Look Who's Talking

Starring: Kristie Alley, John Travolta, Bruce Willis (voice), Olympia Dukakis Directed by: Amy Heckerling
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Romance
1989

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An unwed mother (Kristie Alley) makes friends with a cab driver (John Travolta), who helps her raise her young baby (voice of Bruce Willis).

Review:

Tim: This movie might be a bit gimmicky, but it is also cut, clever, and generally, a very fun idea. The key here is having the right people in the right places. John Travolta is great as a loveable loser with a heart of gold. Bruce Willis doing the voicework for baby Mikey is brilliant. Kristie Alley as the struggling mother is a decent choice. Once the pieces were all in place, the movie is ready to entertain.

The film works because it is very entertaining to be able to "hear" a baby's thoughts, especially when they are far advanced to what you would expect. Willis does an excellent job capturing baby Mikey's thoughts. This is the most entertaining part of the film. The real reason this movie works is because Travolta is so fun to watch on screen. His interactions with the baby are engrossing. One of the highlights is when Travolta teaches the baby to dance while jamming to "Walking on Sunshine." This is a very good scene.

While the concept is very clever, it ultimately begins to lose its effectiveness the longer the film goes on. By the end, the charm is almost completely gone. It doesn't help matters that by the third act, only the potential relationship between Travolta and Alley keeps us watching. The story is decent, and we are at least mildly interested as Alley struggles with single motherhood and searches for a father for her son.

Look Who's Talking has a clever concept and is good enough to warrant a viewing. Many people have seen this movie, and as a testament to its popularity, it is worth seeing. In the end, however, this is little more than an average romantic comedy that can't quite leverage its clever premise quite enough.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Look Who's Talking Too, Look Who's Talking Now