Customer Reviews

Continental Divide

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This film is very old....but that's what makes it great. It's interesting to see the old computer equipment the newspaper used, and the old Amtrak trains throughout the finale. I also like it because John Belushi was a comedian attempting to make that cross-over to drama (of course this isn't a stone cold drama like "Out of Africa" for instance). Many comedians have failed in this...like Chevy Chase in "Foul Play" and John Candy in "Only the Lonely" and Richard Pryor in "Which Way is Up?". I think Belushi pulled it off beautifully. It's also the type of movie that leaves you with your heart exposed...it leaves you with a sense of longing deep in your soul....as Belushi rides off in the final scene you can't help but think of how the story goes on from there. You can't help but think that you want to be there, you want to feel like they feel as they proceed into the unknown area of post-credithood.

I saw this movie the other night and I was captivated. I only thought that John Belushi was a comedic actor. I watched and watched as I saw that there was more to John Belushi than meets the eye. The film shows the Animal House John Belushi in the beginning but later shows a different actor. The movie shows that he is a compassionate person. In short, I loved this movie I think that John Belushi is an extremely talented actor. I think it is ashame that he passed away at such an early age. I think thatn he could have made an important contribution to the film industry.

John Belushi is forever connected to the alcohol abusing, self depricating , and party animal charators that he 's reknowned for playing in other films. Luckily , before his untimely demise , he participated in this project...Continental Divide. It totally seperates him against typecast and shows just how much diversified acting ability , he had .Whereas , alot of people (typical Belushi fans)didn't appreciate this effort, I think it was extremely refreshing. It only took me about five minutes to forget that it was John Belushi portraying Ernie Souchak. A top dog columnist who's forced out of town to do a safer article , at the request of his boss , to save him from danger. Blair Brown's Nell Porter, provides the perfect opposite, for Belushi's Souchak. The film has a very basic "boy meets girl " formula. However ,the script and actors take this film to an all time high. It is a very special film that provides very special and cinematic moments. I enjoyed it when I was a teenager and I hated love story's. But there's more to this tale than just a typical spin. Definately not a film to be missed.

This is John Belushi's finest moments, I could watch this movie over many times, I highly recommend this movie will be a great addition to anyones collection.

Maybe it's the fact that I used to watch cable television nearly every waking moment in the early 80's, but this is one of those classic movies I can never get enough of!

Ernie Souchak (John Belushi) is a Chicago reporter on assignment in the Rocky Mountains whose subject is environmentalist/bald eagle protector, Nell Porter (Blair Brown). Overweight and out of shape, he tumbles and stumbles through hikes and climbs with his agile counterpart learning about the 'other world' that exists outside the hussle and bustle of city-life. Initially turned off by the brazen Souchak, Porter slowly finds him midly attractive but always keeping her distance.

Without giving the entire story away, they wind up crossing paths again, this time in Souchak's town of Chicago. And in a fresh take, the movie doesn't end in typical Hollywood fashion.

Afficionados of romantic comedies will absolutely love this film. I, for one, developed a huge adolescent crush on the naturally beautiful and charming, Blair Brown. There are definitely some tear-jerker scenes and I'm not afraid to admit they get me everytime. Probably the fact that for a change, you saw John Belushi portraying an everyday charming guy everyone can relate to. Even the still photos of John and Blair together on set, smiling and throwing snowballs at each other on the closing credits is enough to make a tear well up, knowing this was one of Belushi's final movies.

Highly, highly recommended!!

"Continental Divide" stars John Belushi as Ernie Souchak, a Chicago newspaper columnist (based on Mike Royko). Ernie loves Chicago; he is a true urbanite. When his hard-hitting stories about a corrupt city official bring threats to his life, his editor decides to protect him by sending him on a story out of town...waaay out of town. Ernie is sent to the Rocky Mountains to interview Nell (Blair Brown), a reclusive ornithologist. A huge fish out of water, Ernie struggles against the elements: an overweight chainsmoker in the high altitudes of the Rockies is not a pretty site. Eventually, Ernie finds the lovely Nell, and the city mouse locks horns with the country mouse almost immediately. But circumstances force Nell to take in the reluctant Ernie. As with most films like this, opposites attract, as Ernie does his best to assimulate to Nell's world. But things are heating up back in Chicago, and Ernie must come out of hiding, with Nell in tow, to set things right. Alas, Nell's home is in the mountains with her beloved eagles, so the couple must decide where true love's course will take them. Belushi is very good as slob-with-a-heart Ernie, proving his comedic charm is just as funny mild as it is wild. Brown is beautiful and appealing. Lawrence Kasden wrote the script; it's a bit spotty in places, but overall it's a funny, charming romantic comedy that spotlights a kinder, gentler Belushi.

This movie, simply put, is one of the best ever made. It is an all-time favorite.

This is one of my timeless favorites. Perhaps it's because I used to live in Chicago and yearned to move to the Rockies. This is classic John Belushi. I don't know what it is about Blair Brown that makes her look so great in flannel. This is probably one of her best movies. Too bad it's not out on DVD.

Ernie Souchak, top reporter, has a column on corruption "Today's Dirt". He gets a little too close and has more than his hair messed up. To recuperate from his ordeal and to get him safely out of harms way he is sent an assignment to the Continental Divide to interview naturalist Nell Porter.

Like a fish out of water he is out of shape, out of his element, and out of his depth when he meats Nell. Can he survive the ordeal (without cigarettes)? And what becomes of his original mission?

This is one of those movies that required repeated viewing to get all of the nuances.

I thought Continental Divide was a wonderful movie and not just because I'm a John Belushi fan but I felt that this film proved that he could play a more normal character and do a comedy that also had romance and drama in it. As much as I loved those movies he proved to me that that he could do something more then his manic, boorish characters like Bluto from Animal House and Jake from The Blues Brothers, as funny as those characters were I thought his Continental Divide character Ernie was great too, but in a more subtle understated way. As for the unconventional ending, I didn't like it when I first saw it but now I like that it isn't your typical Hollywood cliched ending! If you like John Belushi and also romantic comedies and don't mind one that doesn't have the typical cliche ending then I highly recommend this movie!