Obviously Glenn Jordan's film about a guy (played by James Woods) and his son and daughter, left bereaved by the death of the wife/mother, and still living on in the house surrounded by memories of her, has a worthwhile topic to address and air.
Equally obviously it's a worthy film a little short on laughs.
Unfortunately, what passes for excitement here is weird and incongruous and strained (how is it really conceivable that neighbours trying to help the three snap out of it would invite them round and then serve them undercooked meat and sour milk?; how is it really possible to mount a street-to-street search for a boy who is actually hiding out in the spider-infested basement?)
And when you've got past that, what's left is out-of-place pseudo-comedy at moments, as well as predictability in terms of plotting (perhaps inevitably), but also in the lines delivered (largely unforgiveably).
While Anne Archer as Mary does her usual stuff and has her usual presence (which is good enough), her opposite in the shape of Woods's character seems a bit of a strange mix of the wet and wishy-washy (and overwhelmed by his circumstances). Yet there's most likely going to be a point when you realise that may not truly be a problem with the character in the film - Paul Clark (a man whose gainful employment plays a key part early on in the film but then disappears entirely from it); but rather that of Woods himself, who certainly looks more at home (if unpleasantly so) blasting away at vampires than he does here!
Oddly, the aforementioned segment of the film which does feature Paul's work at a sports shop - and his partner there - is where they seem to be trying to play things out as comedy; which is really not the right thing to do.
The way the somewhow-traumatised and not-really-getting-over-it kids continue to take their mother's death out on Mary (and to a lesser degree their dad) is authentic-ish and reasonably well done; so there are moments at least when the film reaches the level of emotion and gravitas it clearly sets out to achieve.
But for the most part it fails to get to such heady heights and is only barely worth devoting 90 minutes of one's time to. I don't QUITE say "not worth" as that would be a little too harsh, but...
Equally obviously it's a worthy film a little short on laughs.
Unfortunately, what passes for excitement here is weird and incongruous and strained (how is it really conceivable that neighbours trying to help the three snap out of it would invite them round and then serve them undercooked meat and sour milk?; how is it really possible to mount a street-to-street search for a boy who is actually hiding out in the spider-infested basement?)
And when you've got past that, what's left is out-of-place pseudo-comedy at moments, as well as predictability in terms of plotting (perhaps inevitably), but also in the lines delivered (largely unforgiveably).
While Anne Archer as Mary does her usual stuff and has her usual presence (which is good enough), her opposite in the shape of Woods's character seems a bit of a strange mix of the wet and wishy-washy (and overwhelmed by his circumstances). Yet there's most likely going to be a point when you realise that may not truly be a problem with the character in the film - Paul Clark (a man whose gainful employment plays a key part early on in the film but then disappears entirely from it); but rather that of Woods himself, who certainly looks more at home (if unpleasantly so) blasting away at vampires than he does here!
Oddly, the aforementioned segment of the film which does feature Paul's work at a sports shop - and his partner there - is where they seem to be trying to play things out as comedy; which is really not the right thing to do.
The way the somewhow-traumatised and not-really-getting-over-it kids continue to take their mother's death out on Mary (and to a lesser degree their dad) is authentic-ish and reasonably well done; so there are moments at least when the film reaches the level of emotion and gravitas it clearly sets out to achieve.
But for the most part it fails to get to such heady heights and is only barely worth devoting 90 minutes of one's time to. I don't QUITE say "not worth" as that would be a little too harsh, but...
