George Malley (John Travolta) is a nice, sweet guy living in a small town, working as a car mechanic. His best friends are Nate (Forest Whitekar) and the town doctor (Robert Duvall). He is hopelessly in love with Lace (Kyra Sedgwick), a single mom who lives a little outside of the town with her two young children. She has been burnt once before so she is not exactly willing to let George in, no matter how sweet he seems.
George’s ordinary life gets a big challenge at his birthday; in the form of a very bright light. What the hell was that? The problems and complications arise when almost immediately after the incident, all of George’s senses have become a lot more efficient and impossibly good. He was sort of smart before but now he can sense earthquakes before the officials, without any devices, can read tens of books at night (and learn everything in them) and can even learn Spanish on a 30-minute car ride without having been able to speak a word before…His friends are scared. The Doc and Nate do their best to understand. Is something supernatural at work? And will Geroge finally get the happy ending he deserves with Lace?
Phenomenon is wonderfully smart and sweet romantic/ drama with a hint of some fantasy elements. It is impossible not to root for George- whose oldest acquaintances turn their back on him when his actions and talents don’t seem to make sense anymore. Directed by Jon Turteltaub (While You Were Sleeping, National Treasure) and written by Gerald Di Pego. This is one of my favorite Travolta films and I really love the connection and relationship he has with Grace. Wonderfully humane and emotional.
The film also has a very decent soundtrack featuring Sheryl Crowe, Peter Gabriel, Eric Clapton and more. My favorite song from the movie, as it also is used during a very meaningful scene, is Have a Little Faith in me. Rated at 6.3 on IMDB. 8.0 from me.
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