The Accidental Tourist (1988)

Seeing the movie poster for this for many years, I’ve always assumed this was mostly about a quirky Geena Davis whom William Hurt meets on a vacation, maybe whose hijinks cause flights to be lost or hotels to be cancelled. Instead it’s about business travel writer William Hurt who is still coming to terms with the death of his son and whose wife, Kathleen Turner, has recently left him. It’s presented that he has become more distant since his child’s death and that manic pixie dog trainer Davis helps him to feel again, but there’s no indication that he wasn’t that way before the tragedy and there’s not really a change afterward. It’s quite the dull affair though even more quirkiness is added in a trio of siblings for Hurt, played by David Ogden Stiers, Ed Begley Jr., and Amy Wright.  

Oscar Win: Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium; Best Music, Original Score