Always (1989)

Directed by Steven Spielberg. Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, John Goodman, Brad Johnson, Audrey Hepburn, Marg Helgenberger, David Keith, Roberts Blossom, Dale Dye, Ed Van Nuys. [PG-13]

Update of the 1943 WWII fantasy A Guy Named Joe was a passion project for both director Spielberg and star Dreyfuss, but it’s too gooey and hollow to encourage passion from the audience. Instead of fighter pilots, the story focuses on the world of aerial firefighting crews; Dreyfuss is a seasoned pilot involved with dispatcher Hunter, but his bold and reckless ways get him killed. An overly precious afterlife sprite played by Hepburn (her final film role) advises him that he now has a job to do: guide a new pilot (Johnson), which Dreyfuss has no problem doing, but he’s less enthralled about the fact that Johnson and Hunter start falling for each other. The shots of forest fires and soaring planes and magic hour scenery deserve a movie less concerned with casual comedy and silly fantasy; the trite attitudes and romance scenes remind of the sort that were mothballed over three decades ago (a late scene with Dreyfuss communicating at length through “mental whispers” with Hunter is downright soggy). Hunter’s quirky, irascible spark is refreshing, and the always-appealing Goodman makes the most of the underwritten best bud role, but the film itself is flat and disengaged, begging for a quieter and more original treatment.

39/100