Zeus and Roxanne
| Zeus and Roxanne | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | George T. Miller |
| Produced by |
Laura Friedman Hilton A. Green |
| Written by | Tom Benedek |
| Starring |
Steve Guttenberg Kathleen Quinlan Miko Hughes Arnold Vosloo |
| Music by | Bruce Rowland |
| Cinematography | David Connell |
| Editing by | Harry Hitner |
| Distributed by |
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Rysher Entertainment |
| Release dates | January 24, 1997 |
| Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country |
 United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $7,233,324 |
Zeus and Roxanne is a 1997 family comedy/adventure film directed by George T. Miller. The film revolves around the friendship between the title characters, a dog and a dolphin, respectively. The film stars Steve Guttenberg and Kathleen Quinlan.
Plot
This is a movie about a marine biologist, Mary Beth, who is a single parent and leads a hectic life with her two impossible daughters, Judith and Nora. She, along with her research partner Becky, are trying to study and save a beautiful dolphin named Roxanne. Living next door to Mary Beth is Terry, a single dad and musician, who is the ineffective owner of Zeus, as well as being pretty inept at fathering--it looks in the beginning of the movie as if Jordan is taking care of him. After giving Mary Beth a terribly unfortunate morning by chasing her cat and wrecking her outdoor garden, Zeus proceeds to stow away on one of Mary Beth's boat trips, which really annoys Mary Beth. However, she suddenly turns the boat to follow the dolphin, and Zeus slips off the boat and into a pod of sharks. This is when she finds out that the dog and the dolphin can do "interspecies communication" as Roxanne saves Zeus' life and actually gives him a ride back to the boat on her back. Of course, as a scientist, she is intrigued and curious.
Claude, Mary Beth's partner, is a cold-hearted researcher who sees the dolphins as objects, not living beings. He is most interested in making a great deal of money through research grants, and in trying to flirt with Mary Beth, although he does not care for her but only wants to co-opt her skill and talent and defeat her own attempts to re-integrate Roxanne back into the ocean environment--he wants grant money to come to his research, not hers. However, Mary Beth is going to be otherwise occupied on both the professional and romantic fronts. She is working with Roxanne and Zeus to understand their interspecies communication, in order to re-introduce Roxanne, a "research dolphin", back into the wild. She studies Roxanne's interaction with Zeus, and knows that both animals actually have feelings for one another, which makes her far more inclined to see them as beings with personalities.
Through the conniving of their respective children, to make things even more complicated, Mary Beth and Terry end up going out, and she learns to be a little less uptight and a bit more understanding of the unexpected. However, things get tense when Claude kidnaps Roxanne, planning to kill the dolphin to frustrate Mary Beth's plans, and has Zeus along in the process, to the dog's endangerment. In the end, it's a race to save the dolphin and Zeus, and in the dramatic conclusion, Mary Beth and Terry find they have far more in common than pets and kids.
Cast
- Steve Guttenberg .... Terry Barnett
- Kathleen Quinlan .... Mary Beth Dunhill
- Arnold Vosloo .... Claude Carver
- Dawn McMillan .... Becky
- Miko Hughes .... Jordan Barnett
- Majandra Delfino .... Judith Dunhill
- Jessica Howell .... Nora Dunhill
- Tacquira LaTouche .... Judith's Friend
- Duchess Tomasello .... Mrs. Rice
- Shannon K. Foley .... Linda, Claude's Assistant
- Jim R. Coleman .... Phil, Claude's Assistant
- Alvin Farmer .... Floyd
- Harri James .... Airline Attendant
- Justin Humphrey .... Craig
- James Stone .... Security Guard
- Maury Covington .... Reverend
- Michael A. Xynidis .... Messenger
- Nathan R. Fitzgerald .... Conga Line Dancer (as Nathan Fitzgerald)
- Benjamin Pettijohn .... Additional "Zeus" Vocals
- David Nathaniel Hoyte .... Lead Steel Pan Performer
- Dennis Thomas .... Musician
- Simeon Rolle .... Musician
- Vince Strachan .... Musician
- Michael Hoyte .... Musician
- Al Guther .... Helicopter Pilot
Reception
Critical reception to the movie was mixed.[1][2] According to Rotten Tomatoes, 50% of critics gave the film a positive review (out of seven reviews) with an average rating of 4.4/10.[3]
Box office
The movie debuted at No. 10.[4]
References
- ↑ "Jerry Maguire Ahead of Pack--Barely". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- ↑ "'Zeus and Roxanne': It's a Dog-Meet-Dolphin World". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- ↑ "Zeus and Roxanne". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
- ↑ "Jerry Maguire Ahead of Pack--Barely". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
External links
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