Word: homer
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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When Dante Alighieri compiled his great medieval Who's Who of heroes and villains, the Divine Comedy, the highest a non-Christian could climb was Limbo. Ancient pagans had to be virtuous indeed to warrant inclusion: the residents included Homer, Caesar, Plato and Dante's guide, Vergil. But perhaps the most surprising entry in Dante's catalog of "great-hearted souls" was a figure "solitary, set apart...
...Y2Khaos to lob a few bio-bombs our way? For a preview of life after a biological apocalypse, check out The Omega Man, Chuck Heston vs. a lot of zombies in a ruined LA, and ponder your options. Or better yet, find the Simpsons parody, The Homega Man, with Homer in the Heston role, and giggle your troubles away...
...This stake begins to drive the two apart. Tensions rise until Homer finds an escape in the arrival of young Wally and Candy (Paul Rudd and Charlize Theron), who came to the orphanage to terminate Candy's pregnancy. Homer, around their age, returns to Wally's farm with him and joins the apple-picking migrants in their seasonal labor. From there, Homer begins an even greater journey to make his own way in the world, a society with which he is almost completely unfamiliar because of his sheltered existence with Larch and the orphans...
...Part of this believability comes from the strength of the acting. Tobey Maguire plays Homer perfectly. He bings an ideal mix of innocence and naivete to the role, but he also imparts a mature intelligence gained during his days in the orphanage. Homer might be innocent, but he certainly can't be labeled stupid. When dealing with expectant mothers, he learns to read between the lines and sense what's really going on behind the expressions on people's faces...
...also learns quite a bit more than medicine from Michael Caine's Dr. Larch. Caine perfectly embodies the Dr. Larch of the novel. Although he has a gruff exterior, Larch loves all of his orphans, especially young Homer. It breaks his heart when Homer leaves, but he never gives up--just like, you might say, a real father. His signature line, spoken to the orphans before bed, "Goodnight you princes of Maine, you kings of New England," belies an overly optimistic hope for the future all of his young ones, a love and faith that he passed on to Homer...