Better Living (1998)

Three grown daughters try to find their own personal ways to deal with their dysfunctional parents. The mother is an unorthodox woman with out-of-the-ordinary ideas, including one where she... See full summary »

Director:

Max Mayer

Writers:

Max Mayer, George F. Walker (play),

Stars:

Scott Cohen, Olympia Dukakis, Jamie Gonzalez

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Scott Cohen	...	Larry
Olympia Dukakis	...	Nora
Jamie Gonzalez	...	Pock
Roy Scheider	...	Tom
Edward Herrmann	...	Jack
Dan Moran	...	Dan
Deborah Hedwall	...	Elizabeth
Brian Tarantina	...	Danny
Catherine Corpeny	...	MaryAnn
Myra Lucretia Taylor	...	Waitress
Wendy Hoopes	...	Gail
Jessy Terrero	...	Biker #1
James Villemaire	...	Junior
Gary Zazulka	...	Biker #2
Phyllis Somerville	...	Nellie

Storyline

Three grown daughters try to find their own personal ways to deal with their dysfunctional parents. The mother is an unorthodox woman with out-of-the-ordinary ideas, including one where she takes a jackhammer to the basement floor of their house to build a cavern where the family can live better. Their father, an ex-cop, disappeared 15 years earlier and then re-appeared with no explanation and commandeers his wife's project by placing the whole family in a survivalist situation. Jack is the priest-brother to the mother, who is forced to counsel the family despite his own problems with his faith.

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Plot Keywords:

survivalist | jackhammer | basement | irreverence | condoning suicide | 

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Taglines:

A comedy about the miles that keep us apart and the chaos that brings us together.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Official Sites:

Goldheart Pictures

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 November 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Szülő ellen nincs orvosság

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$1,432 (USA) (4 August 2000)

Gross:

$1,432 (USA) (4 August 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Goldheart Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Absolutely terrible!!!!!

I bought this film because Olympia Dukakis was in it. I thoroughly enjoyed her role as Mrs Madrigal in Tales of the City and so have looked out for her in other films since and most have been well worth the while but this dreadful film isn't one of them. It's not often you reach the end of a film and don't have a clue as to what it was all about but this is one of them. It has no storyline, no plot, terrible dialogue and is a complete waste of talented actors. The acting is good but you can't believe in any of the characterisations because you cannot recognise people like this in real-life! They seem to all be from a different planet somewhere. Please everyone, do yourselves a favour and avoid this horror of a movie. It has NOTHING good going for it at all and one can only assume, it was a stopgap part for all the actors involved. The one decent thing is the music, which is quite good. Don't waste any time watching this. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!