Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

In Younger and Younger, Jonathon and Penny Younger run a self-storage business. Jonathon is the flash salesman while Penny does the actual work, and keeps the company running – not that she gets much (or any) credit for it. Jonathon is rather a ladies man, and one his being so rather loudly on the Wurlitzer upstairs sends Penny into cardiac arrest, resulting in her death. Jonathon calls in his son, Winston, who has attended college in England, to help run the business. Together, Younger and Younger try to run the business – with the son realising that his father, whom he idolises, is not the man he thought he was… In the meantime, Jonathon’s past is returning to haunt him in an unusual way – wife Penny appears to him, getting younger and younger each time he sees her, and he begins to fall for her… but he can’t touch her… then into their lives come a famous widow accused of murdering her husband, and her daughter Melodie…

The premise behind the film had such a lot of potential, and to begin with it looked as though it might live up to it. It’s once Winston (Brendon Fraser) has returned home and the action starts to get going, however, that it all falls apart. The characters’ reactions in many scenes are just too unbelievable and thus plot coherency, never an easy thing to achieve with such a surreal plotline, just isn’t there. Sutherland (who plays Jonathon) is, as you would expect, debonair and suave, but his character is so dislikeable that you don’t want him to win back Penny (even though she is dead!). Lolita Dadidovich as Penny is pretty good, and her character at least has some consistency to it. (She stays dead, anyway.) Winston’s reaction in one scene is just too bizarre for words – the conclusion he comes to about his father’s activities really makes no sense at all. Still, he and Melodie (Julie Delpy) make a very sweet onscreen couple and help to save this from being a complete disaster. There are a few laughs to be had in the movie, mostly at the start, and some bits that you’re not completely sure were intentionally funny, which don’t manage to make up for the shambles of a script. The music is a plus point, as you would expect considering it’s by Hans Zimmer (who provided the wonderful score for Gladiator), though this film’s music hardly represents some of his best work. The camerawork is a little dodgy at times and the boom mike sneaks into shot once or twice, there’s a smattering of good dialogue, a truly terrible song and dance routine that seems to last forever, a few brief moments that are genuinely enjoyable, and a bit of adult content that earned it a 15 rating in the UK and an “R” rating in the States.

Rated 3 stars because it’s not actually that terrible, but overall not recommended. Quite unbelievably it actually won 2 awards – a Silver Raven for Director / Writer Percy Adlon at the Brussels International Film Festival, and a Best Actress Award for Lolita Dadidovich at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Maybe someone can tell me why?!?!

Year of release: 1993
Runtime: 93 minutes
DVD extras: - none
Picture quality: Okay, not perfect but not noticeably grainy
Sound quality: Mostly good but "breaks" in the sound occasionally - very annoying!

Verdict: Even if, like me, you can get this for under £3 at Morrisons... DON'T!


Related Links

Donald Sutherland was also in Pride & Prejudice and
Cold Mountain

Brendon Fraser was in Looney Tunes: Back In Action



Recommended: No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age