[6]

There’s no denying the pervasive corniness of Randal Kleiser’s adaptation of The Blue Lagoon. Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins play teenagers who have grown up in isolation on a remote island after being shipwrecked as children. The film half-asses the characters’ sexual awakenings (what the film is all about) and never stops testing your suspension of disbelief. But the film still works as escapist fare, shot in gorgeous Fiji, full of second-unit shots of exotic animals, and washed in a romantic Basil Poledouris score. Toward the end, I started to respond to what the film suggests about the relationship between love, codependency, and loneliness. And despite all the cheese, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little moved.

Oscar Nomination: Best Cinematography