Green Card (film)

Green Card
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Peter Weir
Produced by	Peter Weir
Written by	Peter Weir
Starring	Gérard Depardieu Andie MacDowell
Music by	Hans Zimmer
Cinematography	Geoffrey Simpson
Editing by	William M. Anderson
Distributed by	Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s)	December 23, 1990 (1990-12-23) (United States) January 31, 1991 (1991-01-31) (Australia) February 20, 1991 (1991-02-20) (France)
Running time	107 minutes
Country	United States Australia France
Language	English
Box office	$29,888,235 (US)

Green Card is a 1990 romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by Peter Weir and starring Gérard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell. The screenplay focuses on an American woman who enters into a marriage of convenience with a Frenchman so he can obtain a green card and remain in the United States. Depardieu won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Plot

Brontë Mitchell (MacDowell), a horticulturalist and an environmentalist takes part in a sham marriage with Georges Fauré (Depardieu), an illegal alien from France, to allow him to obtain a Green Card. Brontë in turn uses her fake marriage credentials to rent the apartment of her dreams. After moving in, to explain her spouses absence she tells the doorman and neighbors he is conducting musical research in Africa.

Contacted by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to arrange an interview to determine her marriage is legitimate, Brontë tracks down Georges, who is working as a waiter. Although the two have little time to get their facts straight, the agents who question them appear to be satisfied with their answers. It's only when one of them asks to use the bathroom and Georges directs him to a closet that their suspicions are aroused, and they schedule a full and formal interview to be conducted two weeks later at their office.

Advised by her attorney she could face criminal charges if their deception is uncovered, Brontë reluctantly invites Georges to move in with her. They try to learn about each other's past and their quirks and habits but quickly find they can barely tolerate each other. Georges is a fiery tempered selfish slob and smoker who prefers red meat to vegetarian food, while Brontë is shown as a somewhat uptight and cold liberal progressive obsessed with her plants and wrapped up in environmental issues.

The parents of Brontë's best friend Lauren Adler are planning to leave New York City and are contemplating donating their trees and plants to the Green Guerrillas, the group that oversees the development of inner city gardens. Brontë is invited to a dinner party to discuss the issue and discovers Georges is there, having been asked by Lauren. He so impresses the Adlers with an impressionistic piano piece set to a poem about children and trees that they agree to donate their plants to the Green Guerrillas. When Brontë's parents arrive at the apartment for an unannounced visit, Georges pretends to be the handyman.

When Brontë's boyfriend Phil returns from a trip, Georges reveals he's her husband. Brontë angrily kicks Georges out but the pair still go to the immigration interview the following day. The two are questioned separately, and when Georges is caught out by the interviewer, he confesses the marriage is a sham. He agrees to deportation but insists Brontë not be charged for her role in the charade. He lets Brontë believe the interview was a success and the two go their separate ways.

A few days later, Georges invites Brontë to join him at the cafe where they first met. When she notices one of the immigration agents is seated nearby, she realizes Georges is being deported, finally aware she loves him. However, Georges is deported back to France, just as they've admitted their love for each other.

Cast

• Gérard Depardieu as Georges Fauré
• Andie MacDowell as Brontë Mitchell
• Bebe Neuwirth as Lauren Adler
• Gregg Edelman as Phil
• Robert Prosky as Brontë's Lawyer
• Lois Smith as Mrs. Mitchell

Production

Partial funding for the film was provided by the Film Finance Corporation Australia and Union Générale Cinématographique.

The soundtrack includes "River," "Watermark," and "Storms in Africa" by Enya, "Holdin' On" by Soul II Soul, "Oyin Momo Ado" by Babatunde Olatunji, "Surfin' Safari" by The Beach Boys, and "Subway Drums" by Larry Wright.

Reception

Critical response

Janet Maslin of The New York Times called it "as breezily escapist as a film this facile can be" and added, "Ms. MacDowell ... has a lovely, demure ease that makes George's appreciative gaze quite understandable. Mr. Depardieu, in the role that gets him into a New York Yankees cap, proves that he is nothing if not a sport ... He comes to life most fully when he lapses into French or is otherwise momentarily freed from the story's constraints." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times observed the film "is not blindingly brilliant, and is not an example of the very best work of the director who made The Year of Living Dangerously or the actor who starred in Cyrano de Bergerac. But it is a sound, entertaining work of craftsmanship, a love story between two people whose meet is not as cute as it might have been."

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called the film a "captivating romantic bonbon" and added, "Don't look for the originality and grit that distinguished Weir's Australian films Picnic at Hanging Rock and Gallipoli, Green Card has all the heft of a potato chip. But Depardieu's charm recognizes no language barriers, and MacDowell, the revelation of sex, lies, and videotape, proves a fine, sexy foil." Rita Kempley of the Washington Post said, "Like Ghost and Pretty Woman, this romance is blissfully dependent on our staying good and starry-eyed, seduced by the charisma of the leads. And we do, despite its lackadaisical pace and disappointing ending."

Variety said, "Although a thin premise endangers its credibility at times, Green Card is a genial, nicely played romance." Time Out London stated "Weir's first romantic comedy boasts a central relationship which is tentative and hopeful, a mood beautifully realised by Depardieu (venturing into new territory with a major English-speaking role). Complemented by the refined MacDowell, his gracious, generous performance is never dominating, and their exchanges offer unexpected pleasures. In terms of the genre's conventions, Weir likens this film to 'a light meal.' It's one to savour." Channel 4 said, "Weir's film has its fair share of cute moments as the opposites slowly begin to attract, but this is largely over rated stuff, which proved curiously popular with critics on its release. Depardieu does his obnoxious-yet-strangely-lovable act with ease; however, the romantic comedy fixture MacDowell is less convincing."

Box office

Green Card grossed $10,585,060 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $16,725,817 in 2009 dollars.

Accolades

Year	Group	Award	Result
1990	Golden Globe Awards	Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy	Won
		Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Gérard Depardieu)	Won
		Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Andie MacDowell)	Nominated
	Academy Awards	Best Original Screenplay (Peter Weir)	Nominated
	BAFTA Awards	Best Original Screenplay	Nominated
	Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Original Screenplay	Nominated

Home media release

Touchstone released the flim on VHS around 1991 and Touchstone Home Entertainment released the film on Region 1 DVD on March 4, 2003. It is in anamorphic widescreen format with audio tracks in English and French.

See also

• Cinema of Australia

External links

• Green Card at the Internet Movie Database
• Green Card (film) at Box Office Mojo
• Green Card at the National Film and Sound Archive

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Driving Miss Daisy	Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy 1990	Succeeded by Beauty and the Beast