Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageCousins (1989)
Director: Joel Schumacher
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
In this uninspired remake of the 1975 French film Cousin Cousine, dance instructor Larry (Danson) and flirtatious wife Tish (Young) become, through complications attendant upon a marriage, distant relatives of some sort to aggressive car rep Tom (Petersen) and his dithering spouse Maria (Rossellini). Celebrations hardly begin before Tish is openly attaching herself to Tom. Confiding their mutual sense of an impending collapse of family ties, Larry and Maria find themselves platonically drawn to one another. Tom, being aware of his wife's growing relationship, does what any butch hypocritical chauvinist would do, and thumps Larry. Will Tom and Tish and Larry and Maria find total happiness, or just go back to being odd couples? The answer's sadly obvious. The film's failure lies in its characterisation: far too many folk have been flung in from all directions, allowing little chance for the central figures to emerge, let alone gell. A ragged, unfunny affair.Author: DA
Cast & crew
Director: Joel Schumacher
Producer: William Allyn
Cast: Ted Danson, Isabella Rossellini, Sean Young, William Petersen, Lloyd Bridges, Norma Aleandro, Keith Coogan, Gina De Angelis, George Coe full cast
Duration: 113 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now