Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Jessica Lange | ... | Beth Macauley | |
Arliss Howard | ... | Charles Simon | |
Joan Cusack | ... | Jody | |
Chris O'Donnell | ... | Chris Macauley | |
Kathy Bates | ... | Lisa Coleman | |
Tom Mason | ... | John Macauley | |
Charlie Korsmo | ... | Matt Macauley | |
Belita Moreno | ... | Mrs. Buckley | |
Jim Haynie | ... | Mr. Buckley | |
Corey Carrier | ... | Winston Buckley | |
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Shannon Moffett | ... | Dale Buckley |
Kevin Corrigan | ... | Mike | |
David Cale | ... | Fred | |
Constance Shulman | ... | Carly | |
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Mark Hardwick | ... | Ian |
A mother of two sons finds life considerably difficult on her own after the death of her beloved husband. Due to debt she must move them to Baltimore, and deal with the hardships and all that comes with the city life. Written by MasoK <grok@tri-lakes.net>
This film is certainly an exception. A remake from the French version "Hot Air Balloon", this film has many noteworthy aspects to it, including the excellent cast of Arliss Howard, Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and Lange's troubled son Chris O'Donnell.
Primarily Lange is a widower who has to sell her house and start over. She moves to a small apartment in Baltimore with her two children, who are not happy about it. She eventually finds work (there are some amusing scenes) for a catering company, owned by Kathy Bates (always a memorable character, in this case the tyrannical boss).
Joan Cusack also adds humor to the latter half, having met O'Donnell, she starts dating him, Lange at first over-protective, then gradually becomes friends with Cusack. Cusack, as a therapeutic gesture, takes her on a hot air balloon. A seemingly silly gesture, but a metaphor for starting over. Well-done and never depressing, an excellent film worth viewing. 9/10.