...	Gate MP (as Walt Goggins)

Also Known As:

Return of Daniel (USA) (working title)
The Rest of Daniel (USA) (original script title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some language and domestic conflict.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Austria:6 | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Germany:12 | South Korea:15 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Canada:G (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Claremont, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

When Daniel is making phone calls to locate his friend, the phone number that he leaves on the answering machine is 555-2368. That phone number is the same as the one used in Ghost Busters (1984) in their TV commercials. This phone number was also the phone number used in When a Stranger Calls (1979); Carol Kane's character Jill Johnson gives Police Sargent Saggert a phone number of where she is babysitting. The above number: 555-2368, was the number she gave to the Sargent when she was speaking to him on the phone.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: At one point, Daniel drives past a sign reading to "Los Alamitos Air Base" which appears to be among some dry hills, while the real Los Alamitos Air Station is in the middle of the suburbs, where there are no hills.

Quotes:

Daniel: [climbing out of the wrecked airplane] If she comes with a warranty, I'll take her!

Movie Connections:

References Ghost Busters (1984)

Soundtrack:

You Are My Sunshine

Grow Old with Mel

"It's 1939 and test pilot Daniel McCormick (Mel Gibson) has the world by the tail. He has a terrific job flying B-25s, a devoted soul mate (Isabel Glasser) and a long-time pal and confidant (George Wendt). In fact, he has everything. Almost. Despite his ability to confront danger, he can't look his girlfriend in the face and propose. He always decides to wait till tomorrow to pop the question… but in one terrible instant he runs out of tomorrows. Tragedy takes his sweetheart away…" according to the film's official synopsis.

With his sweetheart in a coma, and given almost no chance of recovery, Mr. Gibson asks to be cryogenically frozen for one year. Gibson doesn't want to suffer through her demise, but asks to be thawed-out if she recovers. This is just one of many motivational problems with this film's characters. Why isn't he at her bedside? You're forever wondering WHY? as "Forever Young" proceeds. Anyway, Gibson awakens in 1992, and moves in with young Elijah Wood (as Nat Cooper) and his mom, nurse Jamie Lee Curtis (as Claire).

After the camera lovingly shows his nude profile, a very fit and good-looking Gibson finds some clothing to wear, and goes to use a pay phone, outside a Ralph's supermarket. Incredibly, Gibson uses the 1992 push-button pay phone successfully. Probably, young Wood had some change in his pocket, and Gibson used a futuristic telephone at the 1939 World's Fair, or something... I can't manage those pay phones after one night's sleep, never mind 53 years.

Nicolas Surovy does well as the "nice guy" who provides an escape route for Ms. Curtis and son, should they lose Gibson. Repeatingly telling the kids to "SHUT UP," Michael A. Goorjian has the second best scene in the movie, given the tree-house flying lesson Gibson gives Wood (but, learn how to use your wing flaps and rudder pedals properly, before trying to fly a real plane). And, cute little Veronica Lauren, recently "Sarah" in "Dark Shadows", is definitely worth serenading.

**** Forever Young (12/11/92) Steve Miner ~ Mel Gibson, Elijah Wood, Jamie Lee Curtis