Watching this film 13 years later helps to be kinder to the way subject material is portrayed.
Some parts of the movie were just a little silly...having a scene where the son can't perform with his girlfriend...an absurd court resolution that excuses gay-bashing if you just learned your dad is gay...a dad that behaves like his decision wouldn't have consequences, and the total failure of this film to address such blatant infidelity in the first place (whether it was committed by a straight or gay man or woman).
Worst of all is the Disney ending, which is totally out-of-whack when we see what had come before. It was as if the family had been sprayed with some surreal fairy dust.
Hey look, I am all for an upbeat resolution, but it wasn't especially honest.
What I did like about this film was its willingness to tackle the subject to begin with. Homophobia infuriates me, but this film was just loaded with one politically correct event after another. And yet, maybe America needs a bit of educating on gay issues, so I won't hold that against the writer.
What surprised me the most was what a good and natural actress Jean Smart was. There were quite a few nice touches she gave to her character throughout...I didn't realize she was that good.
While there were some clichés in the script, it did have a nice feel for dialogue.
A film on the same topic today would probably be presented far differently.
Then again, this was a significant improvement over "Making Love," though I respect the historical significance of the earlier film.
Some parts of the movie were just a little silly...having a scene where the son can't perform with his girlfriend...an absurd court resolution that excuses gay-bashing if you just learned your dad is gay...a dad that behaves like his decision wouldn't have consequences, and the total failure of this film to address such blatant infidelity in the first place (whether it was committed by a straight or gay man or woman).
Worst of all is the Disney ending, which is totally out-of-whack when we see what had come before. It was as if the family had been sprayed with some surreal fairy dust.
Hey look, I am all for an upbeat resolution, but it wasn't especially honest.
What I did like about this film was its willingness to tackle the subject to begin with. Homophobia infuriates me, but this film was just loaded with one politically correct event after another. And yet, maybe America needs a bit of educating on gay issues, so I won't hold that against the writer.
What surprised me the most was what a good and natural actress Jean Smart was. There were quite a few nice touches she gave to her character throughout...I didn't realize she was that good.
While there were some clichés in the script, it did have a nice feel for dialogue.
A film on the same topic today would probably be presented far differently.
Then again, this was a significant improvement over "Making Love," though I respect the historical significance of the earlier film.
