Directed by Garry Marshall
Written by Bob Brunner & Garry Marshall, based on a story by Bob Brunner, Garry Marshall, Blair Richwood, & Alexandra Rose
Starring Juliette Lewis, Diane Keaton, Tom Skeritt, Giovanni Ribisi, Hector Elizondo
My Advice: Wait and Rent It.
Carla Tate (Lewis) has just graduated from a special school, designed for someone who is "mentally challenged" like herself. She is set to go home, into the waiting arms of her caring father (Skeritt) and her overprotective mother, Nurse Ratched (Keaton). All parties involved are incredibly nervous and uncertain about the whole thing, and try to work and live and love together despite the obstacles in their way.
Now for those of you who have been with me for a while, you know that when I start waxing all flowery and stuff in my synopsis, that's a sure indicator the movie must lay things on a bit thick. And this film does, but to its credit its heart is in the right place. It has all the right cast members as shown above, but it cripples them with the screenplay. The theme of "mentally challenged people can live and love independently too" is admirable, but schmaltzy. Its formulaic nature and the fact the writers relied just a bit too much on The Graduate for references take the steam out of performances by Lewis and Ribisi as her also-challenged boyfriend. I liked their relationship okay, but when the predictable conflicts came around I had been expecting them for some time.
And I had to wait a while. The movie could have used a trim, clocking in at over two hours when ninety minutes would have sufficed. The other major problem comes with Keaton's character. She's a matriarch who is almost impossible to like because she's driving Carla away and too stupid to understand what she's doing. She's doing a good job on her other daughters as well, which didn't help to endear her to me. I had no sympathy for her at all, which is a bad thing.
Now, don't let me give you the impression that the movie was completely without merit. That isn't the case. The humor is sometimes effective, and the characters are charming despite the schmaltz. Tom Skeritt, for example, gives the standout performance as Carla's father, trying to deal with his not-so-good past and his witch of a wife at the same time. Not easy, let me tell you. Not a bad film, more like an average one, which means it'll look fine coming off of your VCR in a few months.