Sixteen years ago, John Travolta starred as small town mechanic George Malley, who experienced a white lighton his thirty-seventh birthday and began to perform "miracles" to the amazement of everyone. Like Powder (1995), this one has elements of drama, fantasy, and romance to draw you in and make you consider how you're using your mind or leaving it untapped.

Travolta isn't Saturday Night Fever young, but he's still not the older guy we've become used to lately. And Kyra Sedgewick's Lace, as Malley's would-be lover, also shows us a Closer who's still in her prime and a bit less southern. But the film isn't about what we know about those two (and unfortunately, there's nothing behind-the-scenes in the special features).

The film is rounded out by some other heavy hitters (Robert Duvall and Forest Whitaker), but the focus is on Malley's impact on those around him. It's similar to Flowers for Algernon, too,but we're convinced that Malley, pre-white light, is simple, not stupid. And unfortunately, the fall off in the development is less about finding out you don't know anything than it is... depressing.

Sure, Malley wants to leave the world better than he found it, and he goes to great lengths to spread his message (I guess you'd call it a blend of knowledge and hope). He tries to find love, as he doggedly pursues Sedgwick's Lace, and seems to play the role of the simple prophet who goes unheard by the people at large.

I'm not familiar enough with Scientology to know for sure, but I'd venture a guess that Travolta's belief system is involved here. I remembered the film from when it came out, but had forgotten how it wrapped up. More than anything, I'm incredibly saddened by the ending, making it more like those other movies I mentioned. It's unfortunate that we can't make a movie about gaining life without immediately losing it; it's like we have a belief that if we were really to "get it," then we'd cease to exist. I'm not sure that's the way life works, but that's what you're getting here.