Freak City (1999 TV Movie) User Reviews

More possible than others want to think

[BenKarlin · 7/10 · 25 July 2013]

Other reviewers focused on the improbable circumstances of the story. Being familiar with institutions, asylums, and homes since the mid-60s I can vouch for there still being plenty of places like those depicted to warehouse the unwanted. Having paperwork makes it easier even if it's the wrong paperwork. This holds true for adults; there are plenty of ways to entangle them in the system.

What I really wanted to those who care that the movie is full of strong language. Many of the characters toss off obscenities easily. I am used to a TV-14 being roughly equivalent to PG-13. The PG-13 however only permits limited strong language and this film runs way beyond counting. I do not know that the rest of the content would have warranted an R rating in theaters. The language would have to be toned down to get the PG-13, however, as the f-bomb detonates more than I would want my children to hear. More than I want to hear too now that I am thinking about it.

Otherwise cast members each have beautiful scenes that highlight their strengths as actors. Watching that is a real pleasure since there is so much talent pooled in this cast. Also nice that the movie is old enough that many are caught before their careers took off.

A movie that will teach you to understand.

[psy_guy · 4 June 1999]

There are very few movies that strike me as realistic in nature when it comes to dealing with the topic of medical challenges. In the movie Freak City, the viewer is given the chance to be a part of the anger and hostility that surrounds different disorders. Not only does it focus on self inflicted pain but it also takes a look at family reactions by focusing on the different ways that people cope.

Having been through the gamut with my own afflictions, I will have to say that this is a movie I truly identified with. Also, Freak City is a film that will give people a deeper insight into the lives of those that society deems handicapped.

horrible waste of talented actors

[wrongbongos · 1/10 · 5 July 2013]

wow, Really Jane Shepard? Do your research! So first of all as a person living with MS the portrait of this character with MS is a lot of BS. And as someone else stated in another review, in this day and age, someone over 18, this wouldn't happen. Also as a person living with MS and who works in an assisted living property and has worked in such places my entire career, this movie is so much BS. Some other people reviewed how eye opening it was and blah blah blah. Well it's not portraying the reality of a situation. Don't waste your time watching this horrible film. I was curious because of the MS situation but 20 minutes in I turned it off and was totally offended. Ms. Shepard should be ashamed of herself for putting pen to paper with this.

IT WASN'T A MOVIE I WATCHED - IT WAS SOME PEOPLES LIVES I SAW!

[Doddan · 9/10 · 27 February 2000]

IT WASN'T A MOVIE I WATCHED - IT WAS SOME PEOPLES LIVES I SAW! I think Freak City is an amazing movie. All the actors made their absolutely best. How easy is it to act someone who is so completely different? That question been made up in my mind during the time I saw the film. It is after a movie like this you can see which people who are good actors or not. An actor I think is really great in the film is Peter Sarsgaard as Cal. I think his role is really difficult to play. He made a fantastic job in the movie and he is very real and believable. I recommend this movie to all kind of persons. The movie is even funny in some scenes. I think the film would be seen by more people in the world, it is really a GREAT movie.

Nice movie, good story

[iNFERiON · 8/10 · 12 April 2003]

This is a nice movie, some scenes are a little long, but it's not annoying. In this movie, Ruth's grandma dies. Ruth is an MS-patient and her family takes her to a home for mental and physical handicapped people. At first, she does not like the home, but she finds her way there and makes some new friends. The movie has a good story. It's definitely one to watch if you like drama movies.

This movie touches on an area most of us do not think about.

[jawnh · 4 July 2000]

This movie stars Samantha Mathis and shows the life of someone with MS who is sent to a nursing home after her grandmother dies. Her grandmother had been her care-giver up to that point. It shows the emotional problems that someone in this situation would face because they can still THINK for themselves, but are not physically sufficient any longer. Ruth (Samantha) has to learn to deal with the others around her in the nursing home and ends up with several friends (blind guy, mentally slow roommate, brain damaged singer, and others). She not only learns how to deal with others, but helps them learn to move forward with their lives too.

It was a good movie that touches on a subject that most of us do not like to think about and Samantha gives a good performance. Her co-stars are Jonathan Silverman, Marlee Matlin, and Natalie Cole.

under-rated, poetic exploration of the human spirit

[leighm21 · 10 September 1999]

Samantha Mathis, Jonathan Silverman, and Natalie Cole? Sounds like it ought to be trite and even a bit goofy or silly...however, I was more than pleasantly surprised.

Ruth (Mathis) undergoes a beautiful transformation in this film. She finds her life in utter upheaval after the death of her grandmother. Dealing not only with that loss, she must also seek to find personal peace in Lewellyn, a care facility she is placed in against her will by her aunt.

It is here that she encounters Lenny (Silverman), Cass (Matlin), Elanor (Cole), and Cal (Sarsgaard). Each facing their own affliction, Ruth must learn to deal with her MS.

I must take a moment to applaud Peter Sarsgaard's performance as Cal. Through his conversations on Dante's inferno and his own personal demons rising to the surface, he monopolized my attention. He is phenomenal, powerful, real, and, above all, believable.

I urge you all to rent this, especially if you are involved in any way with health care. This is a beautiful story and film deserving more attention.

Caution: there are, at times, some predictable moments, Natalie's song does seem to be about two verses too long, and Lenny's mother (who you'll know as Roseanne's sitcom mom) is unavoidably annoying.

Good cast, preposterous premise by lazy writers

[twmac · 4 April 2013]

This is a story of Ruth (Samantha Mathis) a young disabled woman who was living with her grandmother. The grandmother dies and the Ruth has lost her home and her caregiver. She is forced to move into a nursing home by her scheming family since they hold the power of attorney.

This is where the story is derailed. Perhaps 50 years ago it would be plausible for a competent person to be committed to a home against their will, but not now. There is no way for this to happen. Ruth is of sound mind, and she is able to manage her life except she is unable to walk. She could leave the hospital or nursing home any time she wanted, they can't hold you since these places aren't prisons. The only time you can be held against your will is if you're held on a psychiatric charge (a danger to yourself or to others), and that only is for 3 days.

So the movie starts off on the wrong foot, and it doesn't improve much from there. The characters are the typical quirky one-dimensional cardboard cut-outs you find in these types of pictures; a waste of a good cast. Then there is a love story, a fight against the family and the dealings with the other patients in the home. The story takes no risks and explores no new territory.

If the writers tried a little harder, they could have made a compelling story of a woman facing a serous debilitating disease and how she copes. Rather than a forced admission where she is held against her will, they could have given us a the real world scenario where Ruth runs out of choices and has to live in the nursing home because there is no other place for her to go. Her sole remaining family won't take her, and conspires to get the grandmother's house, leaving Ruth with no alternatives. We could see how she deals with her fellow patients in the home, how she deals with her illness, and how she fights to get back her house. If the writers gave us a story of a real struggle then it would be a film that means something. Instead the writers took the easy way with clichéd villains, badly written characters, and a ridiculous story. Could have been much better.

So Underrated And Lots Of Talent

[rosemcgowanrulez2001 · 16 January 2002]

Freak City was a better movie than I expected. It actually was a good storyline and what a cast. From the talented and beautiful Samantha Mathis playing a girl with MS and she plays it so well to Jonathan Silverman playing a blindman so well. Marlee Matlin is terrific and such a talented actress who is deaf in real life. Natalie Cole plays a brain damaged singer and she is good. She sings in the movie and it is good. Now a movie about handicapped people may not be a movie geared to alot of people but when you watch this, you will basically be watching people's lives in this. I was so impressed with it and bought it to add to my Samantha Mathis collection. Samantha is superb as always and this girl shines like always as well. It was shot here in Toronto and that was when I had the honor of meeting Samantha who is such a sweetheart. Rent it or buy it, not boring at all.

Terrible waste of good idea, and good talent.

[Doctor_Bombay · 20 April 1999]

We try not to think about a time when me might be no longer self sufficient. If we do ponder the future, I suspect most of us just think one day we'll be living, the next day we won't. No muss no fuss.

It would be too humiliating to be dependent, too embarrassing, particularly if you are still young, and young at heart. Ruth Ellison (Samantha Mathis) is a young rebellious girl, whose immediate family is gone, all but her grandmother, with whom she lives. Ruth suffers from MS and is confined to a wheelchair. When her grandmother dies one day, what remains of the normalcy in her life goes with her death, and Ruth is forcibly confined to an in-patient care facility; housing physically and mentally challenged of all ages. Can you imagine?

'Freak City' is not a traditional name, nor is it a name that generally would attract filmgoers. That this film shows a lot of early promise, then totally self-destructs halfway through is no surprise. It completely comes off the rails.

A waste of a good cast, including Marlee Matlin, and we get so little chance to see her anymore. Such a shame.

The idea is a bit outdated and hard to imagine

[Scott-221 · 2 November 1999]

Today, people like them would be put in an assisted living situation or some other situation. The idea is always to strive for the most normalized environment-the environment closest to what other people experience everyday---even if they were on SSI or if money was an issue. There are actually few institutions like that left--those that are look very little like that hospital.

The fact that the main character was over 18 makes it even harder to believe because if she did not want to live there then there is no way they could make her stay.