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Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9780780606753 Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC ISBN: 0780606752 Label: New Line Home Video Manufacturer: New Line Home Video Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: New Line Home Video Release Date: April 16, 1996 Running Time: 98 minutes Sales Rank: 23254 Studio: New Line Home Video Theatrical Release Date: 1995-01
Amazon.com: This family drama, based on a novel by Ellyn Bache, is overly familiar in its concentration of cracked secrets and family revelations all pouring down during a brief crisis. But it has a fine cast led by Susan Sarandon, and they make the whole enterprise a watchable affair. Sarandon plays a middle-aged mother of a brood of mostly grown sons. Suffering from empty-nest syndrome, she tends toward anxious dreams in which one or another of the boys is missing overseas. After having a nightmare that one--a Marine assigned to a Sinai peacekeeping force--has been hurt, word comes that a terrorist attack has indeed left his status in question. As the rest of the family gathers in the glare of fear--including Sarandon's estranged husband (Sam Shepard), suffering some form of (metaphorical) blindness--lots of unspoken things are said about old rivalries, ancient grievances, etc. It's all a bit thickly designed, but the likes of Robert Sean Leonard, Sean Astin, Marcia Gay Harden, Nick Stahl, and most of all Sarandon make it entirely palatable. --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - A forgotten gem!
An overprotective mother crosses over the boundary of the emotional barriers when she fears her son's death in a military explosion and must wait for the official notice. On the other hand a desperate man who want to be redeemed, and the eldest son who tries to keep the family together will be the dramatic coordinates of this unusual film, of notorious level and high artistic virtues.
Consider the year: 1994; and two futures Oscar winners: Marcia Gay Harden and Susan Sarandon; besides add the presence of Sam Shepard and Robert Sean Leonard and the fine direction of Robert Allen Ackerman. ... Read More
Rating: - great stuff
This is one of my favorite movies. As a 40 year male with no children I don't think I'll ever be able to get closer to understanding the feeling a mother has about her children than when I watched this moovie. Great ensemble cast. You'll defiantly laugh and cry in this movie. Sarandon and Shepard were great. I don't know the name of any of the children but it included the guy from swing kids and the guy from Mall Rats. The kid that figured out teh alergy situation has been around to and they all do a good job. Lots of realism in Surandans neurosis. There is a great piece of acting by the actress ... Read More
Rating: - Give this to your mother.
I watched this the week before Mother's Day and couldn't help thinking what a good gift it would make for a strong, passionate sort of mother. There is one scene with a savage dog that I will remember for a long time because of what it says about a mother's love. It's an interesting, offbeat film about love, families, and mothers. I will also continue to think some about the scene where the mother reacts to the son's smoking dope and he let's her know she can't knock something she hasn't tried. Again, the depth of her passionate mothering is inspirational.
Rating: - A beautiful movie about togetherness.
I thought that Susan Sarndon's character was incerdibly moving as well as Sam Shepard,Sean Aston and of course the young actor that always has my respect, Nick Stahl.A movie about family closeness and not missing a thing.
Rating: - Representation of the typical NORMAL American family.
Watching this movie was like visiting old friends that one sees on the holidays or goes on vacations with. I simply loved this movie and all of the little quirks in each of the characters: Mag's classical music stress relievers, Patrick's blindness, Alfred's compulsive neatness, Izzy's annoying observations, Percival's rebelliousness, Gideon's guilt, Merle's and Darren's twinness, and finally, Simon's hair. The fact that each character has something different about him or herself shows that this "dysfunctional" American family is just about as normal a family as I've ever met. One of the best qualities ... Read More
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