Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 6-March-05
Spoiler Rating: Medium

Prelude to a Kiss (1992)

It all started with Alec Baldwin's unsavory loins.

I'm not sure why, but the moment I heard Baldwin utter those words in his smoky, sexy voice, I knew I had hit upon something more than the average Meg Ryan movie about boy meeting girl and stumbling toward the be-all, end-all of marriage. When he delivers this turn of phrase in "Prelude to a Kiss," Baldwin's Peter Hoskins is explaining the defining trauma of his youth to the woman he fell in love with the night before. Within days they have shared their dirtiest fantasies and deepest fears, and in a voiceover he marvels at the capacity for one person to drown in another, to revel in "their soft, dark, wet ... whatever" to the extent that marriage cannot be viewed as an end but a beginning. Owing, no doubt, to its origin as a stage play, "Prelude to a Kiss" is a mature movie that possesses an affinity for words, thoughts, and communication rarely associated with love at the cineplex. Ever since I first saw (and heard) it, it has ranked as one of the most romantic films I have ever seen.

Peter's sweetheart and almost immediate fiancée is Rita Boyle, who is, in fact, played by Meg Ryan and exhibits a deep-seated dread as well as an inevitable quirkiness. As we find out early on, Peter has learned how to handle the crap of life but Rita has not; she is unable to accept the existence of bitter things like injustice and the fragility of tender things like children. (Her parents, affably rendered by Ned Beatty and Patty Duke, endowed her with kindness but little grounding.) Rita's apprehension becomes the driving force of the story when she subconsciously fantasizes about trading places with an old man who crashes their wedding (Sydney Walker), and her wish miraculously comes true.

The source of the magic is never revealed. What matters is that Ryan becomes an old man on a spree (and graciously retreats to the background), Walker becomes a bride trapped by her own anxiety, and Baldwin is left to figure out the mess — and to shine in what should have been a career-defining role. (He is simply excellent; just sit back and admire the scene in which he confronts the impostor over spaetzle.) That Peter catches on to the supernatural crisis so quickly is impressive; that he is able to know and love Rita so well is unforgettable. You may not think that a hairy heartthrob kissing a 70-year-old man sounds like the pinnacle of amorous idealism, but few embraces have ever packed such an emotional punch. Other movies lamely end when the lovers exchange vows, but "Prelude to a Kiss" explores the real meaning of "for better, for worse." When Rita asks Peter before walking down the aisle if he'll still want her when she's old and bald, she is unable to believe his reply. What happens next is the key to this romance, proving indisputably that the answer is Yes.

Copyright © 2005 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.