Who's Bad?

Far and Away (1992)

For weeks my sister raved about this Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman movie, and I just rolled my eyes and snickered. I wasn't going to be suckered into the whole real-life-husband-and-wife casting stunt — plus, the critics hated it. So when my sister brought home the videotape (yes, this was before DVDs), I sat down grudgingly to watch what I thought would be an excruciating three-hour romance. But the appeal of the movie crept up on me, and before I knew it I was smiling and crying and holding my breath as I watched Tom and Nic — I mean, Joseph and Shannon — struggle with their love for each other through grinding poverty. It was heartbreaking to watch their drab day-to-day existence, so when they finally do realize their dream of owning land, it's like the most romantic manifest-destiny story ever. Cue the ethereal Enya New Age music! — Connie Yu, associate picture editor