Search - Michael on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Humor Movie Release: 1996 DVD Release: 06/11/1997 Format: DVD - Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 46 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Members Wishing: 1 Genres: Fantasy, Road Movie, Fantasy Comedy, Heavenly Comedy See Also: Michael

There are angels among us, and they like lots of sugar in their coffee, in writer-director Nora Ephron's comic fantasy Michael. Vartan Malt (Bob Hoskins) is the editor of a tabloid called the National Mirror that specializes in unlikely stories about celebrities and frankly unbelievable tales about ordinary folks. When Malt gets word that a woman is supposedly harboring an angel in a small town in Iowa, he figures that this might be right up the Mirror's alley, so he sends out three people to get the story -- Frank Quinlan (William Hurt), a reporter whose career has hit the skids; Huey Discoll (Robert Pastorelli), a photographer on the verge of losing his job (even though he owns the Mirror's mascot, Sparky The Wonder Dog); and Dorothy Winters (Andie MacDowell), a self-styled "angel expert." They arrive at the rooming house of Patsy Millband (Jean Stapleton), who informs them that she does indeed have an angel for a tenant, and introduces them to Michael (John Travolta). Michael has wings like an angel, but the resemblance ends there; Michael loves cigarettes, has an uncontrollable sweet tooth (and a pot belly to match), tends to use a large number of non-angelic phrases, is not much on personal hygiene, and likes to hang out with the ladies. Michael informs his visitors that in Heaven, an angel is allowed a certain number of "vacations" on Earth, and he's in the midst of one now; trouble is, this is the last one he's entitled to, and he wants to make the most of it. Frank and Huey then stumble on a great story idea -- if Michael wants to have some fun, why not take him to Chicago, where he can really kick up his heels? Michael was written in part by Jim Quinlan, himself a one-time reporter, though with a much more respectable tabloid than the Mirror -- he wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

John Travolta - Michael
Andie MacDowell - Dorothy Winters
William Hurt - Frank Quinlan
Bob Hoskins - Vartan Malt
Robert Pastorelli - Huey Driscoll

Michael, starring John Travolta and William Hurt, is a heartwarming story about an angel who comes to Earth for one last visit -- except he isn't like any other angel. He's atypical -- and the movie tells his story the same way, with characters who are "losers," but turn out to be winners. One of the best things about this movie is its soundtrack, with an original score by songwriter Randy Newman. This version is not letterboxed and hasn't been remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Subtitles are available in English, French, and Spanish. Since no effort was made to upgrade this film from the video format, the picture quality and sound suffer. Warner Bros. turned the production on this DVD over to Turner, and it shows. No effort was made to upgrade any portion of the film, so it is simply the video slapped onto a DVD. As one might expect by the lack of other features, this release contains very little bonus material. Included is a theatrical trailer and production notes. Fans of Michael may want to invest in a video version of this film and skip the DVD, which is sadly lacking. ~ Sherril Steele-Carlin, All Movie Guide