A Previous Engagement

2008 Comedy

A second honeymoon in Malta turns into a life-altering experience for a bored Seattle librarian and her unadventurous, insurance salesman husband in this mature romantic comedy starring Juliet Stevenson, Tchéky Karyo, and Daniel Stern. Twenty-five years ago, Julia (Stevenson) and her passionate French lover Alex (Karyo) made a promise to meet up in the romantic Mediterranean hot spot where they exchanged their first glance. Now stuck in a marriage with a man who seems more interested in assembling jigsaw puzzles than pleasing his neglected wife, Julia takes her husband Jack (Stern) on a trip to Malta under the guise of celebrating a second honeymoon. But the truth is that Julia has been fantasizing about Alex for years, and she's determined to make good on her promise to meet him, perhaps rekindling their old flame in the process. When Alex shows up with his sexy young girlfriend (Kate Miles) in tow, Julia can't help but wonder if she and her lover have been leading the wrong lives all these years. Later, when Alex storms their holiday villa declaring his devotion to Julia for the whole world to hear, Jack makes his mission to become the lover his wife has always longed for. In order to make that transformation Jack will take lessons in dancing and loving from a passionate ex-chorus girl (Valerie Mahaffey), but when the time comes for Julia to decide between the husband she's never known and the lover she's always longed for, will his noble efforts be enough to save a failing marriage? more..

Director: Joan Carr-Wiggin

Starring: Juliet Stevenson, Tcheky Karyo,Daniel Stern, Valerie Mahaffey, Claire Brosseau

Reviews

  • While this slow-starting update of "Private Lives" has plenty of laughs, the incredibly expressive (and too-seldom seen) Stevenson turns Julia's romantic dilemma into something genuinely moving. She makes A Previous Engagement something special.

    Lou Lumenick - New York Post

    29 November 2012

  • Stevenson casts her usual magic in this frankly adult, determinedly lighthearted comedy of romantic errors.

    - Variety

    29 November 2012

  • Even Stevenson, a singularly accomplished and versatile actress, can't do much with Julia's early scenes, in which she's forced to dither around like a complete idiot.

    Maitland McDonagh - TV Guide

    29 November 2012

  • I'm not big on those Pauline Kael-style encomiums to great actors in mediocre material, but that's exactly what we've got here. Stevenson is so incandescent -- so funny, so vulnerable, so awkwardly sexy.

    Andrew O'Hehir - Salon.com

    29 November 2012

  • More tired than the fantasy it promotes, A Previous Engagement aims at middle-aged women with the subtlety of a pitch for bladder-control medication.

    Jeannette Catsoulis - The New York Times

    29 November 2012

Awards

No awards