Triple Feature Feature
I haven't been in the mood to watch a lot of easily-available classic movies lately. My head's been too full of Gallifrey, Santa Barbara, modern-day London,* and really obscure old films. (Like, not even available on video obscure. But, in amongst those places is a place I've loved for nearly twenty years.
*Wanna take a guess at what TV shows I'm talking about? You get all of 'em right, I'll give you, like, five beans or something. ;)
This summer, I had the chance to finally see the Road to Avonlea series. When I was starting high school, I happened upon Kevin Sullivan's Anne of Green Gables movie and fell in love. I quickly got a hold of all the Anne books, which I followed up with pretty much everything L. M. Montgomery wrote. I was obsessed. And, for a good five or six years — until I discovered classic films, actually — it was my main "fandom."
After watching Road to Avonlea, I wanted to revisit the Anne of Green Gables films, partly because I didn't want to completely leave Avonlea just yet. And, while not exactly "classic" movies, the first Anne movie in the series was made a decade before a number of HOLers were even on the planet, so it's a comfortable fit for the Triple Feature Feature.
So, join me at the Bright River station for Kevin Sullivan's Anne of Green Gables trilogy.
Anne of Green Gables (1985)
(Written by Kevin Sullivan and Joe Wiesenfeld. Directed by Kevin Sullivan. Starring Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, Richard Farnsworth, and Schuyler Grant.)
If you've never read L. M. Montgomery's first and most famous novel, you really should. It's utterly charming and sweet, without getting too sentimental. And, by and large, Kevin Sullivan's adaptation is true to both the spirit and substance of the book.
It begins when Matthew Cuthbert (Richard Farnsworth), a shy old bachelor who lives with his unmarried sister Marilla (Colleen Dewhurst) in a little town in Prince Edward Island, goes to pick up the little orphan boy they've decided to adopt. Only, there was a mistake, and instead of a little boy, Matthew's confronted with Anne Shirley (Megan Follows), a talkative red-haired girl. And, instead of sending her back, the Cuthberts decide to keep her. We follow Anne as she finds a kindred spirit in Diana Barry (Schuyler Grant), goes to school, gets into all sorts of scrapes, and grows into a delightful young woman.
I hesitate to call any movie perfect, but this one sure comes close. The production is top-notch. The scenery is lush, making even the nature-resistant like myself wish to wander through the fields. The whole thing feels very true to the book, which is something I think comes through, even if you've never read a word of it.
The casting is wonderful. Colleen Dewhurst's Marilla is such a pleasure to watch; she brings a sense of warmth and, well, fun to a character who, particularly at the beginning, can come across as rather rigid. Richard Farnsworth as Matthew is so gentle and wonderfully understanding. And Megan Follows's performance here as Anne is kind of the definitive film version of Anne Shirley. Young Anne is particularly prone to melodramatic forms of expression, and Follows really makes it work, so that it's amusing and charming rather than off-putting.
The supporting cast is also fantastic. Grant's Diana Barry is a perfect foil for Anne. Patricia Hamilton as Mrs. Rachel Lynde so utterly fabulous, it's unbelievable; oh, how I love her! And Jonathan Crombie's Gilbert Blythe, well... he's not a literary dreamboat for nothing. ;)
While no movie can truly replace or even replicate the experience of reading the original book, this version of Anne of Green Gables comes closer than most. It helps that, as a sort of mini-series rather than a theatrical film, it has the time to spend on smaller details. And, it's a plain ol' good time, to boot.
Anne of Green Gables – The Sequel (1987)
(Written and directed by Kevin Sullivan. Starring Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, Jonathan Crombie, Frank Converse, and Dame Wendy Hiller.)
My first introduction to the world of Avonlea was Sullivan's Anne of Green Gables. I then read through the books as quickly as I could my hands on them. To borrow a phrase, I wanted to go to there. When I discovered there was a follow-up movie that covered the next three books in the series, I was overjoyed and couldn't wait to see it.
Boy, was I disappointed. Devastated, even.
This isn't because the movie is bad. Far from it. It's got more of the wonderful things that were present in the first movie. Because the characters are older, the scope of the story is broader, and it's still an enjoyable ride — with recognizable signposts from the books. The only problem (for me — at least when I first saw it) was that it wasn't the ride I was expecting.
In this Sequel, life in Avonlea is changing. Diana Barry (Schuyler Grant) is getting married, Rachel Lynde (Patricia Hamilton) is moving into Green Gables with Marilla (Colleen Dewhurst), and Gilbert (Jonathan Crombie) is headed off to medical school. Anne accepts a position at Kingsport Ladies College, where she teaches English and literature. Unfortunately, life in Kingsport isn't easy, as the College's principal, Katherine Brooke (Rosemary Dunsmore), is a cold disciplinarian, and the town's biggest and most prominent family, the Pringles, do everything they can to make life difficult for Anne. When she wins over the "prickly dowager" Mrs. Harris (Dame Wendy Hiller), things start to pick up in Kingsport. But how long can Anne stay away from Avonlea?
If I had never read the books Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, and Anne of Windy Poplars, I would have had no qualms whatsoever with this movie (except perhaps that it needs more Gilbert. Wait, what am I saying? *g*). I enjoy period pieces, and Anne Shirley really is a delightful character to spend time with. She's sweet and smart, but she has a bit of a temper, which reveals itself in some really great polite snark.
As devastated as I was when I first saw this movie, all those years ago, I've since grown rather zen about it all. I recognize the movie is enjoyable on its own terms, so, while it fails kind of completely at being a good adaptation (seriously, where's Miss Lavender? Davy and Dora? Redmond? Philippa Gordon? The ladies of Windy Poplars? The bulk of the Anne and Gilbert relationship? WHERE ARE THEY?), it does not fail at being a good movie. This zen state I have about movie adaptations of beloved books has served me well with, say, the Harry Potter films, which, despite having to drop and change things, are all pretty solid — even good — adaptations.
As someone who enjoys well-made period films, Anne of Green Gables – The Sequel is certainly on the list of highly enjoyable ones. As someone who enjoys the many adventures and stories of red-haired Canadian orphans adopted by a brother and sister, this Anne still has at her heart the essence of Anne Shirley.
If you're a fan of Canadian comedy, keep your eyes peeled for two members of the Kids in the Hall.
Anne of Green Gables – The Continuing Story (2000)
(Written by Kevin Sullivan and Laurie Pearson. Directed by Stefan Scaini. Starring Megan Follows, Jonathan Crombie, Schuyler Grant, Greg Spottiswood, and Cameron Daddo.)
Anne Shirley has come a long way from her days waiting at the Bright River station with only her old carpetbag with the wonky handle. Now, she's a published writer with dreams for more books, and she's moved to New York City to be near her doctor fiancé. All the while, her old schoolmates are heading out to the battlefields of Europe during World War I.
The audience, too, has come a long way. There was a pretty big gap between this movie and its immediate predecessor. I don't know if this gap is part of the problem, but this is one of the most schizophrenic movies I've ever seen.
Instead of one movie (or mini-series, or whatever), Anne of Green Gables – The Continuing Story is, like, four or five, and the only constant in them is Anne (Megan Follows).
The first movie is a big city drama with a split focus; Gilbert (Jonathan Crombie) tries to do actual doctoring while attempting to navigate the politics of a big hospital, while Anne has difficulties at a publishing company, where she's the editor for Jack Garrison (Cameron Daddo), the company's best-selling author. The second movie is all about life on the homefront during the Great War, from the young wives left behind having to deal with missing or dead husbands, to the able-bodied men who struggle with the decision to join up, to the wartime weddings where the newlywed husband leaves soon after to head to the battlefield. From here, we move on to the third movie, which shows us first-hand the horrors of war. Anne is there as a Red Cross driver, searching for Gilbert (her letters to him were returned as undeliverable).
While in France, she ends up with Jack Garrison's little baby to care for (Jack is working as a war correspondent and secret agent trying to secure armistice), as well as Diana's husband Fred (Greg Spottiswood), who has been wounded. The fourth movie moves Anne, Fred, and baby Dominick to London, where jobs are scarce and transport back to Canada scarcer. Here, between scenes of Londoners displaying a sort of pre-Blitz stoicism, we get intrigue in the guise of the suspicious newspaper editor who may be working for German interests! The fifth movie begins as a spy thriller, with Anne smuggling jewels back to the continent and returning baby Dominick to Jack and his aunt; finally gives us the reunion of Anne and Gilbert; and ends with a murder.
The whole thing ends with an epilogue of sorts, with Anne and Gilbert back in Avonlea and about to move on with their lives.
Taken piecemeal, the different sections (or movies, as I just called them) are fine. Farfetched and overly melodramatic at times, but they're entertaining enough. However, when put together as a whole, it feels like the writers couldn't decide what sort of story to tell, and instead of sticking to one and telling it well, they haphazardly wove a bunch of fragments together with the rather weak strand of Anne being there, and hoped for the best.
If these story fragments were the only problem, it might have worked better. But, there's a lot of internal logic that doesn't work for me. For instance, early on in the movie, it's established that Anne and Gilbert have been waiting five years to marry. Gilbert was in medical school, so it makes sense for them to wait. Then, Gilbert tells Anne about his job offer in New York City, and says he wants her to go with him; she agrees, with the stipulation that they return to PEI to raise their family. I'm totally there with you, guys; it all makes perfect sense. Do they get married before heading to New York? Nope. They're still engaged, living separately, while there. It's only when they return to Avonlea that they get married. It doesn't make any sense that the characters would do this. The only reason I can see for the delay is so Gilbert can join the army before the wedding to give us the visual of the groom in uniform, and Gilbert couldn't join up until after the time in New York.
I mean, that's quite a derailment of the logic train, and it really ends up making the whole thing feel less professional and more like a really bad AU fanfic, which, when you get right down to it, it... kind of is, seeing as it's not actually based on any of L. M. Montgomery's books. (She did write a book about Anne and World War I, but Anne and Gilbert had six kids by that point, the youngest one in her teens.)
While this certainly isn't a favorite movie of mine, it's not a complete waste of time, either. There are some really nice moments in it that are completely worthy of its forebears. I look at it as movie!Anne's story, which isn't related to book!Anne in anything but name. Even if I can't quite turn off the little voice in my head that complains about the lack of any connection to the books.
(I said at the beginning of the article that I was inspired to rewatch these movies because I didn't want to leave Avonlea yet. I think, in retrospect, it might have been wiser to reread the books, because book!canon always trumps movie!canon. *g*)