Immediate Family (1989) Reviews

• Wonderful Little Story

  mmitsos-12005-01-20

  This film is worth watching for Masterson's performance alone. This drama tells the story of a couple in their late thirties/very early forties who decide to adopt a child after unsuccessful attempts of having their own. The portrayal of the adoption process and its typically attendant series of frustrations appear quite realistic. Unfortunately, another reviewer for IMDb has already given the ending away. However, when Mary Stuart Masterson's character enters the couple's life, it is very touching, and you almost wish the couple would adopt her as well as her baby (I did, anyway). Watching Masterson's character walking around the baby room that the couple decorated is worth watching the entire film, as is the ending. Kevin Dillon delivers a very nice performance, as do, as always, Glenn Close and James Woods. Bring Kleenex.

• Wonderfully written, realistic portrayal of adoption's difficulty

  trpdean2002-09-10

  I happened upon this on television. I remember when it was released in the theaters, but as a single man, it hadn't exactly been my cup of tea. Well, it's wonderful. The portrayal of the two couples is so very well written, so believable, so realistic, so interesting. The acting is simply superb - these actors make these people so sympathetic, so real. How wonderfully written this is. There's nothing formulaic about the way these people speak, the way they smile at each other, the small jokes they make, how they move and interact, the awkwardnesses that arise or dissipate, the unspoken sense of threat. Each character seems quite individual. I can't single out any one actor - they were all just wonderful. I'm nowhere close to this situation - yet I was very moved. One thing I loved was simply showing how these two couples related to each other - and the different ways they express warmth toward one another. The only things I disliked were the excessive use of music - (the fact that I'm not a fan of Van Morrison hurt) it felt like padding. I also thought the ending was somewhat pat. All in all, this is really top notch - it shows what talent can do - even where you've no intrinsic interest in the subject.

• Heartwarming

  1fortheroad2002-07-22

  Immediate Family is a heartwarming tale about four people who's lives are interwoven by one thing: a baby. Glenn Close stars as a frazzled woman who desperately wants to have a baby with her husband. When it becomes apparent that it can't happen, the couple looks into adoption. Through this, they meet up with a young, unmarried couple who are expecting their first child and want to give it to a nice family. The whole movie revolves around whether are not the young couple will actually go through with the adoption. Glenn Close is absolutely convincing as the very eager, very frightened "mother-to-be". For anyone who's ever loved a child, this is a must see.

• The real difficulties of parenthood and adoption.

  TxMike2005-11-19

  Mary Stuart Masterson, two years before her role in Fried Green Tomatoes, plays Lucy, a simple teenager who has a child with her young musician boyfriend. While pregnant she makes arrangements for the baby to be adopted by a family that can give it a good home. That family is Linda and Michael Spector, played by Glenn Close and James Woods, living on the west coast. As Lucy carries the child she becomes friends with the Spectors, and even visits their home before the baby is born, to the point of admiring the room they have decorated for the newborn. However, after the delivery she has second thoughts, the normal bond between a mother and her child, and simply leaves the hospital, with baby boy, and travels to Ohio and her dad's home. Later when it become clear to her that she and the young father cannot give their son a proper upbringing, she goes back to the Spectors and gives him to them. She leaves a letter to William (the boy) and in a voice-over as the movie is ending, we hear her tell him why she gave him up. The Spectors stay in touch and we see a photo she has of the boy about two years old, with a big shaggy dog.

• excellent

  jjispi2002-01-08

  This movie was an excellent follow up for actress Glenn Close, after Fatal Attraction. It is a completely different direction, and showed her range as an actress. Lucy and Michael Spector, a upper middle class Seattle couple, have been married for ten years, and long to start a family. After several failed attempts, they opt for an open adoption. Mary Stuart Masterson plays the expecting teenage mother who contacts them through the ad they placed in a out of state newspaper. What follows is an acurate and touching portrayal of four people, (including the baby's father,) who's rollercoaster emotions manage to be both funny and heartbreaking at times. I thought this movie was fantastic, engrosing from start to finish, and a must see for any fan of the actors in it! Eight stars!