With a daughter who is a drug addict pretty much abandoning her child, book publisher Carol Burnett finds her already screwed up life a bit worse. Will being forced to take in her grandson open up the emotionally closed Burnett whose marriage to the shady George Segal is already in shambles? This isn't bad girl Carol in comedic form; in fact, she's a rather bitchy, cold character, one not easy to like.
Yes, as she begins to tug open those heartstrings as she welcomes her grandson into her heart, she shows signs of what this character has been oppressing. Segal and the overly cute kid hit it off too, and perhaps it's the presence of this angelic who will close old wounds with mother and daughter and fix the marriage from hell with Segal whom Burnett's character was running around with when her first husband was dying. This is a plot straight out of "As the Stomach Turns" minus the laughs.
I think with the right material, Carol Burnett can be an excellent dramatic actress. Just check out "Friendly Fire" for proof of that. This sadly missed the mark because of a maudlin script, depressing and pathetic characters, mostly unlikable, and missing that certain special element that makes you want to care about these characters. Malcolm McDowall adds more drama as an alcoholic writer whom Burnett enables. Eric Lloyd is tolerable in small doses as the squealing kid. Only Margaret Sophie Stein gets any sympathy as the big hearted landlady of Burnett's character who offers her a sympathetic ear along with some bobka. I give Burnett credit for trying something unique, but I wish she had waited for a better script.
Yes, as she begins to tug open those heartstrings as she welcomes her grandson into her heart, she shows signs of what this character has been oppressing. Segal and the overly cute kid hit it off too, and perhaps it's the presence of this angelic who will close old wounds with mother and daughter and fix the marriage from hell with Segal whom Burnett's character was running around with when her first husband was dying. This is a plot straight out of "As the Stomach Turns" minus the laughs.
I think with the right material, Carol Burnett can be an excellent dramatic actress. Just check out "Friendly Fire" for proof of that. This sadly missed the mark because of a maudlin script, depressing and pathetic characters, mostly unlikable, and missing that certain special element that makes you want to care about these characters. Malcolm McDowall adds more drama as an alcoholic writer whom Burnett enables. Eric Lloyd is tolerable in small doses as the squealing kid. Only Margaret Sophie Stein gets any sympathy as the big hearted landlady of Burnett's character who offers her a sympathetic ear along with some bobka. I give Burnett credit for trying something unique, but I wish she had waited for a better script.