One True Thing (1998)

A career woman reassesses her parents' lives after she is forced to care for her cancer-stricken mother.

Director:

Carl Franklin

Writers:

Anna Quindlen (novel), Karen Croner (screenplay)

Stars:

Meryl Streep, Renée Zellweger, William Hurt

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Meryl Streep	...	Kate Gulden
Renée Zellweger	...	Ellen Gulden
William Hurt	...	George Gulden
Tom Everett Scott	...	Brian Gulden
Lauren Graham	...	Jules
Nicky Katt	...	Jordan Belzer
James Eckhouse	...	District Attorney
Patrick Breen	...	G.A. Tweedy
Gerrit Graham	...	Oliver Most
David Byron	...	Senator Sullivan
Stephen Peabody	...	Harold
Lizbeth MacKay	...	Dr. Cohen
Mary Catherine Wright	...	Clarice
Sloane Shelton	...	Evelyn Best
Michele Shay	...	June

Storyline

When a tough New Yorker's mother is stricken with a serious illness, she is forced to quit her job and her relationship with her boyfriend to take care of her, finding out a lot of things she didn't know about her mother and father and her life along the way.

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Plot Keywords:

cancer | female protagonist | melodrama | dysfunctional family | terminal illness | 

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Taglines:

Love What You Have.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Meryl Streep called Bette Midler to use her songs in the movie and Midler said "of course".

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Goofs

In the scene where Ellen is working at midnight and Harold calls, the scene is shown in reverse. The titles on the book spines and the notes on the board are backwards.

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Quotes

[to Ellen]
George Gulden: Your mother needs you, Ellen! Jesus Christ, you got a Harvard education, but where is your heart?

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Connections

Referenced in Fight Club (1999)

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Soundtracks

My Blue Room
Written by Doug Allen
Performed by Doug Allen

User Reviews

Less is more

As William Hurt also said in The Accidental Tourist, "Less..is invariably more". I guess many of us do live in denial, trying to slip through life as if certain things weren't happening. It is true that rude awakenings sometimes are the only ways for some of us to open our eyes and smell the coffee.

William Hurt executed the egotistic father's role like no one ever has before. He is gifted at portraying the role of the "blind" husband. I guess if Kathleen Turner had played the wife's part in this movie he would have had a much harder time. I believe the three of them (Hurt, Streep and Zellweger) portrayed a real family story, something far from the typical Hollywood drama. They were able to show the strong and weak sides of being human and bearing family responsibilities. Very beautiful movie, very descriptive with several not-so-long scenes. Indeed, sometimes less..is invariably more.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

18 September 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

One True Thing

Filming Locations:

Morristown, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,606,455, 20 September 1998

Gross USA:

$23,245,840

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$26,616,840

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monarch Pictures, Ufland, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1