Steve Martin at his best!

I have always enjoyed Steve Martin in almost anything he is involved with. He is a talented writer, comedian, actor, and musician. He was even a writer on one of my favorite TV shows from years gone by, "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour". Most recently, I was surprised to learn that he wrote the story of one of last years most suspenseful movies, "Traitor". Check it out if you haven't seen it. It is a nail-biter!

However, my favorite Steve Martin project is this movie: "A Simple Twist of Fate". He not only wrote this but also acted in it. It is an adaptation of the classic, "Silas Marner" by George Eliot. Many adaptations of classic novels don't translate well to modern day conditions but this one hits the mark! It is the story of a man who, after being betrayed by his wife, becomes a hermit. He spends all his time working and collecting gold coins. One evening, a toddler wanders into his life and changes him forever.

You follow their new life together as the beautiful little girl grows into a young women. Just to see Martin react to the different stages and challenges of her growing up are classic. A couple of examples are first, as a toddler, how he handles her always wandering off, and as a kindergartner, having separation anxiety. My favorite scene is them acting out while listening to the old classic song, "Running Bear".

There are many other great performances from actors you are familiar with such as, Laura Linney, Catharine O'Hara, Stephen Baldwin, and one of my favorites, Gabriel Byrne (he is fantastic in this!). There are 5 different actresses that play Matilda, the adopted daughter, throughout the movie, and the 10 year old, Alana Austin is perfect! She has a lot of emotional experiences during her scenes and she is really believable. Steve Martin is the perfect father and it is fun to watch him learn and grow through the story also.
This movie was released in 1994 so hopefully you can find it at the video store. It is worth the search!