July 23, 1995
MICHAEL
Screenplay by Pete Dexter, Jim Quinlan, Nora Ephron,& Delia Ephron
Synopsis by Brian Aldrich
FRANK QUINLAN and HUEY DRISCOLL are staff reporters for the Chicago National Examiner, a tabloid, exploitation newspaper. Fortunately, Huey's dog LUCKY has become a successful photo celebrity, so VARTAN MALT, owner and publisher, has let them keep their jobs--until now. Huey screws up and is about to get fired when Quinlan makes a deal with Malt to get a great story on a man who says he's an angel or quit and give Malt the dog Lucky. One condition: Malt sends DOROTHY WINTERS, a pretty new reporter, along with them. Malt explains that she's an angel expert, but really, she's a dog trainer and aspiring song writer who Malt hired to take care of Lucky when Quinlan and Driscoll are fired.
The trio flies to Iowa and take a long drive to the Milk Bottle Motel in rural country. En route, they learn about one another: Quinlan is angry, Huey is married, and Dorothy is confused about men. Motherly PANSY MILBANK runs the motel and cares for MICHAEL, the angel, a handsome man with real wings who loves to consume sugary food. He claims to have lived an eternity and helped mankind with minor miracles. He insists he is about to return to heaven shortly, but Quinlan convinces him to come to Chicago and be exploited by the media. Pansy suddenly drops dead fixing breakfast. Michael agrees to go to Chicago, but only by car so he can see certain obscure tourist sights along the way.
On the road, Michael gets Quinlan to stop picking on Dorothy. Then, Quinlan and Dorothy become attracted to one another. At a roadhouse, several women are strangely compelled to flirt obsessively with Michael, starting a bar fight which results in the foursome's arrest. Michael has sex with the female JUDGE and they are released. Quinlan and Dorothy make love. Lucky is killed by a truck. Dorothy confesses she's a dog trainer hired by Malt. Quinlan demands Michael bring Lucky back to life. Michael does and begins to deteriorate quickly. He is dying. They rush Michael to Chicago, past the newspaper, to the heights of the Sears Tower where Michael dies and dissolves. They report to Malt that the angel was a hoax. Malt fires them. Dorothy tells him that Lucky is untrainable. Malt has to rehire the boys, but Quinlan quits, leaving the newspaper and Dorothy. He returns to his novel. Time passes. The specter of Michael brings Quinlan and Dorothy back together.
Summary Criticism: Despite certain familiar main characters, this well-crafted script is involving and even somewhat spiritual.
Michael (1996) - imdb
Michael (1996) - wiki
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