This is a very good TV-movie by late 70s/early 80s standards and a popular one. It came along before fertility treatments became commonplace and when pregnancies in middle aged women were usually "accidents." We are told through dialogue that Michael and Anna Kramer are a great couple who fell madly in love (bells went off and all that) and still aren't averse to a quickie before he leaves for work in the morning. However, the way Michael speaks to and interacts with Anna throughout the movie doesn't really convince you of that. He is very abrasive and rarely seems to be able to speak at anything other than top volume. He's like a totally different person in the sequel, much more likable.
Colleen Dewhurst is good in this role, as always. She manages to make Anna strong, vulnerable, smart, self absorbed, flaky, sensitive, stubborn, devoted and witty all at the same time. Anna finds out she is pregnant and you know immediately that, even though she is stunned, she wants to have it. After all, how much of a film would it be if she had a quick abortion? The rest of the piece is mostly about how she gets the rest of her family on board. Michael is wholeheartedly against it. He has plans for his early retirement and they do not involve raising another kid.
Maggie Cooper is appropriately shrewish as the oldest offspring, Elizabeth, who is vehemently against her mother having the baby. She is having issues with her husband over when they will have a child of their own and the idea that her 46-year-old mother might have a baby is horrific and terribly embarrassing to her. Hunky Al Corley does fine as the older son, Franklin, who has dropped out of college and moved in with a girlfriend they've never met (although Anna quickly forms a tentative friendship with her). His strained relationship with dad Michael doesn't help the already tense situation in the Kramer household, but they do agree that it is a bad idea for Anna to have the baby. Younger son Jason, perfectly played by the super talented Timothy Hutton, is the only one who listens to Anna and supports her choice.
Anna has a tenuous relationship with her mother Serena (the excellent Mildred Dunnock) is a difficult one. There is clearly love and respect between the two. However, what Anna has chosen to do with her life (raise a family and not work outside the home) is a major disappointment to Serena, who holds advanced degrees and is a school principal. Anna, who is very happy with her life and passionate about her family, is quite sick of her mother judging her, but craves her approval. Serena does not appreciate Anna's criticism of the cold, detached way Serena brought her up.
This is definitely a family drama. Learning who each person is and what motivates them and watching them interact is absorbing. There is really no suspense as to whether or not the baby will be born. It's more about them coming to grips with the situation, working out their own issues and giving to Anna rather than expecting her to constantly be the one who gives.
Colleen Dewhurst is good in this role, as always. She manages to make Anna strong, vulnerable, smart, self absorbed, flaky, sensitive, stubborn, devoted and witty all at the same time. Anna finds out she is pregnant and you know immediately that, even though she is stunned, she wants to have it. After all, how much of a film would it be if she had a quick abortion? The rest of the piece is mostly about how she gets the rest of her family on board. Michael is wholeheartedly against it. He has plans for his early retirement and they do not involve raising another kid.
Maggie Cooper is appropriately shrewish as the oldest offspring, Elizabeth, who is vehemently against her mother having the baby. She is having issues with her husband over when they will have a child of their own and the idea that her 46-year-old mother might have a baby is horrific and terribly embarrassing to her. Hunky Al Corley does fine as the older son, Franklin, who has dropped out of college and moved in with a girlfriend they've never met (although Anna quickly forms a tentative friendship with her). His strained relationship with dad Michael doesn't help the already tense situation in the Kramer household, but they do agree that it is a bad idea for Anna to have the baby. Younger son Jason, perfectly played by the super talented Timothy Hutton, is the only one who listens to Anna and supports her choice.
Anna has a tenuous relationship with her mother Serena (the excellent Mildred Dunnock) is a difficult one. There is clearly love and respect between the two. However, what Anna has chosen to do with her life (raise a family and not work outside the home) is a major disappointment to Serena, who holds advanced degrees and is a school principal. Anna, who is very happy with her life and passionate about her family, is quite sick of her mother judging her, but craves her approval. Serena does not appreciate Anna's criticism of the cold, detached way Serena brought her up.
This is definitely a family drama. Learning who each person is and what motivates them and watching them interact is absorbing. There is really no suspense as to whether or not the baby will be born. It's more about them coming to grips with the situation, working out their own issues and giving to Anna rather than expecting her to constantly be the one who gives.
