The Accidental Tourist (film)

The Accidental Tourist
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Lawrence Kasdan
Screenplay by	Frank Galati Lawrence Kasdan
Based on	The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler
Produced by	Lawrence Kasdan Charles Okun Michael Grillo
Starring	William Hurt Kathleen Turner Geena Davis
Cinematography	John Bailey
Edited by	Carol Littleton
Music by	John Williams
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	December 23, 1988 (1988-12-23)
Running time	121 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$15 million
Box office	$32.6 million

The Accidental Tourist is a 1988 American romantic drama film directed and co-produced by Lawrence Kasdan, from a screenplay by Frank Galati and Kasdan, based on the 1985 novel by Anne Tyler. The film stars William Hurt, Kathleen Turner and Geena Davis in leading roles, with Bill Pullman and Amy Wright in supporting roles.

The Accidental Tourist tells the story of Macon Leary (Hurt), a travel writer struggling to cope with the sudden death of his son and the breakdown of his marriage to Sarah (Turner). As he retreats into his solitary life, Muriel Pritchett (Davis), an eccentric dog trainer, helps him rediscover love and a sense of purpose.

The Accidental Tourist was released on December 23, 1988, to critical acclaim, with praise for its thoughtful exploration of grief and performances of the cast, with high praise directed towards Davis' performance. The film emerged as a moderate commercial success at the box-office, grossing over $32.6 million worldwide against a budget of approximately $15 million.

At the 61st Academy Awards, The Accidental Tourist received 3 nominations, including Best Picture, with Davis winning Best Supporting Actress. The film also won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film, while also being nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama and the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Plot

Macon Leary is a Baltimore writer of travel guides for reluctant business travelers, which detail how best to avoid unpleasantness and difficulty.

His marriage to his wife Sarah is disintegrating in the aftermath of the tragic death of their 12-year-old son, Ethan. Macon is leveraging the philosophy he espouses in his travel guides to keep control of himself, his grief, and his life, and this excessive control is becoming increasingly dysfunctional. Sarah eventually leaves Macon, moving out of their house and into an apartment, leaving him with the house and the family dog, Edward.

Macon meets Muriel Pritchett, an eccentric animal hospital employee and dog trainer with a sickly son named Alexander. Macon eventually hires Muriel to put his dog through much-needed obedience training after Edward causes Macon to fall down the stairs and break his leg. Muriel is quite forward in her interest in Macon, which acts as a counterforce to his stiff personality. Although Muriel at first seems brash and unsophisticated, Macon eventually finds himself opening up to her and trusting her. Over time, he moves into her apartment and becomes a father figure to Alexander. Some conflict arises between Muriel and Macon when he offers to help with private school costs. Muriel wants more commitment to the relationship and fears another disappointment. When Sarah's apartment lease is up, she moves back into their old home and suggests to Macon that they start over. Macon leaves Muriel, and he and Sarah set up house once more.

When Macon visits Paris for research, Muriel surprises him by showing up on the same flight and staying in the same Paris hotel, recommended by Macon in one of his travel guides. She suggests that they enjoy themselves as if they are vacationing together. Macon insists he is there strictly for business, and although he shows concern for how Alexander is doing, he keeps Muriel at arm's length.

During Macon's last night in Paris, Muriel asks to go with him, and despite an early flight, she tells him he doesn't have to reply just yet. Waking up in the middle of the night, Macon decides to call Muriel but his telephone malfunctions. While trying to fix the cord, he hurts his back and becomes bedridden. Muriel knocks on his door, waking him up, but before he can respond, she assumes he has already left and leaves herself. Mustering the strength to get to the front desk, Macon phones his publisher to inform him of his back pain. Sarah comes to Paris with pain medication, sent by Macon's sister Rose, to care for him and complete his travel guide. Sarah proposes that after finishing the day trips, they can reschedule the flight and make the trip a second honeymoon, to which Macon tepidly agrees. However, Sarah confronts him about Muriel, questioning his attraction to her: "Was it the boy?" Despite their attempts to rekindle their marriage, Macon begins to realize that their relationship is stunted without their son.

The next morning, Macon dresses while Sarah sleeps and tells her that he is going back to Muriel. He explains that he needs to move on to someone who can help him out of his grief. Macon realizes that while Sarah was strong enough to cope, he needs Muriel to help him move forward. As Macon walks to the taxi stand, he leaves his signature handheld bag in the street. Struggling to catch a taxi, a young boy who visually resembles Ethan stops a cab and lets Macon catch up. The boy, a metaphor for Macon's new beginning, wishes him well on his journey. Macon spots Muriel hailing a taxi and tells his driver to stop. Thinking the driver stopped for her, Muriel gathers her luggage and sees Macon in the taxi. She smiles, and Macon smiles back.

Cast

• William Hurt as Macon Leary
• Kathleen Turner as Sarah Leary
• Geena Davis as Muriel Pritchett
• Bill Pullman as Julian Edge
• Amy Wright as Rose Leary
• David Ogden Stiers as Porter Leary
• Ed Begley Jr. as Charles Leary
• Robert Hy Gorman as Alexander Pritchett
• Bradley Mott as Mr. Loomis
• Seth Granger as Ethan Leary
• Jake Kasdan as Scott Canfield
• Jonathan Kasdan as boy at doctor's office
• Peggy Converse as Mrs. Barrett
• Walter Sparrow as hot dog vendor
• Paul Williamson as London hotel manager
• Audrey Rapoport as girl on plane
• Meg Kasdan as receptionist

Reception

The Accidental Tourist holds an 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Generous with its character's foibles and virtues, The Accidental Tourist is a thoughtful drama vested with insight into the complications of relationships." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 53 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Additionally, audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert gave The Accidental Tourist a glowing review, calling it "one of the best films of the year", while praising its direction, screenplay, mix of emotional depth and humor, and the performances of the cast, with Hurt and Davis receiving high praise in particular.

Accolades

Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result
Academy Awards	Best Picture	Lawrence Kasdan, Charles Okun and Michael Grillo	Nominated
	Best Supporting Actress	Geena Davis	Won
	Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium	Frank Galati and Lawrence Kasdan	Nominated
	Best Original Score	John Williams	Nominated
British Academy Film Awards	Best Adapted Screenplay	Frank Galati and Lawrence Kasdan	Nominated
Cahiers du Cinéma	Best Film	Lawrence Kasdan	10th Place
Golden Globe Awards	Best Motion Picture – Drama		Nominated
	Best Original Score – Motion Picture	John Williams	Nominated
Golden Horse Awards	Best Foreign Actor	William Hurt	Won
Moscow International Film Festival	Golden St. George	Lawrence Kasdan	Nominated
New York Film Critics Circle Awards	Best Film		Won
	Best Director	Lawrence Kasdan	4th Place
	Best Screenplay	Frank Galati and Lawrence Kasdan	3rd Place
USC Scripter Awards		Frank Galati and Lawrence Kasdan (screenwriters); Anne Tyler (author)	Won
Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium	Frank Galati and Lawrence Kasdan	Nominated

External links

• The Accidental Tourist at IMDb
• The Accidental Tourist at Box Office Mojo
• Interview with Geena Davis about the film at Texas Archive of the Moving Image