gwitherspoon Reviews

Scarface (1983)

Manolo - You Should Have Called Dude

[7/10 · 12 July 2006]

Since this movie has been dissected to bits by everyone, here are a few trivial observations:

Was I the only one who thought that stupid clown Octavio deserved to get blasted? What kind of act was that - a big-headed dancing clown that only someone high on coke would find amusing?

The song they were playing at Club Babylon: "llelo," were they singing about crack? Was everyone dancing to some cocaine anthem or what? All of the music was pretty awful and I can't imagine anyone actually wanting to dance to any of it.

What was with Gina's afro? Did she and Tony have different fathers? She looked like a white man's version of what a Cuban woman should look like - Puerto Rican/Cuban/whatever - we'll just darken her skin, give her a stupid accent and an afro. If her mother raised her to be an honest, hardworking, respectable young lady, would a few thousand dollars immediately turn her into a coke snorting, ditsy tramp who had no more self respect than to let some "lounge lizard" fondle her rear end in a toilet stall?

Why didn't Manolo simply tell Tony that he and Gina were married. If he was afraid of him - use the phone. Even if Tony hadn't been such a psycho, he would have still been p*ssed that his best friend didn't think enough of him to let him know that his sister was all right. Manny had the mother worried that something had happened to her. Why didn't they invite the mother to the wedding - why sneak off and wait to be found out?

When Gina had the gun on Tony, he seemed like he was enjoying watching her robe open and close instead of being concerned that she might actually kill him. Why did the contract killer blow Gina away first when they both seemed to have the same objective? Why not simply start blasting Tony? If Alejandro Soso could get such a large group of trained killers to invade Tony's estate, why didn't he use some of them to get rid of the politician instead of asking Tony to do it?

When Tony's mother was talking to him in her kitchen, why did she say "We haven't seen you for five years, and then immediately repeats "five years" in Spanish - That's right, throw in a couple of Spanish words to remind us that these were Cuban immigrants. The whole speech should have been in Spanish if they wanted to be authentic. She really seemed like a crappy mom anyway for all her talk about "You give hardworking Cubans a bad name." What was she doing during his formative years in Cuba? She should have been tough with him then, when it mattered. Even though she apparently attempted to raise Gina "right," she wasn't exactly a credit to her upbringing either.

Did Elvira have any parents or friends? How did a seemingly middle class white girl get mixed up with a Cuban drug dealer like Frank in the first place? Talk about a cardboard character, we knew practically nothing about her. Why on earth would she even have been attracted to Tony Montana? Seems like she was better off with Frank.

Tony was too arrogant to realize how stupid, uneducated and uncouth he was. When he had lunch at Sosa's house, he was ignorant enough to eat the lemon out of his finger bowl. I'll bet by the end of the movie, he would have done the same thing. His character never evolved from being a heartless, uneducated, cold-blooded thug. That haircut and those horrible, tacky clothes: why didn't someone suggest a different hairstyle for him, or at least tell him where to buy a few quality suits?

Eight Legged Freaks (2002)

If You Build It They Will Come

[5/10 · 17 August 2005]

Okay, the spiders were better actors than the cast but the movie was supposed to be stupid, light hearted fun - and it succeeded.

Bumbling Deputy Pete was hilarious. When Sheriff Sam asked him to help load her son's bike onto the truck: "Yeah, okay, sure." Poor thing was crying and sniffling like a baby when his wife left him over the cat's electrocution. You could also tell he was totally henpecked by his wife. He didn't even have enough sense to wipe the spider sh*t off his face after shooting it. Something nasty and slimy is dripping down on your head and you don't even care?

Greasy, ponytail-wearing Mayor Wade: "That was an excellent ostrich burger." Gotta give it to him: he actually had ostrich burgers as a fast food meal at his mall since he was raising the nasty little buggers on his farm and wanted to turn a profit with them somehow. (Give me one jumbo ostrich burger, fries and a Coke! Ewwwww). He locked the basement door at Prosperity Mall so the rest of the townspeople could deal with the spiders and only thought about saving himself. He deserved to be eaten by the spiders and I was sort of sorry they rescued him. How he ever got elected mayor is anybody's guess. Maybe nobody else wanted the job.

Sheriff Sam wasn't very convincing: Her daughter looked about 5 or 6 six years younger than her mom! It made her mom seem like sort of a slut and an underachieving one at that --- Pregnant at 16, divorced with 2 kids and staying on as Sheriff in a small, economically, disadvantaged mining town of no importance to anyone but its out of work residents. Did she even finish high school? I guess you didn't need any qualifications to be Sheriff in Prosperity so why not give the pretty, divorcée a chance to wear a uniform and carry a gun? The daughter was just a mean spirited teenage brat and her part was sort of a throwaway.

I didn't really care if Chris McCormick survived. He was "sooooo boring" and not attractive in any way. Why on earth would Sam want him? Aunt Gladys was sort of a hoot, but why was she so alcoholic and ravaged looking? She looked like the product of some hard drinking, inner-city New Jersey, crime-infested ghetto instead of an Arizona desert town.

They didn't really flesh out the characters very well because the focus was on the mutant spiders.

The movie suffered from split personality: I'm a comedy, no I'm a horror story, no wait, I'm an action movie, I'm romantic.....whatever.

It would have been so much better if they were either a comedy or a horror story and had a plot that was true to one or the other.

I actually did enjoy this movie because I overlooked the stupidity and bad acting and just had fun with it.

Moonstruck (1987)

Let's Hear it for Families

[10/10 · 16 August 2005]

This movie is still an all time favorite. Only a pretentious, humorless moron would not enjoy this wonderful film. This movie feels like a slice of warm apple pie topped with french vanilla ice cream! I think this is Cher's best work ever and her most believable performance. Cher has always been blessed with charisma, good looks, and an enviably thin figure. Whether you like her singing or not - who else sounds like Cher? Cher has definitely made her mark in the entertainment industry and will be remembered long after others have come and gone. She is one of the most unique artists out there. It's funny, because who would have thought of Cher as such a naturally gifted actress? She is heads above the so-called movie "stars" of today. Cher is a real actor on the same level as Debra Winger, Alfre Woodard, Holly Hunter, Angela Bassett and a few others, in that she never seems to be "acting," she really becomes the character convincingly. She has more than earned the respect of her peers and of the movie-going public.

Everything about Moonstruck is wonderful - the characters, the scenery, the dialog, the food. I never get tired of watching this movie.

Every time single time I watch the scene where they are all sitting around the dinner table at Rose's house, I pause the remote to see exactly what delicious food Rose is serving. I saw the spaghetti, mushrooms (I think), but I can't make out whether they are eating ravioli, ziti? What is that main course? It looks wonderful and its driving me nuts!

Everybody in that family was a hardworking individual and they respected and cared about one another. The grandfather wasn't pushed aside and tolerated, he was a vital part of the family and he was listened to and respected for his age and wisdom. He seemed to be a pretty healthy, independent old codger too.

Loretta's mom wasn't "just a housewife," she was the glue that held the family together and was a model example of what a wife, mother, and home manager should aspire to be. She was proud of the lifestyle she had chosen but she didn't let it define who she was. High powered businessmen aren't as comfortable in their skin as Rose Casterini was. Notice the saucy way she said "I didn't have kids until after I was 37. It ain't over 'til its over." You got the sense that she had been the type of young woman who did exactly as she pleased and got her way without the other person realizing what had happened. She was charming, quick witted, and very smart. What a great mom!

I didn't actually like Loretta right away because she seemed like a bit of a know--it-all who wasn't really as adventurous and as in control of herself as she wanted others to think. She could tell others about themselves and where they had gone wrong, but she really didn't apply common sense to her own life. She was going to marry a middle-aged mama's boy simply because she wanted a husband and a sense of identity and purpose to her life. She was more conventional than her own mom. She dressed and wore her hair like a matron at a house of detention and seemed humorless and bored, but underneath you sensed that she was vulnerable and lonely and had a lot of love to give the right man. She would probably end up making an awesome mom too.

I could see in the future, a house full of Loretta and Ronnie's loud, screaming happy kids and Rose and Cosmo enjoying every minute of it.

The Mummy Returns (2001)

Hey, hey, hey for Ardeth Bey!

[10/10 · 11 August 2005]

I agree with Snow 20. Imhotep and anck-su-namun were so in love there was no way she would have run off like a coward and left him to die. This is the same woman that stabbed herself in the stomach in the first movie! If anything, she would have hurled herself into that fiery pit with Imhotep. This scene really spoiled the movie for me and up to that point I was having a great time.

Yes, the Scorpion King looked like a plastic jerk and the CGI wasn't up to snuff, but you couldn't help being entertained by it. It was exciting, action packed and managed to squeeze in some great battle scenes, love scenes, and even an ancient fight scene between women (Nefertiri and anck-su-namun).

Oded Fehr (Ardeth Bey) has to be one of the hottest actors on the planet! The man is simply gorgeous and quite talented. He is definitely leading man material. There were so many good looking men to drool over: Ardeth, Rick and Imhotep. If I were Evy, I'd want to date both Ardeth and Rick and decide (much, much later) which one I wanted to marry. Okay, so marry Rick, live an upper-class life in England with your husband and son, but at least experience Ardeth first. Spend a few months out in the desert with this hunk and get a little ankle tattoo to remember him by!

I felt sorry for Imhotep, and in this movie, he didn't seem to be the bad guy at all. I thought he had gotten a raw deal in the first Mummy anyway. He was just in love with the wrong woman and was willing to sacrifice everything to be with her. Who wouldn't have gotten "a little riled" at having one's tongue cut out, being buried alive and slowly eaten by scarabs, and then having an eternal curse put on you! I would have returned and kicked a few asses too. In this movie, all he seemed to really want was to be with anck-su-namum again. She was the monster in this one, if you ask me.

Imhotep really didn't seem to have his heart into "ruling the world" and seemed happier once he was reunited with her, only to have her run off and leave him to die. I had tears in my eyes along with him and you could see he was heartbroken and no longer cared what happened to him. Here is little Evy dodging falling columns and leaping over breaking ground to save her man and anck-su-namun was supposed to be the bad-ass female warrior who would do anything for her man. She got what she deserved though and I cheered as the scarabs picked her bones clean. Too bad Imhotep couldn't have seen that! They never really explained how anck-su-namun was reincarnated in the first place. She just shows up in 1930s clothes, with a new name and spouting English like a native.

Evy seems to have lost her sense of humor and ditzy ways in this one all together. I guess thats what 10 years of marriage and having a bratty kid will do for you. Now, she is a no nonsense, humorless, treasure seeker (instead of the librarian she proudly proclaimed herself to be in The Mummy) and just didn't seem as much fun as she used to be. Her clothes seemed awfully revealing for 1933 too. She is still very beautiful but just boring - even with her new butt kicking skills.

The little boy's role was totally unbelievable. Not his acting - he did a decent job with what he was given - but he seemed to act more like a child of 12 or 13 years instead of 8. He was too self possessed, too articulate and too brave. Nothing scared him, he apparently had artistic talent well beyond his years (perfect sand depictions of ancient Egyptian cities and monuments were left as clues for his parents), he read and understood ancient Egyptian words that he wouldn't have really grasped even in English. He didn't seem upset when he thought that he lost both his parents in the dirigible crash and didn't shed a tear when he saw his mother knifed before his eyes. Just matter of fact and ready to go on with his life. The brother didn't even seem upset either. Now thats taking the stiff upper lip British thing too far! (Okay lads, she's dead, let's get on with our trip and try to get back to London safely in time for dinner shall we?)

Stakeout (1987)

Get out the popcorn and sodas - You are going to enjoy this movie

[10/10 · 27 July 2005]

I absolutely love this movie and watch it at least once a month. It is the perfect blend of comedy and drama and all of the lead characters were well suited for their roles.

The only bit that made me uncomfortable was the fact that Chris not only illegally entered Maria's apartment but stuck around to watch her naked in the shower. That wasn't even remotely funny, it was frightening. This young woman thinks she is alone in her home and never knows that there is a policeman/pervert watching her shower. I couldn't help but imagine what could have happened if she glanced at the doorway and saw a strange man watching her. It makes us uncomfortable because nobody likes to be spied on and we have the illusion of safety and privacy in our homes. I think Chris had an unfair advantage over Maria and that is one of the reasons she was so hurt and angry when she found out who he really was. This guy had listened in on private phone conversations, watched her get undressed, saw her naked in the shower, had been in her bedroom - actually under her bed -- watching her in what she thought were private moments. I don't know if I could have forgiven a man for something like that, even it was his job. That wouldn't make it any less despicable to me. Chris and Bill were barking like hounds when Maria was taking off her top and were disappointed that she didn't turn around so they could see her breasts. Wonder how Bill's wife would have felt about that behavior? Barring their degenerate and disrespectful behavior, the movie was indeed hilarious and it held my attention from beginning to end.

Also, Maria exercised poor judgment --- she just took Chris' word that he was the telephone repairman. She didn't ask for identification and just threw open the door and let him in her apartment. Can we say Boston Strangler? Chris simply climbed through an open window in order to search Maria's bedroom. She wasn't very security conscious at all. A real rapist or killer would have no problem gaining entry. She was a single woman and should have had better sense.

It bothered me that Maria's scenes had to be backed by some kind of pseudo-Latin music. That seemed a bit offensive to me. None of Chris and Bill's scenes called for some kind of ethnic background music. When Maria was in her kitchen cooking, she was bopping around while she stirred her food and boogeying her way over to answer the telephone. It seemed to suggest "that of course, those free-spirited, hot blooded Latinas always danced while preparing a meal and had to have some kind of music playing in the background to do the simplest of chores." Just like many commercials that feature "African Americans" have to have someone rapping, or break dancing or singing a gospel song. Can we ever get past these stereotypes?

Aidan Quinn playing a bad guy --- he was convincingly evil and perfect for the part. A lot of directors wouldn't have been savvy enough to cast him.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable movie that still feels fresh after 20 years.

Waiting to Exhale (1995)

Don't Exhale Just Yet

[7/10 · 27 July 2005]

I have the video of this movie and it grew on me as time passed. It's not a great movie but it is enjoyable and as has been pointed out by others, it feels good to see a movie about women of color for a change. However, the movie would not have been watchable without the formidable talents of Angela Bassett and Loretta Devine. I felt that they really were Bernadine and Gloria -- even their smallest gestures were in tune with their characters. I don't have the words to describe what fine actors these ladies are and their skills are right up there with Debra Winger, Holly Hunter, Alfre Woodard and others.

Gloria seemed to be the only moral woman in the lot. She was adorable as an overweight, insecure no-nonsense business woman and mother. She didn't think she was worthy of love because of her weight, but she was the only one who found it (and deserved it). She was the only one who didn't sleep around, wasn't a man basher, set a good example for her son, and gave good advice to her girlfriends. The other three could learn a lot from her. Loretta Devine has a really beautiful face -- look past the weight and for those of you who judge people by such things, her skin color. She has wonderfully expressive eyes and attractive features. I think it was noteworthy that Gregory Hines' character saw her real beauty and responded to it. His character was a decent, good man and I'm glad this was addressed in the movie.

Angela Bassett has always been one of my favorite actors. She is the total package --- beauty and talent. Her character wasn't perfect but Bernadine did take responsibility for the mistakes she made in her life. She was so much better off without that reprehensible excuse for a husband in her life - she could now start her catering business, she had a possible new love in her future and she had good friends that would always be there for her. I was as happy for her as if I were really one of her girlfriends when things turned out well for her in the end.

Lela Rochon didn't display any acting talent here and wasn't quite up to the job of conveying Robin's vulnerability and immaturity. She was little more than a tearaway that slept around and made dumb choices. In the book, you realized that Robin had a lot of love to give a man and didn't seem to know how to choose a good one to bestow it on. She was obviously beautiful and decently educated but she lacked common sense and had never really gotten over her betrayal by a man she had really loved. Her mother was a cancer survivor and her father suffered from advance Alzheimer's disease. I don't feel they rounded out this character at all and she didn't seem like an actual person. Just a cute slut who wondered why she got used by men.

Poor Whitney has no acting skills whatsoever! Every character she attempts to portray is exactly the same -- Whitney Houston being well groomed, pretending to be well spoken and classy, and looking cow eyed at whatever male actor she is paired with. Its a shame because Savannah should have been played by someone like Angela Bassett or Kimberly Elise (although she might have been too young). The character had to tell us she was smart -- in a phone conversation with her mother she said "I'm smart, I'm a good person and I work hard." Thank goodness she told us because we sure wouldn't have known otherwise. She has sex with a man she doesn't like at all and doesn't even know well and then has an affair with a married man and calls him scum! She has poor conversational skills, doesn't really seem interested in her friends'problems and preferred to roll her big eyes and act as if she were so above whatever little difficulties they were going through. Savannah would be such a waste of time for any man unless she took a long hard look at herself. She deserved to be by herself at the end.

This movie might have been better with a female director, as Forest Whitaker didn't "tell this story" properly at all. We ended up not liking or caring about the characters because we really didn't get a strong sense of who they were.

Also, was it me, or was everything in this movie either orange or blue?

Sweet Home Alabama (2002)

An enjoyable, light hearted movie

[10/10 · 22 July 2005]

This movie did exactly what it set out to do - entertain and make the audience feel good. Yes it was frothy and not exactly original, but so what? How many truly original movies are there anyway these days? For what it was, it was excellent.

What woman hasn't fantasized about having two handsome, ambitious hunks in love with her or having a successful, glamorous career and lifestyle? This was a universal story that appealed to women of all races and and backgrounds. The people were attractive and easygoing, there was no profanity or gratuitous sex scenes. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and would watch it again and again.

Melanie wasn't initially very likable, but she wasn't as shallow and pretentious as the opening scenes would lead us to believe. In the end she was guided by her heart and common sense. Yes, she reinvented herself and became a pseudo-New York sophisticate, but I never got the impression that she was ashamed of her family - she just wanted her life to be different from theirs. The way she left Jake was cruel and selfish - but she really pulled herself up by her bootstraps and made something of her life and so did he. If she hadn't left him, Jake probably never would have been motivated enough to start a successful business.

Melanie actually seemed comfortable in her own skin. She enjoyed her successful life in New York but she realized she was happy being back in Alabama as well. She really could have both - a wonderful career and a loving family. I don't know why the movie ended with a glimpse of her future life in snapshots that were barely on the screen for five seconds. If you weren't paying close attention, you didn't realize that she and Jake had a beautiful little daughter, his business seemed to be a success, and she was content to be in Alabama. It wasn't clear to me if she continued with her fashion career. I think the film could have spared time to flesh out Jake and Melanie's future in a little more detail.

I didn't think her parents (or Melanie) were "white trash." They seemed like hardworking, decent people who were content with their lives. Why is it that if people aren't working at some glamor job or a high-profile, money-making career, they are thought to be unambitious and unimportant? These were blue collar folks and they had no reason to be ashamed. I loved the glimpses of Alabama small town life and the scenery was gorgeous. Did you notice the beautiful view Jake enjoyed when he and Melanie were standing on the dock near his home? The townsfolk seemed congenial, non-judgmental and very likable. Everybody seemed to really care about one another and look after each other. Melanie realized she had made the mistake of judging her old friends and that the important thing was that they were happy with their lives and didn't feel the need to pretend to be something they were not. She learned a valuable lesson from them, not the other way around.

Andrew was a totally class act - he accepted Melanie's rejection gracefully and went on to find love and happiness without her. We wished him well and just knew that his political career would be a huge success. Patrick Demsey's character was sort of a shallow cliché but I think that was the whole point. He could have been any handsome, successful, ambitious New York yuppie.

If there are any good ole country boys that look like Jake - get me a ticket to Greenville, Alabama today!

Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005)

Helen was a pathetic excuse for a woman

[10/10 · 22 July 2005]

There seemed to be two movies in one - supposed comedy from Madea and the dramatic story of a young woman finding herself after an emotionally barren and abusive marriage. The movie would have been strong enough to stand on its own without Madea. She was distracting, out of place and not funny at all. She was a caricature and a tired stereotype of the big, soul-food cooking, gun-toting black Southern grandma.

At first, I wasn't sure if I would like this movie or watch it all the way through -- all because of Helen's gutless and whining behavior. It didn't feel realistic to me and seemed way over the top in both the husband's casual cruelty and Helen's meek acceptance of his behavior. No woman is going to just whine and whinny when her husband brings his other woman into their house and orders her out. I don't care what race the woman is or how well bred she is supposed to be.

Helen was a sniveling, weak, lazy excuse for a woman who seemed to have her head buried in the sand for the last 18 years. It wouldn't take anyone with half a brain, 18 years to realize what a cruel, selfish and unfeeling person her spouse had turned into. Helen has herself to blame for her predicament. She didn't try to better herself in any way during the course of her marriage, didn't put any money aside (she didn't have a career or goals of any kind), didn't seem to do any type of volunteer activities or help others less fortunate than herself. She claimed she wanted kids - since she didn't have them, she could have worked with kids and made a real difference in someone's life. Helen was comfortable in her role as the rich, idle prop for her husband and looked to him to give her meaning and value. It seemed like her Christian values only kicked in after she had been humiliated and dragged from her home. I didn't feel sorry for her then either, because she didn't fight back or stand up for herself in any way. Even going to court to legally claim what was rightfully hers seemed too much effort for her. Even after she moved into Madea's house, she could have taken some college courses or some sort of training to assist her in getting a well paying and interesting job. She only went to work as a waitress because Madea wasn't going to let her mooch forever.

I didn't like or respect this character at all. I felt she treated Orlando much the same way Charles had treated her and if I were Orlando, I wouldn't have taken her back. Helen was selfish to the very end and no better than her husband. I think they actually deserved one another and should have remained together. Orlando deserved much better than Helen. A hardworking, intelligent, witty and kind man is someone every woman wants and often doesn't have. Helen should have cherished him.

Surprisingly enough, I did enjoy this film for many reasons and none of them had to do with race, over-the-top acting, or Madea's ridiculous behavior. I thought the last scene in the church was extremely moving and powerful - not Charles' getting up and walking down the aisle (cheesy and predictable), but the former crack head wife making the effort to rehab herself and be with the family that she loved and who loved her. I cried when she walked down the aisle singing. I think this was a way to show us that a belief in God can change your life and help you to do anything you set your mind too. The character wanted her family life back and knew that it was up to her to stop doing drugs and turn her life around, so that she could be reunited with them. She relied on her faith, willpower and determination and God heard her cry for help and she was blessed. That is a lovely message for anyone to witness. If the movie said nothing else - that message was enough.

The Brothers (2001)

Props to the middle class "black" man

[10/10 · 16 May 2005]

I agree with the user who said that the low rating of this fine film could be due to the fact that a number of white viewers are unused to the portrayal of black males as normal, upwardly mobile Americans. The black middle class is treated as nonexistent in real life and the focus is on economically and educationally disadvantaged members. That seems to be the image most Americans are comfortable with and find acceptable. There have been black doctors and lawyers for decades now so there is nothing unusual or new about these young men's careers or lifestyles.

Having said that, I'm glad to see black men portrayed in a normal, honest, and introspective light. We've all known young men like this but as females, we weren't privy to their private conversations. It is refreshing to know that they have worries, problems, and as many insecurities as their female counterparts and feel comfortable enough to voice them with each other.

It felt good to hear another "brother" chiding one of his friends for always referring to women as bitches, and pointing out that there was something wrong with HIM, not the women he was attempting to demean. I also liked the fact that Jessie let Brian know that ALL women expect good treatment and respect from a man and that she was no more willing to put up with his shallow, immature behavior than a black woman would. I don't think she was a ditz at all and she didn't take any mess from Judge Carla either.

Maybe one day soon we can have a movie about middle class black people without making a big deal over their race and view it as just a middle class "people" movie.

All of the "brothers" learned something about themselves and grew as men and individuals.

I thought Jenifer Lewis was exceptional in this part and I'm not even a fan. She was so convincing that I actually believed she was Louise. She was a strong, outspoken female who was a good wife and mother. She fought for what she wanted. She wanted her husband back and she got him too - and even got "ole boy" to have a second wedding at that! I found Jackson's parents relationship more interesting than his and Denise's. I was rooting for the mom and dad to get back together and I really didn't care if he and Denise did.

For Love of Ivy (1968)

Enjoyable Family Fare!

[10/10 · 3 May 2005]

I wish they were still making movies like this. The dialog is dated and so is the reaction to the son's marriage proposal to Ivy, but I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Sidney and Abbey made "acting" look like art. Abbey Lincoln exuded elegance, poise, common sense and a good sense of humor. Sidney is always classy in whatever role he portrays.

I liked the Austin family too. They seemed to genuinely care about their housekeeper and seemed ahead of their time in terms of their views on race and class. They really meant well even when they said the wrong thing to Ivy, and didn't seem to realize that she wanted a better life for herself, a home of her own and a family of her own just as they did. Why should she be their "maid" until she died and be satisfied with that? Ivy wanted to pursue American Dream just like all of us do. Even the son who really seemed to care about her was selfish and wanted to trick her into staying under the guise of having her best interests at heart.