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I don’t have the exact figures on this, but I’ll bet you no one would want to miss out on playing an angel in a Hollywood film. It’s probably one of the only archetypes that they think would sum up their personality perfectly. It seems that angels are extremely popular in Hollywood, as during this season it was reported that John Travolta, Denzel Washington, and even Dolly Parton portrayed them in new films.
The scruffiest of all Travolta’s angels is rough around the edges. His appearance suggests that he doesn’t shave often, and he is a heavy drinker, while his eating habits involve devouring breakfast using a spoon in the backhand steam shovel grip. This scruffy angel resides in an office located in a Milk Bottle Motel situated in the countryside, Iowa. He is found there in Michael, by two reporters “traveling the world aimlessly trying to find anything appealing” for a grocery store gossip magazine. These reporters had received a postcard from a sweet little old lady who happens to run the motel. As noted by Jean Stapleton who played the owner in the film “Michael he an angel? It doesn’t bother Vartan Malt (Bob Hoskins), an editor at the National Mirror, as long as he gets his wishes granted to him in the form of angels who pose for him alongside Sparky, a little dog who happens to be the paper’s most sought after mascot. (Sparky has become a favorite for former President Bill Clinton, Santa Claus, and just recently Elvis.) Not as adored as the other mascots, Sparky’s master is Huey Driscoll (Robert Pastorelli) who used to be a known reporter at the Chicago Tribune but was let go after punching the managing editor in the face. (One of the screenplay writers is Jim Quinlan, formerly of the Chicago Sun-Times, so perhaps a little displacement is going on here.) Fred Frank Quinlan (William Hurt) is more mellowed out and understands that with a job like this, you need to approach everything with a charming indifference. As Huey and Frank are getting ready to leave for Iowa, they are burdened with a new member of the team: Dorothy Winters (Andie MacDowell), a divorcee “angel expert”, whom the editor decided would accompany the reporting team. All of this is strangely subdued; one expects the editor of a junk newspaper to not just be angry (as Hoskins usually is), but also greasy and immoral. No way. In fact, I had the feeling this editor and his crew were thinking that the tales they produced, and published, in one word, sort of.
Most of the movie was filmed in Chicago but is set in Iowa. The heart of the film is hard to explain because it is more about the mood than the actual plot. Michael shows a whimsy, petulance, charm, and brilliance that is both puzzling and captivating. To get a sense of Earth’s beauty, he describes it as “There are only so many visits allowed.” As an angel as a tourist, he laments this one being his last blast. The previous visits Michael had on Earth were far from mundane. He describes, “I invented standing in line.” When he finds out that his three hosts are reporters, he brags, “I’m a writer, too.” When asked what he wrote, “Psalm 85 comes to mind, but I must say it wasn’t numbered back then.” Pansy Milbank’s (Stapleton) relationship with Michael is perhaps more complex than just platonic. The audience is left to ponder over his choice of a motel in a rural setting. He claims that his mission is to assist Frank in rediscovering his heart, which he, with the help of Dorothy, is able to do. Like most movie lovers, they bicker their way into one another’s arms.
Many good things from the film are delightfully trivial, such as MacDowell serenading a Newman pie tune, or the scene in which Travolta begins dancing to “Chain to Fools” at a roadhouse, summoning all the women to the dance floor. The movie’s last scenes are a nod to the commonplace movie cliches. While I can’t give away what happens to little Sparky, I am going to say that any student of movie dogs will predictably know what his result is.
“Michael” doesn’t give moments that are too powerful or great. Out of the kindness of his heart, Travolta amuses human beings with the same casual nonchalance that excelled in “Phenomenon“. He seems to be living in the realm of his job. To him, it seems as if he’s on his farewell tour of Earth’s pleasures, which simplifies everything. There’s an offscreen moment in which he does get intimate with a judge (Teri Garr). As angels, we have no urges of that sort but try explaining that to the angel. Or the judge.
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