Themes: Eccentric Families, Battling Illness, Mothers and Sons
Main Cast: Andie MacDowell, John Turturro, Michael Richards, Maury Chaykin, Nathan Watt
Release Year: 1995
Country: US
Run Time: 94 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Diane Keaton made her directorial debut with this drama, adapted from the autobiographical novel of sportswriter Franz Lidz. Lidz's story was set in his New York childhood and told of how living with his four eccentric uncles helped him overcome his grief at the death of his beloved mother. The movie is set in southern California and the four uncles from the novel have been whittled down to two. Lidz was christened Steven (Nathan Watt) and he is raised by the luminous Selma (Andie McDowell) and Sid (John Turturro), his father. When Selma is taken ill, Sid keeps Steven and his sister out of her bedroom, fearing they will upset her. Sid is an ingenious but cool-hearted inventor whose head is more developed than his heart. He sends Steven off to live with his two brothers. Danny (Michael Richards) is a high-spirited, paranoid man who suffers from delusions. Arthur (Maury Chaykin) is a big-hearted guy who likes to collect other people's junk. Together they rename the child Franz and teach him to value his own uniqueness. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
Review
Diane Keaton's first effort as a director is an impressively lyrical tragicomedy about a young boy growing up in an eccentric family. When the mother (Andie MacDowell) of 12-year-old Steven (Nathan Watt) is diagnosed with cancer, his nutty inventor father (John Turturro) is so deeply affected, his son can no longer reach him. The boy decides to go live with his even more eccentric uncles (Michael Richards and Murray Chaykin) in a fleabag hotel. Keaton skillfully balances humor and pathos of these lives, charting the reactions of a bright kid who wonders how he wound up in such a strange menagerie. The characters are well developed, and Keaton makes the love that exists between them so clear that, along with the boy, one begins to realize that the emotional support one needs can sometimes come from the strangest places. The performances are uniformly excellent, including a very unmannered and persuasive performance from Nathan Watt. Keaton, who has long had a reputation as a still photographer, displays a keen eye for the telling detail. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
Kendra Krull; Lillian Adams - Aunt Estelle; Candice Azzara - Joanie; Becky Ann Baker - Mrs Harris; Lou Cutell - Uncle Melvin; Anne de Salvo - May; Sean P. Donahue - Ralph Crispi; Wayne Duvall - Mr Crispi; Zoaunne Le Roy - Mrs Kantruitz; Jack McGee - Lindquist; Vince Melocchi - Inspector Marshall; Mary Mercier - Waitress; Julie Pinson - Nurse Franklin; Celia Weston - Amelia; Chris Warfield - Mr Clements; Andrew Craig - Man in Line; Joey Andrews - Ash
Credit
Chris Cornwell - Art Director, Joe Kelly - Associate Producer, Gail Levin - Casting, Jill M. Ohanneson - Costume Designer, Matthew Rowland - First Assistant Director, Diane Keaton - Director, Lisa Churgin - Editor, Thomas Newman - Composer (Music Score), Thomas Newman - Songwriter, Patricia A. Garhardt - Makeup, Garreth Stover - Production Designer, Phedon Papamichael - Cinematographer, Wally Pfister - Cinematographer, Susan Arnold - Producer, William Badalato - Producer, Larry Dias - Set Designer, Robert J. Anderson, Jr. - Sound/Sound Designer, Richard LaGravenese - Screenwriter
When young Steven's mother Selma is diagnosed with ovarian cancer and becomes increasingly ill, his eccentric inventor father Sid — despite deep reservations — allows him to live with his dysfunctionaluncles, pack rat Arthur and delusionalparanoid Danny, in their cluttered apartment in the rundown King Edward Hotel. The two, who live in a setting worthy of the Collyer brothers, rechristen the boy with the more colorful name Franz and help him cope with his emotions by teaching him to value his own uniqueness. Learning from the odd pair that even though hope and science may fail us, art always survives, Franz secretly begins to create a memorial to his mother before she dies, filling a box with personal mementos — a tube of lipstick, an empty Chanel bottle, a cigarette lighter, and the like.
Production notes
The film shifted the original story's setting of New York to Southern California, and the four uncles from the novel were condensed into two.
In her review in the New York Times, Janet Maslin called it "a warm, surprising, gently incandescent film . . . [that] becomes a celebration of quirky independence and the sustaining powers of art and memory . . . [it] also succeeds in becoming very moving without being maudlin . . . [the] screenplay runs the risk of being generically uplifting, even bland; instead, it has a sharply distinctive flavor, honest pathos and a hint of delightful household magic. Thomas Newman's sparkling musical score echoes that buoyant tone." [4]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said the film "has been directed by Diane Keaton with an unusual combination of sentiment and quirky eccentricity. There are moments so touching that the heart almost stops." [5]
In the San Francisco Chronicle, Edward Guthmann called it "a picture that bears comparison to To Kill a Mockingbird . . . [it] is that rare mainstream film that doesn't shout in our ear to make its points. It draws us in, subtly and gracefully, and casts a lingering charm." [6]
