[.ca] Michael (Full Screen) (ISBN 0780618068)

From Amazon.co.uk:
After the box-office success of Phenomenon, John Travolta continued to charm audiences with this 1996 comedy-fantasy in which he plays a grubby angel who's got one last good deed to do before heading back to heaven. Living peacefully in the rural Iowa home of an old, friendly motel owner (Jean Stapleton), the winged Michael (Travolta) is hardly the image of a perfect angel. He's scruffy, unshaven, eats sweetened cereal by the box-full and chain-smokes all day long. But when tabloid reporters (William Hurt, Robert Pastorelli) learn of Michael's alleged existence and head to Iowa to check him out, Michael soon realises that it's his task to see that Hurt falls in love with an "angel expert" (Andie MacDowell) and breaks free from his habitually cynical attitude. There's more to the story, of course (and Chasing Amy fans will recognise Joey Lauren Adams as a waitress who charms the angel), but Michael is more about the effect that this enchanting angel has on the earthbound humans around him. Whether he's chipping away at Hurt's scepticism or attracting a crowd of women on a truck-stop dance floor, Michael is an enchanting figure, and Travolta plays him with just the right tone of humour, reverence and effervescent charm. Sure, it's lightweight fluff, but director Nora Ephron specialises in lightweight fluff, and Michael is the kind of feel-good movie that never wears out its welcome. --Jeff Shannon

Amazon.com Essential Video:
After the box-office success of Phenomenon, John Travolta continued to charm audiences with this 1996 comedy-fantasy in which he plays a grubby angel who's got one last good deed to do before heading back to heaven. Living peacefully in the rural Iowa home of an old, friendly motel owner (Jean Stapleton), the winged Michael (Travolta) is hardly the image of a perfect angel. He's scruffy, unshaven, eats sweetened cereal by the box-full and chain-smokes all day long. But when tabloid reporters (William Hurt, Robert Pastorelli) learn of Michael's alleged existence and head to Iowa to check him out, Michael soon realizes that it's his task to see that Hurt falls in love with an "angel expert" (Andie MacDowell) and breaks free from his habitually cynical attitude. There's more to the story, of course (and Chasing Amy fans will recognize Joey Lauren Adams as a waitress who charms the angel), but Michael is more about the effect that this enchanting angel has on the earthbound humans around him. Whether he's chipping away at Hurt's skepticism or attracting a crowd of women on a truck-stop dance floor, Michael is an enchanting figure, and Travolta plays him with just the right tone of humor, reverence, and effervescent charm. Sure, it's lightweight fluff, but director Nora Ephron specializes in lightweight fluff, and Michael is the kind of feel-good movie that never wears out its welcome. --Jeff Shannon

We're all angels inside.:
This film is brilliant! if i did't have much space for this review it would be enough to stop there! the film makes you think and start to wonder about life certain aspects of it at least, and the meaning of life. the film tells a story of an angel who is not the stereotypical, clea, pure godly figure. the message of the film as that we are all angels. you dont have to be pure, clean or run around in white wings an a halo all day to be loved by someone an love others. sunday afternoon smiley movie me thinks!!

Travolta as an angel that smells like backed cookies:
Frank Quinlan (William Hurt) is a writer for a grate American institution, a tabloid. His assignment, to retrieve an angle. He is burdened with a so-called angle expert (Andie MacDowell) for his assistance. They also carry the editor's favorite dog Sparky. Because the angle does not like to fly they must return by road. Their road trip is more of a Joseph Campbell's "Hero's Journey". Michael experiences the world and everything it has to offer, while the retrievers explain, contemplate and hopefully heal from the past.

Beware: the DVD case is almost entirely made of cardboard:
and when I tried to peel the protection seal off, the printing of the cover started to came off with it. Very bad quality.

ANGELS on Earth:
No one is perfect, however, we here may try to be too perfect. An angel on Earth is all they can be with love, hope, and charity. The movie MICHAEL shows us that even an angel does NOT need to be Perfect. God and Love and Respect can cover a lot of ground even here on Earth. Thanks. Amen

"Michael" is a Lot of Fun!:
Now I don't for an instant classify "Michael" as a 5-Star masterpiece as, say, "Apocalypse Now," but it's definitely a great flick for its genre (romantic comedy/road movie). I don't know exactly what I was expecting -- another boring "chick flick" perhaps -- but "Michael" really surprised me. My wife and I had a great time watching it -- lots of laughs and, if you look carefully enough, even some profundities. Michael, who is excellently portrayed by John Travolta, is an unorthodox Archangel enjoying his last mission (vacation?) to Earth. A supermarket tabloid from Chicago sends a team to Iowa to get a story and pictures; after discovering that he's a real angel they naturally want to bring him back to the big city. What works best is that the story is essentially a fun-spirited road movie (I'm a sucker for road movies). William Hurt, Andie MacDowell and Robert Patorelli have an exceptional time meeting Michael and trying to escort him back to Chicago. Michael acts like a tourist having the time of his life, humorously wanting to see those silly little attractions we see dispersed across the countryside (e.g. "the world's biggest non-stick frying pan," etc.) -- you know, the ones most of us adults roll our eyes at. Lots of fun things and miricles take place along the way (e.g. women are naturally attracted to Michael, bar fight, bull fight, etc.); you should discover them for yourself when watching the film. What struck me the most about Michael is that he had a true spirit of joy. The simple joy-of-living-itself was all over him; and this naturally had a big impact on all the people around him. This is something most of us could learn from Michael. I was pleasantly surprised -- "Michael" is fun, charming and delightful -- not just another run-of-the-mill "chick flick" (in other words, guys will enjoy it too). Recommended.