$18.74  Latter Days (Unrated Edition) - DVD |
$14.99  Another Country - DVD |
$22.38  The 24th Day - DVD |
$20.99  A Home at the End of the World - DVD |
$19.96  Gone, But Not Forgotten - DVD |
 [Larger view] | Doing Time on Maple Drive
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Average user rating:  | |
 How NOT to Have a Perfect Family | |
| From the outside, they are a perfect, WASPy, upper-middle-class family. But look closer and you'll see the domineering father (James B Sikking) and the cold, superficial mother (Bebe Besch). Their three children are cracking under the pressure to live up to the parents' impossible standards. Jim Carrey gives a fabulous straight performance as the alcoholic son, William McNamara is the secretly gay son (Why is he not a huge star?), and Jayne Brook is the daughter who marries beneath the family's standards. If you liked Robert Redford's ORDINARY PEOPLE, you'll like this movie. | |
 Slightly dated | |
| I thoroughly enjoyed watching this on TV back in 1992, and it was great to see it again recently on DVD. I recall Jim carrey's performance being more prominent that it actually is. His scenes and dialogue are quite short, but are impressive. If you have only seen him in his funny roles, you will be interested to see him here in a more dramatic role. William McNamara (from COPYCAT) is the main focus of the film as the favourite son who has a secret.
The film suffers from feeling a tad dated, but the impressive cast make up for it. This made for TV film was directed by Ken Olin (star of THIRTYSOMETHING) and looks at a dysfunctional family. It impressed me how the casting agent picked actors to play the siblings who actually looked like they could be brothers and sisters. DVD SUMMARY - The film was shot originally on videotape and it shows through the soft image presented on DVD. No effort has been made to clean up the print. Sound wise, you get a stereo soundtrack. Extras include a TV advert for the film when it was first released on video. OVERALL OPINION - A movie that is definitely worth seeing, but perhaps rent it first before buying. | |
| Exceptional TV-Movie! | |
| Jim Carrey plays a lush, Lori Laughlin plays a beard to William McNamara and Bibi Besch gives an amazing performance as she cracks up near the end fo the film. Top notch acting in a TV-movie that was never really appreciated for its social commentray on disfunctional families and the effects on generations that sweep problems under the rug. |
