Galaxies Are Colliding

Galaxies Are Colliding; comedy, USA, 1992; D: John Ryman, S: Dwier Brown, Susan Walters, Karen Medak, Kelsey Grammer

Adam has always been a pessimistic, sad and neurotic lad. One of his rare friends is Peter, a museum employee. Adam confessed to Peter his fear of the Andromeda Galaxy colliding with the Solar system and how this makes all life pointless. On the day of the wedding, Adam leaves his car in the desert and leaves in search for the meaning of life. Since his car was destroyed by a rocket fired from the army, everyone concludes he died. But in a bar, Adam meets a young actress, Margo, falls in love with her and finally finds peace in his life.

Sometimes it happens that perfectly good little films get overshadowed by the hype and loud promotion of big movies at cinemas. This happened to the sympathetic independent tragicomedy "Galaxies Are Colliding" which is, admittedly, clumsy and overstretched, but at the same time fun in its spiritual search for the meaning of life, and in presenting the old archetype that some people, here the protagonist Adam, are depressed and plagued by existentialist thoughts until they find peace by falling in love. In the opening credits pictures of Galaxies show up, and a couple of philosophical comical observatios are quietly hilarious ("He always wondered what was so special about Mary's virginity. Since Isaac Newton was a virgin himself, he wondered why nobody had an apparition of Isaac Newton"; "He wondered what keeps Earth in the Sun's orbit. I told him it was God's mind. And he asked what if God changes his mind"). Kelsey Grammer sparkles in he supporting role of Adam's friend Peter, who is much better than the stiff performances by Karen Medak and Susan Waters. "Galaxies Are Colliding" is a movie whose execution does not do its fascinating concept justice—but in its limited and confined format, it is at times magical.

Grade:++