Tucks teach us about life

Tuck Everlasting / Rated pG

Life.

Many people think of life as a span of time, a birth and a death, a time to get married, a time for an appointment, and the list goes on.

With so much to do, life doesn't seem like enough time to do it in. It's all a rush and a blur, a blend of things you don't want to do, things you have to do, and things you enjoy doing.

But what if you could live forever? What would you do then? The Tuck family knows.

They're doing it; living forever.

From the great novel "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbitt emerges a fantastic movie created by the people at Disney. Though the film is different than the book, Jeffrey Lieber, screenwriter, gets the magic and message across to the audience, with the help of the excellent cast.

Alexis Bledel, former model and star of "Gilmore Girls," plays Winnie Foster, rich, beautiful daughter of two protective parents (Victor Garber and Amy Irving) in the 1920s.

Sick of the manners and rules of her rigid culture, Winnie runs away to the neighboring forest to discover some very peculiar inhabitants, with an even more peculiar secret.

These inhabitants, the Tuck family, consisting of two sons, a mother and a father, teach Winnie more than she's ever learned in the 15 years of her life. While living with the Tucks, Winnie Foster begins to understand how unimportant time is.

The Tucks live life one moment at a time, no plans and no regrets. They don't focus on the clock; they focus on life, for what it really is, an experience. They cook, build and explore with no rush, no notice of the time passing by, focusing only on what it is they are doing.

Their secret? They are all going to live for eternity.

Eighty-seven years before then, the Tucks drank from a stream that gave them eternal life.

Now the Tucks live like they always have, unaware of the evil about to visit them. A wicked man (Ben Kingsley) is tracking down the Tucks. He knows of their secret and wants to profit from the stream, selling vials of the water for a large price.

Like the Tucks, Winnie is unaware of the impending doom. She is amazed and thrilled at the Tucks' way of living ... so unlike her strict life. Without the push of time she can live, enchanted and glad for each moment there is.

At this point, as you look into the wide, startled eyes of Winnie, you see reflected your own startled and amazed expression.

Modern society is so caged by time, that this movie is an epiphany, a re-teaching of how wonderful each moment should be. After watching it, you feel like tossing off your watch and your responsibilities, and running -- no, skipping -- to the nearest forest to play.

Yes, "Tuck Everlasting" is that refreshing. The beautiful scenery and fantastic acting match the inspiring message: It's not important that you live a long life, just that you live.

Grade: B+

Copyright 2002 Cowles Publishing Company
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.