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Here are some interesting notes about Forever Young
which have appeared in various trivia questions on Internet boards or
could well appear.
- In interviews, Elijah Wood has stated he needed to
improvise during the shooting of Forever Young and found the
role of Nat Cooper difficult. He even questioned his acting abilities;
thinking of calling it "quits."
- The father-image that Nat seeks is perfectly fulfilled
by the relationship between Mel Gibson and Elijah Wood, both blue-eyed
wonders. Both drop-dead gorgeous, although Elijah at eleven was meant
to be a cutie, he did edge to upstage Mel Gibson at points in the film.
He never succeeded. Elijah was more successful stealing films away from
Kevin Costner (The War) and Richard Dreyfus (Oliver Twist).
- George Wendt (Harry Finley) is famous for his role
as Norm on the American TV show Cheers. Although he only
appears in the film’s prolog, a cast list note has actor Robert Munns
playing Wrong Harry.
- The name of the Diner where Daniel nearly proposes
to Helen is Jane’s Diner.
- The symbol of the jacket is interesting as Nat
loses his jacket to Daniel when he first wakes up. Daniel finds the
Cooper’s using the address label on the jacket. Later, Nat gives a bombardier
jacket to Daniel, who leaves it behind. Nat brings it to him in the
airplane sequence, as an excuse to stow-a-way. The jacket symbolizes
the paternal bond that has formed between the two men.
- The mock-flying scene in the Tree House is strikingly
similar to the flying sequence in Radio Flyer, which was released
in the same year (1992).
- Elijah Wood uses almost his entire battery of facial
expressions during this film—agony, happiness, excitement, fright, longing,
and cutsey. It comes as no surprise that he would be a master of this
at age eleven as evidenced by the short film The Witness (also
released in 1992) with Gary Sinise, where Elijah plays a child interred
in a Nazi death camp. In that film (virtually a silent film as neither
actor has dialog), Elijah Wood’s performance is entirely formed by his
battery of facial expressions (a key note when this reviewer covers
that film).
- Elijah Wood sings in very few movies (he has a trained
voice and loves to sing). His soulful rendition of "Ýou
are my sunshine," is one of the film’s most memorable and endearing
moments. He gives us his angelic sound, but remembers he’s acting the
part of a kid and throws us some off-key moments. But he manages to
turn that comic sequence away from comedy. Shakespeare called that Romance.
- Tree Houses anyone? Elijah seems to be always up a
tree or in some secret shed. (Radio Flyer, Avalon, Forever Young,
Paradise, Day-O, The War, The Good Son, The Ice Storm—a secret empty
swimming pool, and The Fellowship of the Ring—the flets).
- Although rated PG-13, we do get to see Mel Gibson naked—tight
butt and all, from a distance, no doubt. Elijah Wood also says "crap"
twice in the film. Once when he sees Alice in the library and once while
landing the plane— "Watch the Horizon! Watch the Horizon. Crap!"
We would need to wait 6 more years before he utters his first F word
on screen (1998 - The Faculty), although this reviewer is quite
sure he was using the F word off-screen much earlier.
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