What a film!

Well, to be quite honest, I didn't expect Scarlett to be any better than Gone With the Wind, because it had been like 60 years and all of the characters had passed on. Not to mention, the movie wasn't in theaters, for what I can remember, so once again, I didn't expect an epic. However, I am open to new things and considered it only a waste of 6 hours if I didn't enjoy it...

To begin with, Joann Whaley Kilmer (the new Scarlett O'Hara) looked nothing like the vivacious and talented Vivien Leigh, which bothered me a little. I figured they would have done everything under the sun, maybe even giving Kilmer some contact lenses to match the original Scarlett's eyes. Nope, they didn't do it, but once again, I couldn't dwell on those idiosyncracies. Our new Rhett Butler was played by Timothy Dalton. Now, these once unheard of actors did nothing for me in the beginning because I mean, do you know how many people it took to get the first Rhett and Scarlett? The chances of recreating that passion and romance seemed a little unlikely to me. Well, needless to say, I was wrong. Hey, I'm a big girl, I can admit when I'm wrong and this time I was. Dalton and Kilmer did an excellent job of being the characters they portrayed. The only serious character flaw I saw was the character of Prissy. She was replaced by another former slave by the name of Pansy in Scarlett (for what reason, I'm sure I don't know) and she didn't have any of the "Prissy" demeanor. Poor Mammy dies in the beginning of the movie, so unfortunately, Esther Role didn't get a broad chance of bringing her back. However, given that Hattie McDaniel (the original Mammy) won an award for that role, it seemed very VERY unlikely that she could be replaced. Alright, moving on, time to get to the good stuff.

The movie picks up where Gone With the Wind left off. Scarlett is all alone in this world, after having lost her dearly departed friend Melanie Wilkes, her charming little girl Bonnie, and Rhett; she has nothing to live for. All she has is an empty house and an empty liquor bottle. Pansy sees to her housekeeping and often tries to help Scarlett change her horrible habits. Obviously, Mrs. Butler realizes that she has to get Rhett back and that the only way to do it is to become a lady. Scarlett goes to great lengths to change herself. Soon she stops focusing on her needs and wants, and changes herself into the grown woman that Rhett had always hoped for. However, in the beginning, she's rather stubborn and doesn't want Rhett to give her a divorce. She does everything in her power to be in the exact same location as him at the exact same time. For years on end, she is unsuccessful... Except for the one time that she and Rhett fall into a passionate moment and a child is born out of it. Scarlett sees this as her second chance: to be reborn into something she can be proud of. So, she moves away to Ireland (her place of ancestry) and raises her baby girl there. Rhett doesn't know of their new child and has married another woman, who is also expecting. The tangled web becomes more tangled as the movie goes on, but the ending is beyond anything imaginable.

I'm sorry folks, I can't go on with anymore of the movie. I've already said too much. The major underlying question in this whole movie is: Will she win him back?? For some of you it may be "WILL I EVER SLEEP?" Believe me, for the 6 hour duration of this movie, your eyes will be glued to the television. For some of you with children, they'll probably be up all night bringing you your drinks and popcorn (maybe even Kleenex) because you won't want to leave your seat. Nonetheless, I do have one request for all of you who may reach this predicament, please go to the restroom!! Don't be like me and hold it in for hours on end until a quick boring moment comes in and dash for the bathroom at the last minute. Don't worry, folks, I made it... But, enjoy the film. There may not be a replacement for the greats who stepped in for Gone With the Wind, but there are some darn-good actors who can take us back to the moments when we sat in front of the tube hoping that Rhett would take Scarlett back... enjoy!