Two mentally gifted pre-teens from opposite sides of the social scale, and of the Atlantic Ocean, recognize one another as kindred spirits through their mutual interest in the philosophy of Heidegger (whom the slightly more worldly boy has, however, outgrown). There is little else in this ingratiating romantic comedy to appeal to the fans of Heidegger, though, as the two young lovers run away from their respective homes, chaperoned by a gentlemanly con man (Laurence Olivier, frillier than ever), and head for Venice, where they hope to seal their love for eternity with a kiss beneath the Bridge of Sighs, exactly like Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. George Roy Hill, perhaps affected by filming in France, peppers the action with movie in-jokes of the kind in favor with French cinéastes of the Sixties: a caricature of a crass William Friedkin-ish commercial director (nicely aped by David Dukes), who is in the midst of a $12 million production starring Broderick Crawford; an imitation of Crawford's sucker punch of Ward Bond in Sin Town; quotations from Humphrey Bogart; hero worship of Robert Redford (this from the boy who has outgrown Heidegger); and a self-congratulatory salute to George Roy Hill's own The Sting. With Thelonious Bernard, Diane Lane, Arthur Hill, and Sally Kellerman. (1979) — Duncan Shepherd
This movie is not currently in theaters.