Susan Granger’s review of “DIAMONDS” (Miramax Films)
Kirk Douglas is still the Champion. In fact, this affectionate story begins with photographs and clips from that 1949 film which catapulted him to stardom. In recent years, not only has Douglas survived a helicopter crash that nearly cost him his life but also a crippling stroke which left him with slurred speech. Now he’s back with vigor, delivering a courageous, inspirational performance as irascible Harry Agensky, a former boxing champ known as the “Polish Prince.” Resolutely practicing his facial and vocal exercises, Harry’s recovering from a stroke, along with the death of his beloved wife of 45 years. But he’s still feisty and ferocious, especially when it comes to how he’s going to spend the rest of his days. He’s been living uneasily with his dutiful older son (Kurt Fuller) in the Canadian wilderness but, instead of an old-age home, he wants his own place – with a companion to take care of him. The only way he can swing it financially is to retrieve a cache of “magic diamonds” he recalls hiding in the wall of a mobster’s kitchen in Reno after he threw a fight. Harry convinces his estranged younger son (Dan Aykroyd) and teenage grandson (Corbin Allred) to take him on a life-changing road trip that they both consider to be a fool’s errand. Written by Allan Aaron Katz and directed by John Asher, the touching but two-dimensional story is corny, clichŽ-filled and contrived, particularly when the trio make an improbable visit to a bucolic bordello run by Lauren Bacall, who hasn’t been paired with Douglas since Young Man With a Horn (1950. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, Diamonds is a sentimental 7 with Douglas proclaiming, “Live each day as if it were your last – and never give up!” It’s an optimistic, engaging comedy-adventure, particularly for the geriatric crowd.
