Sarentrol
Masterful Cinema
Grimossfer
Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
Zlatica
One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
clester-5
If you've loved at all in your life, you'll enjoy this film. Actually, you'll enjoy it anyway, but you'll understand every nuance if you've been in love. This movie dances with every emotion and dynamic one experiences in a relationship of any substance; love, hatred, anger, betrayal, hurt, humor, power struggles, pride, fear. It's all wrapped up tightly in this movie and presented in a tender, subtle, yet gripping way that engages the viewer and gently holds your attention until the end. The acting is great, the emotions are real, and the presentation is lively, interesting, and even informative. I can't remember when I've seen a better balanced film; each role is important in piecing the message together and everyone involved does a great job. Very enjoyable. I challenge anyone to view this film without laughing and shedding a tear.
bookwriter
I found The Engagement Ring to be one of the most enjoyable movies I've seen in a long time. The actors were perfectly cast in the roles and the storyline was quite amusing. It centers around an engagement ring that was lost in the mail 40 years before. When found, it is sent on its way. When the intended finally receives it, she does not immediately feel sadness for what might have been, but continues to allow her 40 year old bitterness free reign. That is where the movie becomes unpredictable and funny.Though I would have liked it more if the fighting had not occurred, the story would not have been nearly as interesting. And the younger couple would not have had the chance to get together. All in all, I'd recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a romance with a twist.
lavatch
I'm sorry to sound like a Scrouge, but this TNT film was a holiday stinker! The film's premise had good potential: From overseas, an American GI in World War II sends his high school sweetheart a marriage proposal and an engagement ring, which unfortunately are lost in the mail. When the letter and the ring are miraculously discovered forty years later, one would expect that the revelation would clear up the mystery and end the long-standing feud between two Italian families. But when Alicia (Lainie Kazan) learns about the letter and the ring sent by her former beau Nick (Tony Lo Bianco), her inexplicable response is to continue to be angry at him! This made no sense because it wasn't Nick's fault that the letter and the ring were lost. The subplot of the couple in the next generation (Patricia Heaton and Vincent Spano) also seemed forced and not believable. There were moments in this film that resembled French farce, then turned immediately into Greek tragedy!The dialogue was terrible, and the cast seemed to be reading their lines, as opposed to performing the action and connecting with each other in their relationships. I almost wished that the actors could have improvised the scenes around the basic romantic premise, instead of forcing the emotional life and giving us the impression that they were reading the insipid lines from cue cards. Before the film began, TNT offered this tagline as a teaser: "The holidays are for bringing people together." As it turned out, that line was better than any of the scripted dialogue in the film, and the best character was the grandma mainly because she was mute!
whpratt1
Enjoyed viewing this picture from beginning to end and how two families growing grapes in Napa Valley could have such a strong love and hate relationship. The entire cast of actors gave outstanding performances and I thought that Patricia Heaton,(Sara Rosa) showed her real talents and even rode a horse around the vineyards. This engagement ring was given with great love and in a way, caused a great deal of hatred for many many years among these two families. There is lots of humor, drama and cute romance with husband and wife and some live together couples, getting to know each other. I really think this story of these two famines should be made into a TV series, or at least make up a TV program using most of these fantastic actors.
