Emma Moriarty (Sally Field) is a divorced 33-year-old, mother to Jake (Corey Haim). She moves to the small town of Eunice, Arizona to fix up a run down horse ranch and train horses. She befriends the local druggist Murphy Jones (James Garner). Her ex-husband Bobby Jack Moriarty (Brian Kerwin) shows up and she lets him stay. He promises to be better but he continues to be a thieving cheat. The two men starts competing for Emma.

This is better than most May to December romantic movies. Garner is utterly charming. The beauty is their hesitation. The characters know their age difference and keep pushing away the romance. Sally Field is just as charming. Her horse riding is probably the most impressive thing in the movie. Garner and Field make an adorable couple despite their age difference.

Sally Fields show up with her son at the empty ranch and begins putting it in shape. She chats a bit with drug store owner James Garner. You know from the way they look at the other when the other isn't looking (and later, not looking) that there's the stirrings of something going on here. Anyway, Miss Fields is starting a horse boarding business, but things are really tough because, as the woman bank officer tells her, she has no husband to sign for her.

It's a movie by Martin Ritt, so it looks like it's going to be one of those movies about small people who struggle and make their way in a manner that benefits society, like Miss FIelds' Oscar-winning turn in Ritt's NORMA RAE, also written by two of this movie's three writers, Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. But, no. It's a romantic comedy and character study. Miss Fields is the point-of-view character, and the plot points center on her, but we know who she is as soon as she fixes a motor and her son comes home. No, it's all about Garner, with Miss Fields trying to puzzle out this distantly friendly fellow.

It is the most charming movie of the past fifty years. Murphy is a man who drives a 1927 Model A Ford he inherited, tries to do the right thing, and doesn't take himself too seriously. That's apparent from the very beginning and doesn't much change. Ah, but the details.... and of course, Garner's absolute charm, combined with Miss Fields' spunk! I saw this when it first came out, and since it began to show up on TV, I've looked at it every year or two. It never gets old.

This may or may not be a chick flick. But who cares. Growing up in the 60s and 70s, Garner and Fields were two of my favorite television stars. So to see them together in a movie is a treat. While Garner's character is about 30 years older than Sally's, there is an undeniable chemistry between the two.

Also, there is a gentle, mature humor in this movie. It will bring a smile to your face without the gross physical comedy or profanity so prevalent in modern movies.

I have to admit that I am a romantic at heart, and this movie certainly hit home. If you like a film with a touch of romance, humor, and good performances by the lead actors, this is a movie you should add to you DVD collection.