A perfect day
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | A perfect day |
| Original title | A perfect day |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2006 |
| length | 87 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Peter Levin |
| script | Joyce Eliason |
| production | Judy Cairo |
| music | Jeff Beal |
| camera | Kees Van Oostrum |
| cut | Susan Edelman |
| occupation | |
| |
A perfect day is an American family film from the year 2006 . The Christmas film is the literary adaptation of the novel A Perfect Day by Richard Paul Evans .
action
Rob Harlan has to digest the shock that he just received his resignation from his friend and boss Stuart Parks instead of the hoped-for promotion. Since his family has already prepared for his promotion with a small celebration, he lies to them and says that he quit in order to spend more time with the family on the one hand and to finally be able to finish his book on the other. He's telling the truth to his wife, Allyson. She supports him, gives him time so that she goes back to work and he stays at home as a househusband and aspiring writer. After several months the work is finished, so he gives it to Allyson to read. She is so touched that she bursts into tears and is absolutely looking for a literary agent. Meanwhile, Rob is again applying for different jobs and has to accept one rejection after the other, so that he is even more frustrated that more and more literary agents are rejecting. The bills pile up, so Rob feels compelled to take a job at his brother's company. But one day the literary agent Camille gets in touch, and she really wants the book. She is enthusiastic and learns that the book was inspired by the tragic relationship surrounding the cancer death of Allyson's father.
Shortly afterwards, Rob's reading tour through the country begins. He is surprised how good the response for his book is. He is becoming more and more of a star and his book is soon to be found at the top of the bestseller list. But that also means that he has to keep more and more appointments and has less and less time for his wife. Hence there are also minor disagreements between him and Allyson. But it only becomes clear to her after Stuart asks him to accept the promotion, otherwise he will be released himself. Rob doesn't think about it and says goodbye to him with the same line that Stuart used when he quit him. And Heather will have to put up with more soon. Not only did he not mention her life story as an inspiration for Larry King , he let his new agent Heather put more and more appointments on him, so that Rob cannot come home at all. She thinks he is aloof, doesn't recognize him and argues with him. Camille himself is also forced out of business because one of the most important literary agents, Darren, wants to sign him and sell his book not as a television film but as a feature film.
When Allyson's aunt Denise dies, Rob wants to help her at the funeral. But he can't because he wouldn't make it in time if he wanted to do the nationwide broadcast. He has to choose between family and career, and he chooses career. Suddenly Michael, whom Rob thinks is a psychopath, appears and says that he should make better use of his time. Therefore he tries to apologize to his disappointed and upset wife by buying a new house. Instead, he has to get into an argument with her, because this is not the life that she had imagined and always wanted to pursue dreams other than wealth. Therefore, she confronts him with the decision of what is more important to him, either his family or his career. Although he still apparently wants to be part of the family, he leaves to attend more appointments with Heather. In the distance, however, he not only learns that his daughter left a school play crying because she missed her father, but also that Heather approached him.
He desperately wants to go back to his family and suddenly learns from Michael that he doesn't have much longer to live. He'll die for Christmas. Until then he should think about how he will spend his last time on earth. He can't explain it, but more and more clues indicate that Michael is right, which is why he is going home and wants to find out what is important to him and how he can prevent him from dying for Christmas. So he overcomes his pride, talks to his father and thanks him for always being with his children during a difficult time. He also goes to his old job, where he accepts the promotion and thus secures Stuart's job. He also comes home for Christmas and, against Allyson's will, but with the love of his daughter, has a wonderful party. As a final gift, he bequeaths an expensive necklace to Allyson and apologizes for putting his career above his family. He says goodbye to die alone. But Camille visits him and asks Rob to church. There he sees Michael preach in the pulpit and talk about how he met people across the country and told them that they would die just to find out how they would react. Rob is furious that he was exposed to this lie, but realizes that only through this trick he could understand what is most important in his life. Camille apologizes to Rob that her plan got out of hand and that Rob had to fight with his fear of death. But Rob also apologizes for succumbing to ambition and neglecting his family. But now he is there for his family, which he can now hold in his arms.
criticism
In the Variety , the film critic Laura Fries was amazed that the film uses themes of faith, but basically the change is only generated by fear, which is why she said that "fear is the new guilt." Hence the request of the film, to set priorities in life and to use your time better than to see "good advice, especially here."
“Christmas films have contempt for success. Only solid middle class is okay, "said Gillian Flynn of Entertainment Weekly . He wondered why it was bad in film to wish for better things. Lloyd's “mystical character is not helpful” and Lowe plays “stoic and sincere.” In addition, the film “does not portray the main character disagreeably enough to deserve a lesson.” She is due to the loss of the family and the need to make tough decisions "More unhappy, but not hateful."
The lexicon of international films said that the film was a "Christmas story that leaves no cliché to provide sentimental holiday entertainment".
publication
In the USA, the film was broadcast nationwide for the first time on December 18, 2006, before a German-language DVD release was due on December 6, 2007.
Web links
- A perfect day in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- A perfect day in the German dubbing file
- A perfect day at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Laura Fries: A Perfect Day ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on variety.com from December 18, 2006 (English), accessed May 2, 2012
- ↑ Gillian Flynn: A Perfect Day on ew.com from January 4, 2007 (English), accessed on May 2, 2012
- ↑ A perfect day. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
