Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)

I love this movie - it has emotion, heart, and smart writing/dialogue (by husband-and-wife team of Jerry Leichtling and Arlene Sarner, who unfortunately didn't write many other screenplays, per IMDB).

If you haven't seen this movie, it focuses on Katheleen Turner's character (Peggy), who at the start of the movie plays a 42 year old at her high school's 25th Anniversary Reunion, where she wishes what we all do - "if only I knew then what I know now".  Then - for the rest of the movie - she plays 17 and her character relives her high-school senior days in the spring of 1960. 

I don't think it's really a spoiler or a surprise if I say that the film (in my opinion) is very "Capra-esque", especially the ending...was her experience in 1960 all a dream, or did she actually time-travel back to 1960? Hmmmm. I still have fun thinking about that idea. You'll have to see it to fully understand what I mean. But there's profundity to it, too, as Peggy's relationships and fate may change as a result. 

So now it's time to shine a spotlight on the entire cast who make this movie so good - most of the main actors have the challenging task of playing two ages, 42 and 17, and they are all great - including Nicolas Cage, who plays Peggy's high school sweetheart of 2 years. 

I won't list the age of each actor, but all of them are either in their mid/late 20s or early 30s, and really convincing in both roles.

First I'll start with Kathleen Turner, course playing Peggy, a character with an adult mindset from 1985.  Of course, she plays both 42 and 17 fantastically. She was about 30 at the time when the movie was made/set, but when she plays both roles and delivers. 

Her scenes at school with Nicolas Cage are really great especially when she gets to say things to him she wished she would have said at 17; one of the best lines comes when Cage (who years later will cheat on Peggy) is expressing his jealously and says "when I imagine you going out with other guys, I feel...." and he can't find the words. Peggy says as an adult would...."rejected, worthless, and miserable? Good!". 

After awhile, Peggy realizes she is "trapped" in her predicament - is she dreaming or dead, she wonders. Then she does the most sensible thing anyone would do - reaches out to her school's high school expert on science (Barry Miller) and asks him if time travel is possible. She then begins to disclose some "future facts" she knows of (often humorously), such as heart transplants, man walking on the moon, televisions that get smaller, and radios "that get bigger" (referring to the boom boxes). Had the movie been made today, no doubt her character would reference the internet, smartphones, and Twitter for sure, but watching this movie reminded me that there were some pretty impressive achievements between 1960 and 1985. 

I enjoy seeing Peggy go directly to all the "forbidden" spots - her dad's liquor cabinet, the cigarettes hidden under the stairs. She argues with her dad and she humorously exclaims "I'm an adult --- I can do what I want!" and "I'm going to go to Liverpool and discover The Beatles!"

Another great scene is when Peggy sees her younger sister in 1960; her sister is a few years younger, perhaps 14 (played by Sofia Coppola - the only real teenager in the whole movie). The way Peggy responds to her is touching and convincing, she's almost in tears when she sees her. The details are not explained, but it makes me wonder if her sister had died tragically....or something bad happened to her where they became estranged or something and so therefore seeing her again would brought back alot of joy for Peggy.

The movie has a number of nice moments like that, especially when Peggy decides to visit her parents and grandparents -- both of whom  have died years prior to 1985. Sequences like these can make us think of our own relatives who passed and who we miss. Haven't we all dreamed about long-gone relatives or friends at one time or another? 

This is a really great performance by Kathleen Turner in one of her best movie roles in my opinion, and deserving on her Oscar nomination that year.

Next up, I wanted to write about Nicolas Cage in one of his first movie roles. At the start of the movie he's 42 and looks the age and is made up to look generally down-and-out and gruff, having made some questionable decisions in his life. Then, when the movie shifts to 1960, he's 17 and looks the age again, but this time he's optimistic and full of life and in love with Peggy, passionate about music, singing in a band, and his hair and wardrobe is made up to make him look like Fabian, who is his celebrity idol. (Full disclosure - I had to Google and look up Fabian to learn a little more about him LOL).  It's an amazing transformation, and even transforms his 1960 voice and mannerisms to match a teenager's. He's really good in this role. 

Jim Carrey is also in a small role, also playing 42 and 17. His character is meant to be something of a class clown and he really is - at both ages. His character only appears in few scenes, but I think it's just enough in my opinion - if he were in any more scenes, I think he would have unnecessarily stolen (or ruined) a good part of the movie with his comic antics. 

Also playing classmates are Joan Allen (The Crucible) and Catherine Hicks (Child's Play), and their costumes and makeup really convince you that they are teens, especially when they drive Peggy Sue home from school while "Tequilla" by the Champs plays on the radio.  

Kevin J. O'Connor was 22 but played 17, and played one of the "outcasts" of the school that Peggy reaches out to in 1960 and cheats on Nicolas Cage (who subsequently throws a jealous tantrum, but still professes his love for Peggy in the end).

John Barry's score, the costumers, set designers, and cinematographer deserve much credit for re-creating a very memorable and dream-like film. And it is superbly directed by Francis Coppola; in real-life, he is the same age and generation as the adult Peggy character so handles this film with a great sensibility for that late 50's/early 60s era. And of course, amazing job by the screenwriters who also have a great sensibility for the era and write some pretty funny, clever, and satirical dialogue without going over-the-top. 

I recommended the movie if you haven't seen it!

This post is part of the Fake Teenagers Blogathon!

Hosted by Taking Up Room (November 18-20, 2022)

P.S:  Realweegiemidget Reviews has a great post on this movie from a few years back!
It's a great post that features MORE about this awesome movie and its amazing cast!

Check out the post here!