Review of The Other Sister (1999) by Michael C — 28 Apr 2009

Diane Keaton has apparently turned into a hack actress in the last 10 years, if her choice of roles is any indication. What could have spurred this horrible deterioration of genuine talent? After all, we are talking about the woman who starred in The Godfather. The Godfather 2. Annie Hall. Sleeper. Manhattan. Reds. Sure, Something's Gotta Give was very good, but would it have been half as good without Jack Nicholson's evil yet charming grin playing opposite Keaton? The Diane Keaton from days of yore has been replaced with a woman who feels compelled to star in contrived and films that are horrendously exaggerated in their observed need to "deliver a strong message". This particular film tells the story of a mentally handicapped teenage girl (Juliette Lewis) who is progressing through life and a romance with a young boy who is also handicapped. Yet her mother (the aforementioned Keaton) believes she is too underdeveloped to be taking these steps in her life. The movie seems to have its heart in the right place; yes, it is wrong to treat mentally handicapped people poorly, and no doubt this is a virtue that all should observe. And yes, it is also true that a mother shouldn't treat her daughter like an outcast even if she reveals to her that she is gay, but in regards to THIS particular plot point, could it be more out of place in this film? We are already trying to come to terms with Keaton's consistent inability to let her daughter move to the next stages of her life, and then we also have to deal with the idea that she isn't accepting her other daughter as well.......for about 5 minutes and then apparently this is no longer an issue. You want a movie about a mother who can't deal with the fact that her daughter is gay? Great, that is a reasonably compelling central plot for a film, have a ball and make it. But DON'T add it for a moment for the simple purpose of trying to reinforce some message about acceptance simply because you aren't confident that the central story in the film can express that message itself.

And in regards to the films central message......that has a number of issues all its own. First of all, I understand that both Juliette Lewis and Giovanni Ribisi worked very hard to pull off mental retardation convincingly in this film, and I wouldn't begin to argue that it isn't possible that some individuals who are mentally challenged behave in the same way; but it does feel a little over the top throughout the entire film, and the script doesn't help. The film takes every moment possible to add in "adorably juvenile yet cute" scenes and dialogue that may seem charming to some, but seems more like a preachy made-for-TV movie to me. And Diane, why do you hurt me so? In this film, Ms. Keaton is probably the performance I had the most issues with. The film sets her up by having her scream that she doesn't want her child to be retarded when she is a young baby in flashbacks, and then fast-forward to today, and she seems obsessed with emphasizing her daughter's retardation at every turn. And she has only one purpose in the entire film; to arrive in the scene and panic and exclaim "SHE'S NOT READY, SHE'S (insert one of a laundry list of politically correct terms that can be used to refer to your daughter as retarded here). I don't recall her character's name, but it should have been "OverExaggerated Mandatory Opposition to the Protagonist". Please Ms. Keaton, stop with The Other Sister, The Family Stone, the Mad Money, the Because I Said So. I know you think you are making "important films" with a "strong message", but it is really making you look like a washed-up melodramatic has-been.