Pipe Dreams (1976)
6/10
If only Alaska was as accepting as it appears here.
19 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
It's so easy for the character that Gladys Knight plays to make friends everywhere she goes, and her magnetic smile and disposition has every person she meets in the Alaskan wilderness to open up to her, and indeed, she's a willing listener. That even includes Altovise Davis as the indignant mistress of her husband, Barry Hankerson, whom Knight has come to reconcile with

The charisma of its leading lady in her film debut is undeniable, tough when she needs to be, but touch her heart, and she's yours for a lifetime, whether as a lover or friend. She's been offered a job in Alaska, and when she gets there finds out that it's been given to Loretta (Sherry Bain). Not one to hold a grudge, she agrees to move with her, and they become close confidantes. But her boss/lover, Wayne Tippet, is only using her, and Loretta takes a tragic step.

The film has an award worthy theme song, but unfortunately, the soap opera like script suffers from too many directions and no real clear path to the main plotline. But Knight's character is truly a noble one, making it believable that she'd instantly make a ton of friends quickly even though on real life, her character and her husband's would face a lot of racism that never rears its ugly head here. It's a world of racial acceptance that I wish was the truth, but definitely white washed to be as pale as the snowy setting.
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