||MISERY (1990)||   Rated R

Directed By: Rob Reiner (Stand By Me 1986,The Princess Bride 1987, When Harry Met Sally 1989, A Few Good Men 1992)

Starring: James Caan (The Godfather 1972, Elf 2003), Kathy Bates (Fried Green Tomatoes 1991, Titanic 1997, American Horror Story 2013-2016), Richard Farnsworth (Anne of Green Gables 1985 TV mini-series)

IMDB (Rating: 7.8/10) || (A) Few days after being rescued and sheltered from a car crash caused by a blizzard by a nurse who claims to be his number one fan, a well-known author begins suspecting the mental health of his savior.

Rotten Tomatoes (TomatoMeter: 89% CERTIFIED FRESH) || Based on the Stephen King novel, Misery casts James Caan as romance writer Paul Sheldon. After a car accident, Sheldon is trapped in his vehicle in the middle of a blizzard; on the brink of death, he is rescued by Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), a former nurse who carries the writer to her home to recover. It turns out that Annie is a huge fan of Sheldon’s work, which consists of a series of romance novels about a character named Misery Chastain; Paul, wanting to explore more serious work, has decided to kill Misery in order to write a raw, autobiographical book about life on the streets. Annie, who has lived almost vicariously through the Misery Chastain books for years, is livid over the harsh language of Paul’s book, but becomes almost crazed upon discovering Misery’s fate. To teach the bedridden man a lesson, she forces him to burn the autobiographical manuscript and resurrect Misery; after learning of Annie’s murderous past, he knows that Misery’s return to life will mark the end of his own.

Awards: Kathy Bates won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role (1991) as well as the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Leading Role (1991). Received various other nominations and awards.

||THE QUICK HIT||

Love It, Like It, Gotta Leave It.

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Does this movie pass the Bechdel Test? No
Does this movie pass the Mako Mori Test? No (I would argue with Anni as the antagonist this story is all about Paul Sheldon’s dilemma)
Contains ‘Other’ Pro-Feminist Leanings? Yes, while Annie Wilkes is hardly a feminist hero the sheriff’s wife provides a surprising feminist characterization that provides a bit of humor in between the dark parts of this film.

Did it age well (any film pre-2001)? Pretty well, it’s obviously dated because of no cell phones and such but the lack of blood and gore and utilization of the outdoor shots keep this film fairly polished looking.