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Prelude to a Kiss

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Prelude to a Kiss

PG-13

Released Jul 10, 1992

1h 46m

Fantasy

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Popcornmeter

63%

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27 Reviews

39%

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10,000+ Ratings

Peter (Alec Baldwin) and Rita (Meg Ryan) immediately fall for each other and decide to get married. But during their wedding reception, a feeble old man (Sydney Walker) asks Rita for a kiss. While nothing seems wrong at first, Peter soon realizes that the kiss caused Rita and the man to switch bodies. As he searches for a way to switch them back, Peter must face the dilemma of loving Rita in the body of a terminally ill man or staying married to a stranger posing as his wife.

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Prelude to a Kiss shares with those early 40s romances a certain atemporal ambience and a purity in its treatment of love, which is central to its charm.

May 26, 2022

Full Review

David Ansen

Newsweek

It's a novel, and zany, romantic dilemma, and though Lucas gets plenty of laughs out of this preposterous situation, what's singular about Prelude to a Kiss is the depth of feeling it wrests from this whimsical conceit.

Feb 9, 2018

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: C-

Sep 7, 2011

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Jas Keimig

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

It's all a bit cheesy and awkward...

Jan 11, 2022

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

As a reflexive meditation on the nature of love in the AIDS era, this erio-comedy is poignant but it still bears too much the theatrical sensibility of the source material.

Rated: C+

Aug 6, 2008

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Betsy Bozdech

Reel.com

A thoughtful, magical romantic dramedy that pre-dates most of Baldwin's attempts to simultaneously be both himself and a cartoon of himself.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 1, 2006

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Steve D

A ridiculous unwatchable mess.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Audience Member

Aside from the fact that there is no conflict whatsoever until halfway through the movie, the issue is that the possibility of an old man's soul in a manic pixie dream girl's body really isn't all that bad and honestly sounds like my wife. Cannonical scale: 1/5

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

uncle p

Story/Screenplay: (3/5) What an odd story. It was looking like a boring romantic comedy, then it took off to la-la land before I knew what was happening. Interesting, but too much boring for the first half of the story, and too little fantasy during the last half. Duration/Tempo: (3/5) At 1 hour and 45 minutes, it's an average length movie that felt longer. Cast & Crew: (3.5/5) Alec Baldwin and Meg Ryan were good, but the chemistry between them was lacking. Sydney Walker glittered more than his better known costars. Summary: (3/5) The story was OK, the cast was good, and the film felt longer than it actually was. Overall, a thumbs down.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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kevin e

I've always enjoyed this movie, and my wife likes it too.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie is original with a great twist at the end. It has to be one of Meg Ryan's best movies, and so underrated.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

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Audience Member

Absolutely, completely, mind bogglingly bonkers

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/28/20

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Norman René

Director

Alec Baldwin

Peter Hoskins

Meg Ryan

Rita Boyle

Kathy Bates

Leah Blier

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Synopsis

Peter (Alec Baldwin) and Rita (Meg Ryan) immediately fall for each other and decide to get married. But during their wedding reception, a feeble old man (Sydney Walker) asks Rita for a kiss. While nothing seems wrong at first, Peter soon realizes that the kiss caused Rita and the man to switch bodies. As he searches for a way to switch them back, Peter must face the dilemma of loving Rita in the body of a terminally ill man or staying married to a stranger posing as his wife.

Director: Norman René
Producer: Michael I. Levy, Michael Gruskoff
Screenwriter: Craig Lucas
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: 20th Century Fox
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 10, 1992, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $19.3M
Runtime: 1h 46m
Sound Mix: Surround