Thursday, August 11, 2011

Review: Tuesdays with Morrie

Tuesdays With Morrie

Tuesdays with Morrie is a actually a true story written by Mitch Albom and was released as a home movie in 1999. I had the privilege to watch it on 8TV last Thursday night but have yet to read the book. The story revolved around the life of Mitch Albom played by Hank Azaria as a sports commentator and journalist who were so caught up with the rat race of his career.

Mitch being too immersed in his career, he even begun neglecting his romantic relationship with his girl friend Janine played by Wendy Moniz. His life came to almost a screeching halt one day when he saw on TV that his professor from his university days, who had taught him Sociology gave an interview. This professor, Morrie Schwartz played by Jack Lemmon revealed he was dying of Lou Gehrig's disease or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

As Mitch was extremely close to Morrie, he began to recall the times he had with him, especially the good times they had together and the life's lessons Morrie had taught him when he was a student. Thus, Mitch decided that he should spend the remaining time he still has with Morrie. During the initial stage of doing it, Mitch faces tough opposition from his immediate supervisor, as the latter feels he is neglecting his duties with the organisation he is working for. Not only that, this immediate supervisor also contemplated of firing Mitch from his position in the organisation.

Mitch chose to spend the limited time he has with Morrie, at the risk of losing his career and the romantic relationship with Janine. Thus, began the appointments of spending time with Morrie every Tuesday. However, during those long duration spent with Morrie, Mitch learned some of the most valuable lessons about life and human values, especially where the issue of death is concerned. Last but not least, Morrie encouraged Mitch to salvage his strained relationship with Janine. Finally, when Morrie died, Mitch having a better understanding about life and human values, managed to save his career and his relationship with Janine.

This movie is in fact, very slow paced and to some extent it can be extremely boring. However, if you are patient enough to sit through it, you would be able to understand the message about appreciating the issues surrounding life and death. Not only that, it also teaches the importance of human values especially when it concerns the relationship with the people whom we are close to and care about most.

I would think the book itself would be a better investment, as it usually contains intimate details and nuances that won't be found in the movie. Since I have yet to read the book, I would seriously consider of getting one to better understand the story. My guess would be the story is better in the form of a book than a movie as this is usually the case.         

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