I've loved this movie for at least 2 decades -
I somehow lost the VHS or DVD and sort of forgot about it. There's a movie called 'un-SUNG Heros' and seeing it on a list recently immediately reminded me of unSTRUNG Hero's - so I snagged the DVD on EBay!!
This is definitely a keeper. It's one of those rare gems that somehow slip under the radar because it's not some drama action flick with some over-used, in-high-demand actors.
Moreover Diane Keaton directed this and showed as much genius here as the mad-inventor dad character. She captured the moods, sounds, & smells of the 50s-60s era distinctly perfectly - every composition & line of dialogue moves the story along at a perfectly immersive pace.
In this drama-with-humor, Keaton shows us 'crazy' is totally objective - and incomparable genius can often be much more reckless, intolerant, and unkind than the average person.
The characters, 3 very alike - but very different brothers, a young boy, and a dying mother are woven together in real, quirky & beautiful ways - I think the message is all about family, our differences, & bringing family together.
In this case, it took a tragedy.
The mom loved to grow beautiful things - her flowers abound - all the colour in the film is because of her, we watch it wane as the story unfolds, and is a metaphor for even her death; a hard pruning of the American Beauty, causing new, beautiful growth in her remaining family.
The whole cast is perfect, and their performances are perfect as well
If more people saw this film I'm sure the overall IMDb star rating would be a solid 8 or 8.5, if not a 10.
This is definitely a keeper. It's one of those rare gems that somehow slip under the radar because it's not some drama action flick with some over-used, in-high-demand actors.
Moreover Diane Keaton directed this and showed as much genius here as the mad-inventor dad character. She captured the moods, sounds, & smells of the 50s-60s era distinctly perfectly - every composition & line of dialogue moves the story along at a perfectly immersive pace.
In this drama-with-humor, Keaton shows us 'crazy' is totally objective - and incomparable genius can often be much more reckless, intolerant, and unkind than the average person.
The characters, 3 very alike - but very different brothers, a young boy, and a dying mother are woven together in real, quirky & beautiful ways - I think the message is all about family, our differences, & bringing family together.
In this case, it took a tragedy.
The mom loved to grow beautiful things - her flowers abound - all the colour in the film is because of her, we watch it wane as the story unfolds, and is a metaphor for even her death; a hard pruning of the American Beauty, causing new, beautiful growth in her remaining family.
The whole cast is perfect, and their performances are perfect as well
If more people saw this film I'm sure the overall IMDb star rating would be a solid 8 or 8.5, if not a 10.