The Mosquito Coast (1986):

Starring:

Harrison Ford - Allie Fox

Helen Mirren - Mother Fox

River Phoenix - Charlie Fox

Conrad Roberts - Mr. Haddy

Andre Gregory - Reverend Spellgood

Martha Plimpton - Emily Spellgood

Dick O'Neill - Mr. Polski

Director:

Peter Weir (Master & Commander; The Truman Show; Fearless)

Synopsis:

Harrison Ford delivers one of his most-acclaimed performances in Peter Weir's adaptation of Paul Theroux's novel (scripted by Paul Schrader). Ford plays Allie Fox, an inventor embittered by the blighted landscape of the contemporary United States. As he tells his oldest son, Charlie (River Phoenix), "Look around you. It's a toilet." He moves his wife (Helen Mirren) and kids -- Charlie, Jerry (Jadrien Steele), April (Hilary Gordon), and Clover (Rebecca Gordon) -- to the rain forests of Central America, where he plans to create a new civilization starting with his own nuclear family. Allie's family compliantly goes along with his scheme to build a free society, but slowly notices that his obsession has turned him into a tyrannical fascist. Rather than create a utopia, Allie's driving egomania demands total subservience from his downtrodden brood.

Review:

One of four movies that Harrison Ford made between Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom & Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade. A completely different role for him, compared to everything else he has done in his career. Either an intense hero attempting to save his family or friends or a sarcastic comedian who adds laughter & at times good slap stick. This one is a dramatic role with no comedic relief, or at least not in the way he usually adds it to films. Very intense view of the worlds grasp on material things & idealism of the world & American culture through the eyes of an American inventor who feels like everyone is out to help themselves & it will cause a nuclear war in America that will leave the country completely destroyed. So he embarks on a ridiculous adventure into the Central American jungle. It's pretty much a combination of Swiss Family Robinson & Cutthroat Island, but with a slightly darker side & probably not at all for kids. His role is so weird to see him playing, yet somehow he is able to pull it off quite well. Starring alongside Ford is the always gorgeous & most do-able woman over the age of 40, Helen Mirren, who even in the middle of the jungle with rags on, disastrous hair & completely filthy is still sexy as hell. His oldest son is played by River Phoenix, who would play young Indiana Jones in The Last Crusade. The story is fine, it's slow at parts, then packed with action at others. There are a few points where I thought that it should have & would be the climax, but then it kept going which made it seem a little bit too long. Once their camp is invaded by what I'm assuming are Central American Pirates? After they refuse to leave Fox & his son are forced (by Allie) to kill the men, which accidentally destroys their whole village. They leave towards the ocean which I thought was the ending. Then they proceed to build themselves another little village on the ocean & a hurricane or giant storm come & cause them to flee on a raft, which again I thought might be the ending. Then they float up the river, Mirren & the children are wanting to go back to civilization while Ford is looking for another place to settle & build another new colony. Instead they happen upon the missionaries that they met several times earlier in the film (not important enough to have mentioned it previously to this) & then he does some christian hating & then FINALLY it ends after the like 3rd time it should have. Overall it is a good change of pace for Ford, but the movie itself is smart but also slightly boring.

Budget: $25,000,000

Box Office: $14,302,779

Profit: -$10,697,221

Rotten Tomatoes: 75%

Flixster: 56%

55%

Lead Acting: 11/15

Supporting Cast: 6/15

Plot: 5/10

Compared To The Genre: 5/10

Cinematography: 12/20

Intrigue: 12/20

Extra: 4/10