A strong story about a family in crisis is transformed into a tepid parody of what is supposed to be a Jewish family. The movie has several problems. First, the casting. There is no way that Blythe Danner can pass herself off as a Jewish-Brooklynish mother. She is completely miscast. Second, the Eugene Jerome character has to be one of the most obnoxiously unfunny adolescents in the history of cinema. Not only is he nasty, he is a pervert too, as the movie shows. Third, the staging of the story fails to convey the family's desperate financial straits. That is, the family does not seem as poor as the story suggests. Fourth, the interpersonal issues, which are the strong points of the story, are resolved in a way obviously meant to ensure that the movie has an upbeat ending. The conflict between the two sisters is intense and quite dramatic, yet its resolution is pure schmaltz as their mutual anger inexplicably evaporates. But perhaps the worst feature of the movie is the treatment of Eugene's brother who is the most complex of all the characters. His issues alone could have been the basis of a great movie. Instead, he is relegated to being a straight man for the unfunny Eugene. That the brother, who is a troubled young man, returns to a home housing the likes of Eugene Jerome is proof of movie company can take a perfectly good story and turn it into pulp.