Holidays to remember

"Six Days, Seven Nights" (12) Nationwide

Opposites attract eventually - and inevitably - in Ivan Reitman's formulaic but entertaining light romantic comedy, Six Days, Seven Nights, the latest in a cycle of films in which young women fall for men more than twice their age; already this year we have had As Good As It Gets and Deconstructing Harry, and The Horse Whisperer and Bulworth are on the way.

Like the character played by Kristin Scott Thomas in The Horse Whisperer, Anne Heche is cast as an uptight, work-obsessed, New York-based editor of a glossy magazine in Six Days, Seven Nights. She seriously needs to lighten up, and in the film's view, what she really, really wants is not her bland boyfriend (David Schwimmer) but a gruff but charming older man, a cargo pilot played by Harrison Ford.

When Schwimmer takes her on "the most unforgettable vacation of our lives" in a Pacific island paradise, the screenplay has to engineer a way of separating Heche and Schwimmer and getting her alone with Ford. Tapping into her dedication to her work, the plot calls for Heche to interrupt her holiday and supervise an urgent photo shoot in Tahiti. Ford flies her there and the plane is struck by lightning, stranding the two of them on a remote island where their initial antagonism gradually evaporates.

This mildly amusing, old-fashioned romp unavoidably evokes comparisons with The African Queen and Romancing The Stone in its narrative set-up, and individual scenes make explicit references to Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid and From Here To Eternity (guess which scene?). The movie could have done without the introduction of pirates led by Temuera Morrison from Once Were Warriors - a bunch of cardboard villains who must be the worst shots in the history of cinema.

What sparks the movie to life is the chemistry between Harrison Ford and Anne Heche. Ford is on perkier form than for some time and Heche makes the stretch from drama to comedy with complete ease. The gorgeous locations are lushly photographed by Michael Chapman, the Oscar-nominated cinematographer of Raging Bull and The Fugitive.

Hugh Linehan adds:

"Grease" (PG) Nationwide

There's a faint possibility you've never seen Grease, and have been waiting all these years for the pleasure of viewing it "as it should be seen" (as we film critics are fond of saying, pompously), in a cinema. But the likelihood is that, like Star Wars, this re-release is targeted at those who have grown up with this 1970s artefact on TV and video. As one of those who shunned the film like the plague in 1978, there is a certain campy pleasure for this writer in finally seeing it on the big screen. Marvel at the oldest-looking high school kids in the history of cinema! Gasp at Travolta's cavernous dimples! Dig that overacting! Grease has been trumpeted by the publicity machine as "the most successful movie musical in history", and some purists may see it as the last death rattle of an expiring genre, drowning in a sea of kitschy disposable pop. In reality, though, the musical had been dead for more than a decade, killed by the 1950s rock'n'roll that Grease pastiches so badly and entertainingly. At this remove, You're The One That I Want, Summer Lovin' and the other big, breezy numbers all have a rude vitality that actually seems refreshing, and the so-called plot offers plenty of opportunities to nip out for more popcorn. "Tell me more, tell me more ..." sings the chorus line, but really there's nothing else to say.

"Star Kid" (PG)

Nationwide A forgettable title and an unknown cast shouldn't put family audiences off this appealing sci-fi comedy, which carries echoes of E.T. and the better sort of coming-of-age drama (producer Jennie Tugend was also responsible for the hugely successful Free Willy films). Young Joseph Mazzello plays Spencer, a shy boy bullied at school, ignored by his widowed, workaholic father and treated with contempt by his older sister. Into his life comes Cy, an extraterrestrial "cyborsuit" sent from the other side of the galaxy by the Trelkins, a peaceful race locked in a deadly war with the evil Brood. Donning the suit, which gives him superhuman powers, Spencer grabs the opportunity to take his revenge on the local bully and have some fun, but soon finds he must also fight the Brood, who arrive in search of the suit. It's all very cheerfully handled, with some deft observations on preteen angst mingled with plenty of slapstick action, and adults should also find it a painless experience. A good bet for those rainy summer afternoons.

H.L.

"The Mother and the Whore" (members and guests only) IFC, Dublin

Only very rarely shown in Ireland, Jean Eustache's highly acclaimed 1973 film returns in a new print, but unfortunately was not available for preview. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, it is regarded by many as a masterpiece. Over the course of 215 minutes Eustache intimately observes two lovers (Jean-Pierre Leaud and Bernadette Lafont) and the sexually liberated nurse (Francoise Lebrun) who joins them in a menage a trois.

The Mother And The Whore (La Maman Et La Putain) was the only major film in the sporadic career of Jean Eustache, an ascetic man who worked mostly as a film editor and made his directing debut in 1963 with the 45-minute Les Mauvaises Frequentations and followed it two years later with the hour-long Le Pere Noel A les Yeux Blues, produced by Jean-Luc Godard.

Eustache filmed La Maman Et La Putain in his own apartment and in the cafes of Saint Germain. His final feature, the production-plagued Mes Petites Amoureuses finally was completed in 1975. As an actor, he featured in Godard's Weekend and in the Wim Wenders film, The American Friend. In 1981 Eustache shot himself, three weeks before what would have been his 43rd birthday.