If you think you're a John Belushi fan but you've never seen this movie, then I feel for you! You have no idea what you've missed. John Belushi was never more touching, poignant, witty, or incredibly COMEDIC than in this film. His timing and his tone was dead on. I just couldn't have adored this movie any more. I've seen it over and over again (and I look forward to seeing it again!) There are TONS of quotable laugh-lines in this movie. About every fifth line is a classic, in my opinion. Where were the critics' rave reviews when this film came out? What were they thinking? This is about as wonderful as a romantic comedy can get. Thanks, thanks, thanks to all who played a part in bringing it to us. And RIP dear John Belushi. We will always miss you.

I have long been a believer in the principle that any great comic must first be a great actor. One of the dumbest comments about a film to me is "I knew he/she was a great comic, but I didn't realize he/she could really act." No one who saw Belushi on Saturday Night Live could possibly doubt that he was a great actor. In Continental Divide, he got a chance to broaden his acting into romantic comedy. As Ernie Soucek, a character based on real-life Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mike Royko, Belushi is sent out of Chicago by his editor to keep him safe from a labor racketeer Ernie is after in a hard-hitting series of columns.His assignment is Nell Porter (Blair Brown), an ornithologist who studies bald eagles in the Rockies. It's "the city mouse and the country mouse" on one level, which gives Belushi the chance at some slap-stick comedy with a backpack (among other things).Belushi is a thoroughly believable character throughout, whether in his element on the streets of Chicago, or learning about the new and different world of bald eagles and the beautiful woman who cares passionately about them. Ernie learns to love the eagles, and the woman, and he meets a "wild" mountain man who happens to be a former football player he admired, another element which binds city and country together.I loved this movie, and it bears re-watching. My entire family, as a matter of fact, liked it when it first came out. Guess we're all just romantics at heart!

John Belushi's screen persona is fixed in most peoples minds thanks to his performances in the raucous, knock-about comedies 'The Blues Brothers' and 'Animal House'. But here he gets the rare chance to put in a performance of exceptional depth and nuance. Belushi plays hard-boiled investigative journalist Ernie Souchak who finds himself a little too close to some major City Hall corruption, and so, on the advice of his editor and friend, he heads to the mountains of Colorado, to chill and to write a piece on a reclusive conservationist, played to exquisite perfection by Blair Brown.The film begins as a serious piece on political corruption but soon turns into a charming, bittersweet 'fish-out-of-water' romance. The scenes set amongst the Colorado mountains feature some of the most breathtaking cinematography I've ever seen. The movie belongs to John Belushi though. He puts in a splendid mature performance, dominating the action like a major presence. It is through this movie, rather than his more famous works, that I feel we now sense the feeling of loss that his tragic early death gave the world of cinema. He carries all the weight and clout of a genuinely gifted actor, and his comic timing, even in the smallest scenes, is a joy to behold. Blair Brown, too, is another enigma. Why is she not much more famous than she is? Her performance is both tough and sexy, and she and Belushi make a great screen partnership. Throw into the mix one of the rare screen appearances from the great Tony Ganios, and this really is a movie worthy of rediscovery.Watch for it.

This movie is the REASON I moved to Washington State, even though it was filmed in Montana. When Nell showed Ernie "church" and the panorama of the mountains was shown, I literally had tears running down my cheeks. I was in an Atlanta movie theater. It is then that I made up my mind to come west. I've never looked back. It is all due to this movie. It is, without a doubt, my favorite movie of all time. I just wish Mr. Belushi were still with us. At least Blair is. I'd like to see much more of her in movies. Blair Brown is VERY, VERY underrated. She was wonderful in this film and the film itself should have gotten way more recognition. Just look at the difficulties the cameramen must have encountered for those climbing and coming down the mountain in the snow shots.One person wrote that a bear entered the cabin. It was NOT a bear, but rather a mountain lion. The only bears in the movie were encountered when Ernie Souchak was climbing up the mountain with the guide, going to Nell's place. See--I do know it by heart.Hats off to Continental Divide!!!