Themes: Ladder to the Top, Foibles of Marriage, Parenthood
Main Cast: Rosie Perez, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Patti LuPone, Karen Duffy, Diego Serrano
Release Year: 1999
Country: US
Run Time: 93 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Writer/director Nancy Savoca, who wrote and directed Household Saints and True Love, handles the same duties in this tale of Grace Santos (Rosie Perez). The producer of a New York City local morning show targeted at women, Grace has an active professional life under the watch of her executive producer, Joan Marshall (Patti LuPone), that already intersects her personal life as she is married to co-host Eddie Diaz (Diego Serrano). When the other co-host, Margo (Karen Duffy), reveals Grace's pregnancy on- air, Joan seizes the opportunity to monitor Grace's development on the show. The ratings grow along with Grace, as the show pursues such topics as "The ABC's of C-Sections" and "You & Your Epidural." While Grace takes comfort in her marriage and her new assistant Madeline (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), who has just returned from six years of raising her young children, Grace worries about the needs of her unborn child versus her much-loved career and Eddie's beckoning film career. Her fears realized through her daughter's first year, Grace must determine what it means to be a "24-Hour Woman." ~ Chris Gore, All Movie Guide
Review
Nancy Savoca's thoughtful comedy about the familiar dilemma of a woman attempting to balance commitments to family and career has some dead-on insights and funny moments, but disintegrates badly in its final scenes. Rosie Perez stars as the pregnant producer of a TV talk show who strives to reconcile the competing demands of job and family. Savoca's work, which has often touched on women's issues, takes a surprising turn, when the high-powered career woman gains a visceral understanding, like many before her, of just how much she wants to be with her newborn child. It doesn't help that she has a hard time getting decent child care, and that her unemployed husband isn't thrilled with filling that role. Her boss (Patty Lupone) represents the single-minded devotion to career she can no longer claim, while other women are struggling with the same problems. Savoca, who slyly sends up the fluffy talk show and the glib, you-can-do-it-all bromides it dispenses to women, has spent her career trying to shake audiences out of the delusions foisted on them by both society and pop culture. However, in taking on this subject, she comes late to territory that's been thoroughly explored and a reality that most women already understand all too well. The ending, which involves an unbelievable fight between Perez and her husband, followed by a reconciliation that seems to skirt all the issues than had been so painfully raised, is hugely disappointing. Nonetheless, Rosie Perez gives another totally committed performance, and she's surrounded by an excellent cast. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
Sarah Frank - Art Director, Georgianne Walken - Casting, Sheila Jaffe - Casting, Rosie Perez - Co-producer, Kathlene Mobley - Costume Designer, J. Miller Tobin - First Assistant Director, Nancy Savoca - Director, Camilla Toniolo - Editor, Daniel J. Victor - Executive Producer, Stephen Carlis - Executive Producer, Donald C. Carter - Executive Producer, Kenny (Dope) Gonzalez - Composer (Music Score), "Little" Louis Vega - Composer (Music Score), Barry Cole - Musical Direction/Supervision, Christopher Covert - Musical Direction/Supervision, Bob Shaw - Production Designer, Teresa Medina - Cinematographer, Richard Guay - Producer, Larry Meistrich - Producer, Peter Newman - Producer, Caroline Ghertler - Set Designer, Rosa Howell-Thornhill - Sound Mixer, Joe White - Sound/Sound Designer, Richard Guay - Screenwriter, Nancy Savoca - Screenwriter
