Synopsis
When Julia Reynolds talks her husband into a family vacation in Malta she has a secret agenda: a date made twenty-five years earlier with her first love.
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Cast
- Juliet StevensonJulia Reynolds
- Tchéky KaryoAlex Belmont
- Daniel SternJack Reynolds
- Valerie MahaffeyGrace
- Claire BrosseauJenny Reynolds
- Kate MilesSamantha
- Jacquelyn RennerTracey
- Derek RiddellHotel Desk Clerk
- Daniela SaioniWoman in Cafe
- Pierre StafraceStore Clerk
Recommendations
- 75
New York Post
While this slow-starting update of "Private Lives" has plenty of laughs, the incredibly expressive (and too-seldom seen) Stevenson turns Julia's romantic dilemma into something genuinely moving. She makes A Previous Engagement something special. - 70
Variety
Stevenson casts her usual magic in this frankly adult, determinedly lighthearted comedy of romantic errors. - 50
L.A. Weekly
Stevenson manages to deliver a few poignant moments of nostalgia for the pleasures of youth against the stunning backdrop of the Maltese coastline. - 50
Salon
I'm not big on those Pauline Kael-style encomiums to great actors in mediocre material, but that's exactly what we've got here. Stevenson is so incandescent -- so funny, so vulnerable, so awkwardly sexy. - 50
TV Guide Magazine
Even Stevenson, a singularly accomplished and versatile actress, can't do much with Julia's early scenes, in which she's forced to dither around like a complete idiot. - 40
The New York Times
More tired than the fantasy it promotes, A Previous Engagement aims at middle-aged women with the subtlety of a pitch for bladder-control medication. - 40
Los Angeles Times
A dreary experience. - 38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Though frantic from the get-go, A Previous Engagement rarely finds its feet. Devoid of the fine balance of grace and chaos necessary to any screen farce, the proceedings are slapdash, repetitious and badly overextended.