This HBO drama with elements of comedy has some great characterizations but you have to face it. Robert Preston's character of Michael Finnegan is certainly not someone that you will automatically like. In the first 20 minutes of the show, he is downright obnoxious with his ogling of women as they get on the bus, even if it does end up being innocent. People look at him as if he is nuts, and indeed, he is. But as you get to know him, you'll begin to see if some of the elements that made him that way, and that starts with his older, senile wife, played by the legendary Sylvia Sidney.
One of the women that he always tries to make conversation with who usually ignores him is the seriously unhappy Mary Tyler Moore, having an affair with the married Sam Waterson and desperate in her not knowing what to do. He's a romantic advice columnist at a local newspaper, and his advice to say the least is a bit abrupt. He stalks her to a laundromat, gets on her nerves by analyzing her a bit too much, but before long, they are sharing lunches at first outside then finally at her apartment. His ailing wife is made worse by a home break in, ending up in the hospital with little chance of survival, and this gives Preston the opportunity to spend more time with Moore even though she's still seeing Waterson on the side.
I had high hopes for this drama because everything seemed like it would work out realistically. The problem is that it doesn't as Moore doesn't have romantic chemistry with either of the men, and Preston's character is definitely someone that would make people turn and walk away from him. He's excellent, but then again that's the actor, not the character. Lots of sympathy for Sylvia Sidney, looking very pretty even though she's in her mid-seventies, and it's evident that she stuck in the past when you see her dancing around her overstuffed living room with the fan. Her character is heartbreaking to watch with the changes she goes through.
It's obvious that the reason why the house is so messy is because of her. Moore gets to lighten up after a bit so this is not a retread of her Beth Jarrett from "Ordinary People". A young Giancarlo Esposito is the shaky young tough guy who mugs Preston, a little bit of a stereotype that is uncomfortable as is the slapstick bit at the cemetery later on. It's the flawed script that's the issue. At least it's better than HBO's other big name TV movie "Best Friends" from several years before.
One of the women that he always tries to make conversation with who usually ignores him is the seriously unhappy Mary Tyler Moore, having an affair with the married Sam Waterson and desperate in her not knowing what to do. He's a romantic advice columnist at a local newspaper, and his advice to say the least is a bit abrupt. He stalks her to a laundromat, gets on her nerves by analyzing her a bit too much, but before long, they are sharing lunches at first outside then finally at her apartment. His ailing wife is made worse by a home break in, ending up in the hospital with little chance of survival, and this gives Preston the opportunity to spend more time with Moore even though she's still seeing Waterson on the side.
I had high hopes for this drama because everything seemed like it would work out realistically. The problem is that it doesn't as Moore doesn't have romantic chemistry with either of the men, and Preston's character is definitely someone that would make people turn and walk away from him. He's excellent, but then again that's the actor, not the character. Lots of sympathy for Sylvia Sidney, looking very pretty even though she's in her mid-seventies, and it's evident that she stuck in the past when you see her dancing around her overstuffed living room with the fan. Her character is heartbreaking to watch with the changes she goes through.
It's obvious that the reason why the house is so messy is because of her. Moore gets to lighten up after a bit so this is not a retread of her Beth Jarrett from "Ordinary People". A young Giancarlo Esposito is the shaky young tough guy who mugs Preston, a little bit of a stereotype that is uncomfortable as is the slapstick bit at the cemetery later on. It's the flawed script that's the issue. At least it's better than HBO's other big name TV movie "Best Friends" from several years before.