Hard Promises (film)

Last updated

Hard Promises
Hard Promises movie poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Martin Davidson
Written byJule Selbo
Produced byCynthia Chvatal
Starring Sissy Spacek
William Petersen
Mare Winningham
Peter MacNicol
Cinematography Andrzej Bartkowiak
Edited byKimberly Domínguez
Bonnie Koehler
Music by George S. Clinton
Production
companies
High Horse Films
Stone Group Pictures
Distributed by Columbia Pictures (United States)
Vision International (International) [1]
Release dates
  • 14 September 1991 (1991-09-14)(TIFF)
  • 31 January 1992 (1992-01-31)(U.S.)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
Language English
Budget$8 million [1]
Box office$306,319 (USA)

Hard Promises is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Martin Davidson. It stars Sissy Spacek and William Petersen. [2]

Contents

Plot

A man who dislikes stable work environments has been away for too many years when he finds out that his wife had divorced him and is planning to remarry. He comes home to confront her, trying to persuade her not to get married, aided by their daughter, who loves him despite his wandering ways. The couple finds out they still have feelings for each other but must decide how best to handle the contradiction of their lifestyles.

Cast

ActorRole
Sissy Spacek Christine Ann Coalter
William Petersen Joey
Brian Kerwin Walt
Mare Winningham Dawn
Olivia Burnette Beth
Peter MacNicol Stuart
Jeff Perry Pinky
Ann Wedgeworth Chris' mom
Amy Wright Shelly
Lois Smith Mrs. Bell
Margaret Bowman Walt's Mom

Production

Admiring the directing and acting skill of Lee Grant, Spacek agreed to take the role "only to work with Grant", although Grant was later replaced as its director. [3]

Critical reception

Vincent Canby of The New York Times did not care for the film but did praise some of the actors: [2]

Hard Promises is a barren little comedy that means to be romantic... For Hard Promises to be half as much fun as it intends to be, Joey should be a thoroughly likable scamp. For reasons that may be due to Jule Selbo's screenplay, Martin Davidson's direction or something in Mr. Petersen's screen personality, Joey is not the dreamboat the movie requires. He's a bore... The movie offers a lot of running gags that walk very slowly, and small roles to a number of very good actors, including Mare Winningham, Peter MacNicol, Lois Smith, Ann Wedgeworth and Amy Wright.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film had an aggregate score in November 2022 of 40% based on 2 positive and 3 negative critic reviews. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sissy Spacek</span> American actress and singer (born 1949)

Mary Elizabeth "Sissy" Spacek is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for four BAFTA Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award. Spacek was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011.

<i>Badlands</i> (film) 1973 American film by Terrence Malick

Badlands is a 1973 American neo-noir period crime drama film written, produced and directed by Terrence Malick, in his directorial debut. The film stars Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek, and follows Holly Sargis (Spacek), a 15-year old who goes on a killing spree with her partner, Kit Carruthers (Sheen). The film also stars Warren Oates and Ramon Bieri. While the story is fictional, it is loosely based on the real-life murder spree of Charles Starkweather and his girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, in 1958.

<i>Coal Miners Daughter</i> (film) 1980 film by Michael Apted

Coal Miner's Daughter is a 1980 American biographical musical film directed by Michael Apted from a screenplay written by Tom Rickman. It follows the story of country music singer Loretta Lynn from her early teen years in a poor family and getting married at 15 to her rise as one of the most influential country musicians. Based on Lynn's 1976 biography of the same name by George Vecsey, the film stars Sissy Spacek as Lynn. Tommy Lee Jones, Beverly D'Angelo and Levon Helm are featured in supporting roles. Ernest Tubb, Roy Acuff, and Minnie Pearl make cameo appearances as themselves.

<i>Missing</i> (1982 film) 1982 historical drama film

Missing is a 1982 American biographical thriller drama film directed by Costa-Gavras from a screenplay written by Gavras and Donald E. Stewart, adapted from the book The Execution of Charles Horman: An American Sacrifice (1978) by Thomas Hauser, based on the disappearance of American journalist Charles Horman, in the aftermath of the United States-backed Chilean coup of 1973, which deposed the democratically elected socialist President Salvador Allende.

<i>The Man with Two Brains</i> 1983 film by Carl Reiner

The Man with Two Brains is a 1983 American science fiction black comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and starring Steve Martin and Kathleen Turner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Dinklage</span> American actor (born 1969)

Peter Hayden Dinklage is an American actor best known for portraying Tyrion Lannister on the HBO television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019), for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series a record four times. He also received a Golden Globe Award in 2011 and a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2020 for the role. Dinklage has a common form of dwarfism known as achondroplasia and stands 4 ft 5 in (1.35 m) tall. He has used his celebrity status to raise social awareness of dwarfism.

<i>The River</i> (1984 film) 1984 film by Mark Rydell

The River is a 1984 American drama film directed by Mark Rydell, written by Robert Dillon and Julian Barry, and starring Sissy Spacek, Mel Gibson, and Scott Glenn. The film tells the story of a struggling farm family in the Tennessee valley trying to keep its farm from going under in the face of bank foreclosures and floods. The father faces the dilemma of having to work as a strikebreaker in a steel mill to keep his family farm from foreclosure. It was based on the true story of farmers who unknowingly took jobs as strikebreakers at a steel mill after their crops had been destroyed by rain.

<i>Housesitter</i> 1992 film by Frank Oz

Housesitter is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Oz, written by Mark Stein, and starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. The premise involves a woman with con-artist tendencies who worms her way into the life of a reserved architect by claiming to be his wife.

<i>Blast from the Past</i> (film) 1999 US romantic sci-fi comedy film by Hugh Wilson

Blast from the Past is a 1999 American romantic comedy science fiction film directed and co-produced by Hugh Wilson, based on a story by Wilson –who co-wrote the screenplay with Bill Kelly– and starring Brendan Fraser, Alicia Silverstone, Christopher Walken, Sissy Spacek, and Dave Foley. The film focuses on Adam Webber, who was born and brought up in a Cold War-era fallout shelter built by his survivalist, anti-Communist father. After 35 years Adam emerges into the modern world, where his innocence and old-fashioned views put him at comedic odds with others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Tennant</span> Director, screenwriter, dancer

Andrew Wellman Tennant is an American screenwriter, film and television director, actor, and dancer.

<i>The Rat Pack</i> (film) 1998 HBO TV movie directed by Rob Cohen

The Rat Pack is a 1998 American HBO made-for-television drama film about the Rat Pack. The movie stars Ray Liotta as Frank Sinatra, Joe Mantegna as Dean Martin, Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis, Jr., and Angus Macfadyen as Peter Lawford. Despite his membership in the Pack, Joey Bishop is given minimal screen time, while John F. Kennedy, depicted as an on-and-off friend of Sinatra's, is given a more central role.

<i>Tuck Everlasting</i> (2002 film) Film by Jay Russell

Tuck Everlasting is a 2002 American romantic fantasy drama film directed by Jay Russell and written by Jeffrey Lieber and James V. Hart, based on Natalie Babbitt's 1975 book of the same name. Narrated by Elisabeth Shue, the film stars Alexis Bledel, Ben Kingsley, Sissy Spacek, Amy Irving, Victor Garber, Jonathan Jackson, Scott Bairstow and William Hurt. The film was released in the United States on October 11, 2002.

<i>Raggedy Man</i> 1981 film by Jack Fisk

Raggedy Man is a 1981 American drama film based on William D. Wittliff and Sara Clark's 1979 novel, and directed by Jack Fisk. It follows a divorced mother and telephone switchboard operator living with her two sons in a small town during World War II. The film was Spacek’s first film after her Academy Award-winning performance in Coal Miner’s Daughter, and was also her first film to be directed by her husband. For this role, Spacek received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama. This was the directorial debut for Fisk, and the film debut for Henry Thomas, who next starred in his breakout role for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).

<i>night, Mother</i> (film) 1986 American drama film directed by Tom Moore

'night, Mother is a 1986 American drama film starring Sissy Spacek and Anne Bancroft. It was directed by Tom Moore and written by Marsha Norman, based on Norman's Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name. The film was entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival. Tom Moore had also directed the play on Broadway.

<i>Music and Lyrics</i> 2007 American film

Music and Lyrics is a 2007 American musical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Marc Lawrence. It focuses on the relationship that evolves between a former pop music idol and an aspiring writer as they struggle to compose a song for a reigning pop diva.

<i>Crimes of the Heart</i> (film) 1986 film directed by Bruce Beresford

Crimes of the Heart is a 1986 American black comedy-drama film directed by Bruce Beresford from a screenplay written by Beth Henley adapted from her Pulitzer Prize-winning 1979 play of the same name. It stars Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange, Sissy Spacek, Sam Shepard, Tess Harper, and Hurd Hatfield. The film's narrative follows the Magrath sisters, Babe, Lenny and Meg, who reunite in their family home in Mississippi after Babe is arrested for shooting her husband. Each sister is forced to face the consequences of the "crimes of the heart" she has committed.

<i>The Long Walk Home</i> 1990 film by Richard Pearce

The Long Walk Home is a 1990 American historical drama film starring Sissy Spacek and Whoopi Goldberg, and directed by Richard Pearce.

<i>The Grass Harp</i> (film) 1995 American film

The Grass Harp is a 1995 American comedy-drama film based on the novella by Truman Capote. The screenplay, which was the final work of Oscar-winning screenwriter Stirling Silliphant, was adapted for the film. Directed by Charles Matthau, the film features a cast including Piper Laurie, Sissy Spacek, Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Edward Furlong, and Nell Carter. Piper Laurie won the Best Supporting Actress award from the Southeastern Film Critics Association for her performance in the film.

<i>Trading Mom</i> 1994 American film

Trading Mom, also known as The Mommy Market, is a 1994 American fantasy comedy film written and directed by Tia Brelis, based on her mother Nancy Brelis' 1966 book The Mummy Market. It stars Sissy Spacek, Anna Chlumsky, Aaron Michael Metchik, Maureen Stapleton, and André the Giant in his final film appearance. It grossed $319,123 at the box office and received mostly negative reviews from critics.

<i>Sam & Kate</i> 2022 film by Darren Le Gallo

Sam & Kate is a 2022 American comedy film written and directed by Darren Le Gallo, and starring Dustin Hoffman, Sissy Spacek, Jake Hoffman and Schuyler Fisk. It is Le Gallo's feature-film directorial debut, and his wife, Amy Adams, served as an executive producer. Hoffman's real son and Spacek's real daughter play these roles in the film.

References

  1. 1 2 "Hard Promises (1992)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Review/Film; Sissy Spacek With a Lout For an Ex". The New York Times . 31 January 1992.
  3. Jarboe, Jan. "Sissy Spacek's Long Walk Home", Texas Monthly, February 1991, p. 126.
  4. "Hard Promises". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 13 November 2022.