Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
John Plumpis | ... | Saul, Age 25 | |
Janel Moloney | ... | Beebee, Age 25 | |
Yvonne Zima | ... | Gwen, Age 7 | |
Christine Ebersole | ... | Beebee Moss | |
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Kellen Fink | ... | Nick, Age 7 |
Karen Allen | ... | Betty Dawkan | |
Kale Browne | ... | Vince Dawkan | |
Michael Tucker | ... | Saul Moss | |
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Alexandra Theriault | ... | Taffy, Age 7 |
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Kimberly Paige | ... | Taffy, Age 12 |
Jim Jansen | ... | TV Dad | |
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Sean Bolvin | ... | One Big Happy Family Member |
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Kenneth Flores | ... | One Big Happy Family Member |
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Joette Hayward | ... | One Big Happy Family Member |
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Mary Martin | ... | One Big Happy Family Member |
Gwen grows up with her romantic mother constantly telling her the story of her courtship and marriage to her father. Nick grows up with an alcoholic father who can't hold a job and whose family, as a result, is forced to move all the time. The two are shaped by this - Gwen a romantic and Nick withdrawn, unsure of himself - as they watch the hugely popular sixties sitcom, "One Big Happy Family." Years later, it is the star of that show, now a child actor gone bad with a history of detox and people always saying, "I thought she was dead," Francesca Lanfield, who connects the two of them, after years of near-misses and almost encounters. Gwen is hired to ghost-write Francesca's autobiography, while Nick, becoming her lover, is the architect who is to design a building on Francesca's property. When Gwen decides to crusade to save Francesca's building, she writes letters to the newspaper which catches Nick's attention - and wins his heart. Written by Gary Dickerson <slug@mail.utexas.edu>
I've seen this movie about five times by now and I still find new things to like about it. Tripplehorn is great (especially at pratfalls) and the rest of the large cast is pretty good too. The movies takes swipes at modern architecture, smoking and relationships, and they are very funny for the most part.