Why ‘Eternity’ Feels So … Familiar
David Freyne’s “Eternity” is a schmaltzy fantasy/love story, in a year that already subjected filmgoers to “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey.”
Thirty-five years later, “Ghost” (1990) is still the king of these types of movies.
When we meet Larry (Barry Primus) and Joan (Betty Buckley), they are elderly and driving to a gender reveal party. When each dies at a separate time, Larry and Joan find themselves in an afterlife that resembles a Holiday Inn.
Case workers choose which version of Heaven one wants to spend the rest of eternity.
When Larry and Joan are rejoined in the afterlife, they look like their younger selves and are now played by Miles Teller and Elizabeth Olsen. The couple appears destined for eternal bliss. Until Joan’s deceased first husband, played by Callum Turner, reappears and expresses that he never stopped loving her.
Nothing about “Eternity” is offensively bad. As a depiction of what happens when we die, it can be taken as seriously as the science in “Star Wars.”
The most disagreeable thing about it is how much it rips off Albert Brooks’ “Defending Your Life” (1991). The premise, nature of the jokes and themes explored are so similar that Brooks might want to seriously sue the screenwriters for plagiarism.
Teller is playing Larry as an old man, which mean the actor dials down his natural comic exuberance. Weird but true – Teller’s performance here isn’t unlike his take on Mr. Fantastic in the unloved “Fantastic Four” (2015).
Prior to his breakout roles in “Whiplash” (2014) and “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022), Teller appeared in dumb but entertaining teen comedies (like “21 & Over” and “Project X”) where he stood out as a quick-witted comic scene stealer.
I wish that kind of energy were on display here.
Olsen is giving a dramatic performance and rarely leans into the screenplay’s comic beats. Teller and Olsen are such powerhouse actors, I have no idea what drew them to such a lightweight project like this.
Turner is playing a “perfect” man, but he’s utterly boring, akin to watching James Marsden in “The Notebook” (2004). To think what Ryan Gosling could have done with this role.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph plays Larry’s case worker and has some of the best moments, though her role isn’t much; it’s especially disheartening when you compare what Rip Torn did with basically the same role in “Defending Your Life.”
Ditto, the rules and gags about the afterlife were better and funnier in that film.
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Most of the story is set in this state of limbo, which resembles a hotel complex/ bus depot, making for a mostly visually uninteresting film.
A bit involving Dean Martin is funny, and the promos for each of the advertised afterlife worlds (like Mountain World and Library World) are amusing sight gags. Otherwise, the premise would be best utilized for a “Saturday Night Live” skit and seems too drawn out for a feature film.
“Eternity” may play as a fantasy for some, in the same way “The Notebook” and “Tequila Sunrise” (1988), to name a few, offer the who-will-she-pick hook of the love story. It’s also a film for an older audience, since the central characters are geriatrics on the inside and the film is basically about deciding who you want to retire with.
A much better fantasy about deciding who you want to grow older with is Ron Howard’s “Cocoon” (1985).
I liked the final scenes, though they borrow a great deal from “Eternal Sunshine from the Spotless Mind” (2004). However, without spoiling anything, the conclusion is basically telling us, “If you can’t have the one you love, then love the one you’re with.”
In case you’ve lost count, I’m accusing “Eternity” of ripping off Albert Brooks, Charlie Kaufman and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
One and a Half Stars (out of four)
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