Come Along with Me (1982)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Strange made-for-TV drama about a woman (Estelle Parsons) who loses her husband and after the funeral sells the house and all of his belongings. She then heads off East with no real plans in mind but winds up renting a room from a lady (Barbara Baxley) who also recently lost her husband. It should also be mentioned that Parsons character is able to predict the future and communicate with the dead as well as hear her dead husband's voice (Paul Newman). I've seen a lot of strange movies in my life but this made-for-TV thing really took me by surprise. I really can't say it's a good movie because it isn't but at the same time it's so darn strange that I couldn't help but keep watching. Now, I think it's fair to say that this movie wasn't made for a 30-year-old guy so I'm sure the group it was made for will probably enjoy it a little more. I'm really not the type to say any movie is made for a certain person but I will admit that this thing really threw me. I'm going to guess it was meant for those who would connect to this woman who loses her husband but why on Earth did they make it so strange with the séances? What's the real point of showing the various flashbacks to the woman's childhood where we see this skill of being able to talk with the dead? The film thankfully runs just 57-minutes but when the end credits came up I will admit that I was confused at the point of any of it. Woodward made her film directorial debut with this and she handles the material fairly well. She at least keeps the film moving and the simple storytelling is actually a good thing, although I'm still curious what the point of the film was but I'm sure some might get it. Parsons turns in a decent performance but she doesn't have that much to work with. Sylvia Sidney, who worked with both Fritz Lang and Alfred Hitchcock back in the 30s, appears briefly and it was nice to see her. Newman does the voice work of the husband but unless you already knew this you'd probably miss him because of the accent he uses. COME ALONG WITH ME certainly isn't a horrible film but when it's all said and done there's simply not enough here to make it worth viewing.
