Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare (1995) (TV)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Neal Israel

Writers (WGA):

Patrick J. Clifton (written by) and
Neal Israel (written by)

Release Date:

1 April 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

It's time for the annual Dooley family reunion and Dooley matriarch Meemaw's 100th birthday celebration...

Plot Keywords:

Runaway | Reunion | Family Feud | Family Gathering | Family Ties

Cast

Melissa Joan Hart	...	Samantha
Jason Marsden	...	Billy Dooley
David L. Lander	...	Various Jamesons
Romy Windsor	...	Grace Dooley (as Romy Walthall)
Marcia Strassman	...	Margaret McKenna
Susan French	...	Meema
Jo Anne Worley	...	Aunt Kate
Dody Goodman	...	Grandma Dotty Dooley
Peter Billingsley	...	Mark McKenna Jr.
Gerrit Graham	...	Mark McKenna Sr.
Meghann Haldeman	...	Connie Dooley
Sara Rue	...	Jacquelyn
Joe Flaherty	...	Kevin Dooley
Alley Mills	...	Portia
Norman Fell	...	Grandpa Joe Dooley

Runtime:

USA:89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Company:

Hickox-Bowman Productions Inc.

Quotes:

Margaret McKenna: If anything happens to her I'm holding you personally responsible.
Mark McKenna Sr.: You wanted her to leave just as much as I did.
Margaret McKenna: I wanted her to move out, not become an episode of "Unsolved Mysteries".

Hart is her usual cute dream in a land-locked Love Boat that might remind you of your own clan.

This movie looks like it was made in the early eighties as opposed to 1995. The cast is made up of TV personalities that used to sail the original Love Boat, including Laverne & Shirley's Squiggy, Three's Company's Mr. Roper, Welcome Back Kotter's Mrs. Kotter, Dody Goodman, Jo Anne Worley and A Christmas Story's sweet little Peter Billingsly now playing a bullying teenager. Throw in the 80's Joe Flaherty of SCTV and the 90's Melissa Joan Hart of Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina the Teenage Witch and the only question left is where's Gilligan? With that said, the film makes for a nice and often funny picture that can be enjoyed by the entire family. Any one who has gone to a large family function such as a reunion, Thanksgiving dinner, or wedding, can relate to having to put up with a group of oddballs you probably wouldn't choose as friends. Hart is her usual cute dream and Jason Marsden as Billy does a good job in sort of a Matthew Brodrick type of role. There's also a nice performance by Susan French as Meema, the 100-year-old skateboard-riding matriarch of the family.