BEFORE: Meryl Streep carries over again - I've done Streep chains before, but I'm not done with her just yet. This film just started airing on premium cable, and I was going to let it slide by, but I still had two holes in the January schedule, and the other could get filled by another trip to the theater.
THE PLOT: A look at the lives of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Oklahoma house they grew up in.
AFTER: Three days into the new year, and a loose theme has already developed, that of family secrets. "Into the Woods" had a couple of secrets about which character was related to which, and then "Hope Springs" delved into the sexual secrets that married people might keep from each other. Tonight that theme gets expanded again, as a family gathers together and (eventually) their various secrets are exposed.
But the vehicle tonight through which those secrets come to light is not therapy, or the machinations of a witch - nope, it's good old-fashioned arguing. The kind that only people who've grown up together, or spent too much time together can do. Perhaps getting together with family over the holidays was a pleasant experience for you, and I hope it was, but once I reach my parents' house I can sort of feel a counter start, and with luck I can be out of there three days later before my patience counter expires. Most times I'm not very lucky, but perhaps this is normal.
Parents have that way of reminiscing that also can get under your skin - "Hey, remember that time your leg fell asleep during the graduation ceremony, and when you stood up you fell over in front of your entire class? What was the name of that girl you landed on? Right, well, I saw her the other day at the supermarket, she's doing well." Thanks so much for bringing up one of my more embarrassing moments...
This is a form of passive-aggressive behavior, you may also remember such hits as "How's the job hunt going?" or "So, are you seeing anyone?" My wife sometimes points out her own passive-aggressive behavior, but she may not realize that I can handle it - I was practically RAISED passive-aggressive, as it was nearly a form of religion in my parents' house. You just have to keep an eye on it, because it's easy for "So, what do you want for dinner? We can have whatever you want..." to turn into "OK, we'll have what you want to eat AGAIN, like we've done every night for the last 2 weeks. No, really, it's FINE!"
What you have there is what I call "aggressive passive-aggressive", and tonight's film features a ton of it, when people aren't behaving just aggressively, that is. My point is, there's a fine line. The ultimate expression of A.P.A. behavior, of course, is suicide. You just can't top that as an endgame. Some say it's a cry for help, but I know different - it's a way of saying "In your face, family!" Because you have to know that anyone who loves you is going to feel absolutely terrible after you're gone, and since they can't respond to what's happened, you've won - only you've also lost.
This movie is based on a stage-play, which is quite evident in the fact that most of the action takes place in one location, the family house. (On the rare occasion when characters drive to other locations like fields, they're given nothing to do except run aimlessly, or stare into space.) And then the first act involves the various characters arriving at the home, while in the second act they storm off in turn after arguments or revelations. This unfortunately made the story feel only half-written, since we'll never know what happens to anyone after the playwright has given them their exit. Nothing feels very resolved in the end - not that everything needs to be resolved, but a few things might be nice.
There's some interesting material about the differences between the generations - we still have an older generation that was raised by people who lived through the Depression, and that's a part of why they are the way they are. And today's younger generation is perhaps correctly portrayed (through one character) as a bunch of spoiled, self-indulgent vegetarian hipsters. But these are still stereotypes, and if you took these away, along with the other stereotypes about Southerners displayed here, I fear that the movie would simply cease to exist.
And if I wanted to witness a bunch of screwed-up, passive aggressive people, I'd probably spend more time with my own family.
Also starring Julia Roberts (last seen in "Everyone Says I Love You"), Ewan McGregor (last seen in "The Island"), Chris Cooper (last seen in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2"), Margo Martindale (last seen in "The Rocketeer"), Sam Shepard, Dermot Mulroney (last seen in "Zodiac"), Julianne Nicholson, Benedict Cumberbatch (last heard in "The Hobbit; An Unexpected Journey"), Juliette Lewis (last seen in "Husbands and Wives"), Abigail Breslin (last seen in "Ender's Game"), Misty Upham.
RATING: 4 out of 10 prescription bottles
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