''Love at First Sight'' is a 1976 Canadian romantic comedy film directed by

Rex Bromfield Rex Bromfield is a Canadian film and television director and writer."Filmmakers get serious in fall releases". ''Vancouver Sun'', September 12, 1987. He is best known for his 1982 film ''Melanie'', which garnered seven Genie Award nominations at th ...

."The film world, as seen only from Ontario". '' Vancouver Sun'', December 12, 1987.

Synopsis

''Love at First Sight'' is a romantic comedy about a young woman, Shirley ( Mary Ann McDonald), and a clumsy blind man named Roy (

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...

). The pair flees to Niagara Falls to open a restaurant with money given to them by Shirley's grandmother ( Jane Mallett), after Shirley's controlling and unpleasant father Frank (George Murray) objects to their relationship.

Production

The film was an expansion of a 30-minute short film of the same title that Bromfield had released in 1974,Michael Walsh, "Director loses his way". '' The Province'', September 7, 1977. and which was aired by

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

in 1975 on its short film series '' Sprockets''. However, because the original 1974 short film received little detailed coverage apart from a few brief notices of its screenings, some sources have erroneously labelled the feature version as a 1974 film. Gerald Pratley, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 131. The theme song was "Do You Believe in Love at First Sight", written by Ron Roker, Gerry Shury, Chris Rea and Frank McDonald, and recorded by

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

. The song had been performed a year earlier by Polly Brown.

Distribution

The film was screened at the 1976 Cannes Film Market, and had its public premiere at the 1976 Festival of Festivals, before going into commercial release in 1977.

Reception

Michael Walsh of '' The Province'' wrote that "unfortunately, the extended version has the look of a padded-out revue skit. Its characters, including an effeminate pet store proprietor played by a bewigged Barry Morse, are overdrawn caricatures. The plot, in which grandma finances the lovers' flight to Niagara Falls, is a patchwork of grafted-on gags. To his credit, Bromfield creates some genuinely funny (you should pardon the expression) sight gags. Indeed, I laughed harder at his film than at Feldman's big-budget Beau Geste parody. On the other hand, he fails to follow through on some of his more elaborate constructions. The china shop sequence, for example, ends much too abruptly, an example of cinematic destructis interuptus that is guaranteed to leave his audience unsatisfied." Ken Cuthbertson of the '' Regina Leader-Post'' reviewed the film more positively, writing that "it comes as a pleasant surprise to discover that writer-director Rex Bromfield chose not to make a ribald or black comedy about blindness. He avoided the obvious and the exploitative and as a result has made a funny but wonderfully understated comedy."Ken Cuthbertson, "Unheralded film proves surprise". '' Regina Leader-Post'', December 17, 1977.

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, love_at_first_sight 1976 films 1976 romantic comedy films Canadian romantic comedy films English-language Canadian films Films about blind people Films directed by Rex Bromfield 1976 directorial debut films 1970s English-language films 1970s Canadian films English-language romantic comedy films