by Frank Calvillo
Not too many people remember this charming, if slight, romantic comedy from 1994, even though the ones behind it included Robert King, future creator of The Good Wife, and Ron Underwood, the director of City Slickers and Tremors. This isn’t all that surprising since Speechless doesn’t have much of an ace up its sleeve other than being a vehicle for two movie stars and offering up some romantic comedy nostalgia with ’90s relevance. Those features may not seem like much, but Speechless carries them off very well.
The rapidly-paced film takes place in Arizona where two competing politicians are vying for a seat in the state senate. On the Democratic side, Julia Mann (Geena Davis) serves as her candidate’s speech writer, furiously working to ensure victory with every piece she writes. On the opposing side, former sitcom writer Kevin Vallick (Michael Keaton) has been recruited as the Republican candidate’s speech writer. On a sleepless night, Julia and Kevin meet at a local diner, and immediately an instant attraction develops. When the two discover who the other is, however, the race is really on as the pair try to out-write each other while continuing to fall in love. Complicating matters are Kevin’s ex-wife/current boss Annette (Bonnie Bedelia) and Julia’s ex-fiance reporter Bob (Christopher Reeve), who is on-hand covering the race.
Hands down, the most interesting thing about Speechless is how it manages to blend the carefree escapism of romantic comedies from the 1950s with the kind of humor and sensibilities of the 1990s. There is an immediate breezy feel from the start, with both romantic and competitive sparks flying left, right, and sometimes simultaneously. Perhaps the best scene in the film occurs when the two writers have agreed to speak in front of a group of junior high school students about the ins and outs of what they do. It’s the first time the two leads discover who the other one is, leading to a scene which starts out polite enough and eventually turns into Kevin and Julia hurling insults and obscenities at each other as shocked students stare on with their mouths gaping. In a way it calls to mind one of those scenes between Doris Day and pretty much any actor she was paired with. There’s likewise a humorous side plot involving a trapped bear, which is funny in the level of how much more news coverage its getting over the campaign, adding to everyone’s bewilderment and frustration.
I’ve always been rather interested by the post-Thelma & Louise/League of Their Own career Geena Davis crafted for herself as a leading lady. It seemed for a while the actress was hell bent on proving that she was capable of pulling off every kind of genre under the sun, oftentimes producing her projects with then-husband/director Renny Harlin. The actress tried her hand at dramedy with Angie, adventure with Cutthroat Island, and action with The Long Kiss Goodnight, all of which promptly bombed at the box office. Speechless remains her only attempt at romantic comedy, which is a shame since not only does the film represent the best of Davis’s starring vehicles, as well as her and Harlin’s collaborations, but it makes one wonder what other kind of charming magic she could have conjured up had she stayed with the genre for a bit. As the Golden Globe nomination Davis received for her work in Speechless proves, the actress truly had the right kind of chops for romance and laughter.
It goes without saying that the film belongs completely to Keaton and Davis, both of whom exhibit some pretty sweet chemistry that is actually more fun to watch when compared to other romantic comedies. This is probably no doubt helped by the fact that the two are so at ease with light comedy that watching them spar and kiss is actually kind of fun.
The supporting players in Speechless don’t really register beyond their cliche-ridden parts, save for Reeve, who has a fun, flashy turn as a war-torn reporter with goo-goo eyes for Julia. It’s also interesting watching him share a scene with Keaton, marking the lone instance when Tim Burton’s Batman and Richard Donner’s Superman appeared on the same screen.
I found it an interesting coincidence how the politics of the film somewhat echo the ones of today, specifically the construction of a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. It’s a shame no one seems to care about the issue beyond just mentioning it from time to time, keeping it at a purely base level. However, no one’s watching this movie for the politics, but rather for the romance and the laughs. Fortunately for the audience, and for Speechless, the movie has both.
Speechless is now available on Blu-ray from Olive Films.
