John Travolta stars in “Phenomenon” as George Malley, an auto mechanic who has taken up gardening as a hobby. His life is simple and uncomplicated, and so is he. While not exactly dumb, he’s not a genius either. His love interest is Lace (Kyra Sedgwick) a single mother of two cute kids who has been burned by men in the past and doesn’t want to get involved again. George has no intention of giving up easily, however. When Lace brings her handcrafted chairs to his shop for people to buy, he asks her out, only to be turned down time and again.
George’s birthday rolls around, and his friends throw a party at the local bar. Stumbling home afterwards, George looks up and sees a bright white light overhead, which comes down and throws him off his feet. No one else saw anything, but from that moment, George is not the same.
He begins by being able to solve complex problems, then notices he has a voracious appetite for reading. Soon he’s going through three books a day, and he can remember everything he’s read. He reads dictionaries in other languages, and immediately speaks that language. This comes in handy when a little Portuguese boy goes missing, and he must use his language skills to communicate with the parents. But then he discovers that he can feel the little boy’s feelings, and uses that gift to find the sick, missing child.
As George’s abilities become stronger, the people in the town aren’t sure how to handle it. Has he turned into some kind of freak? Is he dangerous? Can he be trusted? Only his true friends stay by as side as the rest of the town turns against him. But when the mystery behind George’s amazing mental capacity is solved, it heals the town.
There was a bit more language in this movie than I really liked, so I’ll throw that out there for your consideration. Overall, however, I found this movie deeply thought-provoking and enjoyable.
This film was rated PG.
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