Inventing the Abbotts (1997)

Two working class brothers court three wealthy and beautiful sisters in a small Illinois town.

Director:

Pat O'Connor

Writers:

Sue Miller (story), Ken Hixon (screenplay)

Stars:

Liv Tyler, Jennifer Connelly, Joaquin Phoenix

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Doug Holt
Billy Crudup	...	Jacey Holt
Will Patton	...	Lloyd Abbott
Kathy Baker	...	Helen Holt
Jennifer Connelly	...	Eleanor Abbott
Michael Sutton	...	Steve
Liv Tyler	...	Pamela Abbott
Joanna Going	...	Alice Abbott
Barbara Williams	...	Joan Abbott
Alessandro Nivola	...	Peter Vanlaningham
Nicole M. Vassallo	...	Giggling Girl #1
Amanda Sherman	...	Giggling Girl #2
Shawn Hatosy	...	Victor
Garrett M. Brown	...	Webb Crosby
Julie Benz	...	Co-ed

Storyline

Set in the 1950s, Inventing the Abbotts is a dramatic look at the life of two boys from the wrong side of the tracks and their interaction with the three daughters of local aristocrat Lloyd Abbott. The boys, Jacey and Doug Holt, have only three things in common: their family, table tennis and chasing the beautiful Abbott sisters. Their father, a reckless risk-taker, lost his life through a wager with Lloyd Abbott, his then business partner.

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Plot Keywords:

sex scene | female frontal nudity | 1950s | female rear nudity | breasts | 

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Taglines:

When you want it all but can't have it, there's only one way to handle life...invent it.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 April 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Círculo de pasiones

Filming Locations:

Mystic Theater - 23 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,301,138, 6 April 1997, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$5,936,344, 11 June 1997

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox 2000 Pictures,Imagine Entertainment,Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The narrator is played by Michael Keaton in an uncredited role.

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Goofs

When in the movie Doug writes on the window "I love you", he writes with the finger on the glass that is covered with steam, and it looks nice, but in fact when it's cold and the windows are covered with steam, the steam is always INSIDE the room, not outside.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: The end of my innocence and childhood began in 1957. It is remarkable to me now just how little I knew then about the people around me. It took me years to figure out exactly what the truth was, especially given my brother's knack at inventing facts. My mother once told me that if the Abbotts didn't exist, my brother would have had to invent them.

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Connections

References The Fly (1958)

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Soundtracks

Heartbreak Hotel
Written by Mae Boren Axton, Tommy Durden & Elvis Presley

User Reviews

Simple story well told

I saw this film on a flight to Australia. I'd never heard of it but it would pass some time. In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has a Forest Gump kind of charm but a lot less humour. It also reminded me of the early soap operas like Peyton Place in the way it portrayed 1950's America. The unfolding of the family story is well spun out so that you only gradually come to appreciate the tensions involved and indeed some of the scenes are only understood after later revelations show up a new significance. The characters were believable and the twist in the tale of the story sufficiently unexpected but predictable in retrospect that you kick yourself for not realising. A family film with little to worry the censor other than some mild fisticuffs and a small amount of what might have been referred to in the film as "fooling around". The interplay between the leading roles is exceptional, both between the two brothers and between Liv Tyler and Joaquin Phoenix.