Rating: 
Summary: Sadly, a forehead-slapping experience
Review: Having become disenchanted, as many viewers have, with Harrison Ford's recent choice in acting roles, I decided to check out some of his earlier, more adventurous efforts. "Witness" and "Frantic" both impressed me as empassioned performances outside Ford's usual action/adventure sphere. Unfortunately, "cast against type" doesn't always translate to "good," and this film is a striking example. Not that Ford doesn't try, but a patchy character arc, heavy-handed dialogue, and rather ludicrous symbolism more than counterbalance his sincere efforts. Indeed, the symbol serving as the centerpiece is not only total fiction, but what happens around it will have you slapping your head in disbelief. When paradise explodes, so to speak, watch a rocket literally shoot off into the sky. It's a pretty clear indication of where the film is going, into a lumbering fourth act that won't quit. While watching this film with a friend of mine (we both appreciate the books "Lord Of The Flies," and "Heart of Darkness," as well as films like "Walkabout" and "Fitzacarraldo"), the DVD paused about five minutes from the end, not moving forward or back, leading him to comment, "This disc must be cursed." We had to watch the remainder of the film on the pan-and-scan side.
All that said, "The Mosquito Coast" is not without some merits. It is strikingly photographed, and River Phoenix does his best to carry the real emotional weight, while ladies Helen Mirren and Martha Plimpton (given one hilarious line near the beginning and barely seen again) are relegated to the background. In the end, Ford's star power does not make this social commentary resonate any more than if Richard Dreyfuss had played the role, and noble intentions are buried beneath plot elements that disappear (the children's money system) or never get past ridiculous (the preacher played by Andre Gregory, who won't make anyone forget "My Dinner With Andre"). Too bad. I was hoping to discover an overlooked gem. I'm sad to say this film might be little-seen for a reason.
Rating: 
Summary: Obsession with Progress
Review: Peter Weir's (Gallipoli) film adapted from a novel by Paul Theroux's with a script written by Paul Schrader. The film follows the rise and fall of a dissilusioned American inventor who, after being fed up with the frustrations of modern life at home, moves to live a more simple life in a tropical paradise where all goes wrong. Well acted and directed, this is an interesting film analyzing the flaws in of western thought: particulary related to progress, innovation, and technology.
Harrison Ford plays Allie Fox, a disenfranchized American entrepreneur/inventor who believes that there's no more progress in America compared to the days when an Edison or a Bell could market their ideas without frustration. He chooses to leave with his entire family for a modest life in the jungles of a South American country. After moralizing an evangelical preacher for his hipocracy, Fox settles with primitive natives and tries to persuade them on the benefits of technology: in this case, an ice making/cooling machine he invented. Despite his high hopes of progress, everything Fox plans goes terribly wrong and he's forced to accept his shortcomings.
The film is well balanced and carries the theme quite well. This film is a criticism of the can-make it better approach commonly associated with the American/Western view of the world. The film juxtaposes a complex contraption against the background of a primitive society existing in equilibrium with nature. Everything the indigens bring into their life comes from the jungle and returns to it. Along come the agents of progress telling the simple folk how much better life would be if they had air conditioning and refrigeration in their steamy jungles: sounds like a good idea doens't it. The film then shows the audience how such a foreign contraption upsets the nature's equilibrium and so the social peace.
The message in this film reflects various instances showing how the 'progress' of invention and industry brings more woes than advantages. A perfect example of this in real life is when various powdered milk companies, with heavy-handed backing from their respective governments, promoted their products to Third World countries such as India as better than breast milk because its higher nutritional value. The logic being that powdered milk would provide the usually malnourished children of these parts with better milk than breast milk. The problem was that seemingly these 'caring' corporations never bothered to think of how these 'poor and helpless' children would drink the powdered milk they so proudly promoted. The simple truth was that these corporate saviors were too busy thinking about their expected profit margins instead of their customers to bother reaching the logical and predictable results as to who would be buying their product: poor rural mothers of malnourished children who had no access to any source of potable water that would be required to dilute their miracle product. After falling for their marketing blitz, mothers who bought the 'Super-new! Buy-now! Last-chance-to-fall-for-our-new-gimmick! Don't be without it!' powdered milk formula found their children dying of typhoid, colera, and other pathogens commonly found in tainted water where countries lack proper water and sanitation systems.
This film is a revealing social critique on the woes of 'progress' and 'growth' and seeks to show the limitations of such social/world views in their application to real life and other cultures in particular. The acting is strong and gripping: definitely a film worth renting or owning.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow
Review: This is a slow starter and finisher, but it has many powerful scenes and a great cast. Filmed in Beliz, it takes me back to jungle memories.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely not Han or Indy
Review: Don't sit down and watch The Mosquito Coast expecting another Six Days and Seven Nights. Harrison Ford plays serious as a misguided, stubborn father who drags his family through hell. Unlike many of Harrison's other characters, you will not necessarily identify positively with Allie Fox. Instead of the likable brashness of Han Solo, Ford presents us with an despicable genius, an Einstein who does not consider the effects of his choices on others.If the viewer doesn't expect Ford's feel-good characters from past performances, the movie will not be quite as disorienting as when I watched it. Being accustomed to cheering for Ford's characters in previous movies, it was confusing and frustrating to see him so thick-headed. While you may know people like Allie Fox, as I do, let's hope he's not you. The story of a father taking his family into the wild has been explored many times, often with a mid-life crisis element involved. Here, an incredibly intelligent inventor who lacks common sense shoves his family into amazingly difficult situations. He believes his thoughts are perfectly reasoned, that life will be perfect after carrying out his plan. I feel logic dictates that perfection is impossible. Certainly, some deep discussion can occur after the movie's credits. With half of marriages ending in divorce nowadays, many will watch this film and say, "Why doesn't she divorce this stooge?" However, even mismanaged families want to stick together, especially when kids are involved; this realization makes the spouse's questionable actions a touch more believable. The supporting cast is very solid, with every performance believable. Not a single weak link really exists here, and the cinematography drops you right in the middle of the jungle. I enjoyed the movie simply to see Harrison Ford truly acting. The Mosquito Coast shows his range as an actor. A good watch for true fans of Harrison Ford, plus a lot of food for thought.
Rating:
Summary: My friends stopped letting me pick our movies after this one
Review: So, I found this gem who knows where, and my friends thought it was one of the worst movies they'd ever seen. So, if you enjoy generic modern movies - fast-paced, dialog you don't have to pay attention to, sexy folks, thrilling drama, smart-alec humor, etc. - then I would avoid this one. HOWEVER, if you would like to see a movie that tests and proves false an old fallacy of ours - that of the noble savage - then it is well worth seeing. Ford plays a brilliant but misunderstood & underappreciated inventor that keeps thinking that modern civilization is the source of many evils. Therefore, he moves his family to the jungle in South America to live the simplified life with "innocent" tribal folks. In doing so, he tests the often-held ideal that indigenous tribes or remote civilizations hold pure values that we have lost. The way that the movie works out this theme is incredibly believable and thought-provoking. Ford's journey as his last hope is shattered is also worth seeing.
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