Themes: Generation Gap, Mothers and Daughters, Drug Addiction
Main Cast: Jill Clayburgh, Barbara Hershey, Martha Plimpton, Merritt Butrick, John Philbin
Release Year: 1987
Country: US
Run Time: 119 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Writer Jill Clayburgh wants to remove her coke-addicted daughter Martha Plimpton from the corruptive environs of Manhattan. When assigned to write an article about family trees, Clayburgh, with daughter in tow, heads to the bayous of Louisiana, there to seek out an elusive great-uncle--and, it is hoped, to give Plimpton a new start in life. Upon their arrival in the deep south, Clayburgh and Plimpton are confronted with the uncle's rugged, iron-willed wife Barbara Hershey and her four grown sons. The anticipated culture clash results in tragedy for all concerned. Wavering between the plausible and the outrageous, Shy People makes for fascinating, almost mesmerizing viewing. Released late in 1987 to qualify for the Academy Awards, the film was given a general release in mid-1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Don Swayze - Mark Sullivan; Pruitt Taylor Vince - Paul Sullvian; Michael Audley - Louie; Brad Leland - Larry; Paul Landry - Henry; Dominic Barto - Chief; Warren Battiste - Dick; Vladimir Bibic - Welder; Edward Bunker - Chuck; Tony Epper - Jake; Phyllis Guerrini - Margo; Jack McGee - Cab Driver; David Petitjean - Sheriff; Cheryl Starbuck - Stewardess; Mare Winningham - Candy; Greg Guirard - Man; Claire Acerno - Stewardess; David Avne - Policeman; J. Larry McGill - Black Man; Jack Radosta - Pal #1; Ernest Tan - Vietnamese Pimp; Ronn Wright - Policeman; William Anderson - Policeman
Credit
Leslie McDonald - Art Director, Robert MacDonald - Casting, Bob MacDonald - Casting, Greg Guirard - Consultant/advisor, Yoram Globus - Co-producer, Menahem Golan - Co-producer, Katherine Dover - Costume Designer, Michael Schroeder - First Assistant Director, Andrei Konchalovsky - Director, Alain Jakubowicz - Editor, Tangerine Dream - Composer (Music Score), Christopher Franke - Composer (Music Score), Paula Erickson - Musical Direction/Supervision, Alan Bergman - Songwriter, Marilyn Bergman - Songwriter, Harold Bishop - Songwriter, Michael Bishop - Songwriter, Tangerine Dream - Songwriter, Marvin Hamlisch - Songwriter, Gene Miller - Songwriter, Shelley Speck - Songwriter, Pat Gerhardt - Makeup, Patricia A. Garhardt - Makeup, Alan Caso - Camera Operator, Chuck Colwell - Camera Operator, Julio Macat - Camera Operator, Chris Squires - Camera Operator, Stephen Marsh - Production Designer, Chris Menges - Cinematographer, Cal Acord - Special Effects, Mark Ulano - Sound/Sound Designer, Michael Adams - Stunts, Steve Kelso - Stunts, Andrei Konchalovsky - Screen Story, Gérard Brach - Screenwriter, Marjorie David - Screenwriter, Andrei Konchalovsky - Screenwriter, Michael Gastaldo - Set Dresser, Leslie Morales - Set Decorator
Diana Sullivan (Jill Clayburgh) is a successful Manhattan writer and photojournalist, seemingly oblivious to the serious cocaine addicition that her wild child daughter Grace (Martha Plimpton) has developed. A commission by Cosmopolitan magazine to write an article about a lost branch of Diana's family leads them deep into the bayous of Louisiana, where they encounter Diana's distant cousin, Ruth (Barabara Hershey). Married at 12 to an abusive man whose current whereabouts are an increasingly troubling cipher, Ruth rules over her 3 adult sons, all less than perfectly cogent, with equal parts protectiveness and ferocity, while a fourth, disowned son adds to the volatility of the situation. As the fascinated Diana and wary Ruth circle one another, Grace, bored and in grip of her addiction, toys with her naive cousins with devastating consequences.
