Mixed Company

A couple with three children, two girls and a boy, adopt or foster three other children; a Black teen (Haywood Nelson), a Viet Namese girl and a Native American boy. With Joe Bologna and Barbara Harris as those parents, you can guarantee that any conflicts will be met and dealt with. I caught about half of this movie when I saw it and was overwhelmed by the way the subject matter was handled so humorously.

Stephen Honanie as Joe, the Native American child, who was one of the youngest children, was without a doubt the funniest, as on Halloween he wore a feather in a headband, mocassins and buckskin breeches and carried a tomahawk and exclaimed over and over "I'm an Indian, I'm an Indian, I'm an Indian!" It would be years before I would realize the joke here; as far as he could tell, it was the costume that made him the Indian, not his heritage. Ariane Heller as the white child of the couple, their youngest, would also show a child's innocence in what she perceived around her.

Lisa Gerritsen, best known as Cloris Leachman's daughter on Mary Tyler Moore, was the oldest child and on that same holiday, her date removed his Frankenstein mask to reveal what her parents didn't know, nor did Haywood Nelson; that he too was Black.

The final conflict came down between Bologna, a basketball coach, and Nelson, and how each of them would show they care, in the end by cheering on their team at the basketball game. I would love to see this movie again and get a better clue of how the racial lines were crossed. From what I can recall it did an excellent job. This came on the heels of the cancellation of The Brady Bunch and later on there would be Mulligan's Stew with Elinore Donahue. This one got lost in all the shows. It is truly an outstanding viewpoint of the extended family.

I saw this movie twice, first time in the theater. The movie was well written and very interesting indeed. The character I liked best was the couples' youngest and biological daughter, Mary (played by Ariane Heller). She was so cute and mischeivous, and had very beautiful brown eyes! I loved the scene where she was in the bathroom showing her adopted Black Brother, Freddy, that she was all white by removing her bath robe standing there wearing only in her under pants. This scene was so cute!

I wish this film had a sequel, and hope that it will be released on DVD soon!

Mixed Company is a good film which looks at the topic of adopting children.

It features a fine cast, including Joe Bologna and Barbar Harris.

It also raised a little controversy when it came out due to a scene where Joe Bologna spanks a young black boy, Haywood Nelson, on his bare bottom.

Not available on video to my knowledge.

This is a cute film about families and how members change. The short skirts on Mom really brought back memories. It looked so strange to see short shorts on the basketball players.

One word of warning: the language is horrific. I guess that is to be expected since we saw it on a premium channel, but it seemed to be over the top, especially for a film made 30 years ago.

We especially enjoyed the relationships between the coach and "star" basketball player; the "Indian" boy and the Vietnamese/American girl; the original family and the new family; and the husband and wife before and after the family size increased.

It was also nice to see stars we had forgotten about; 1974 is the date given and it has given us the desire to see "where are they now."

The writer of "Yours, Mine, and Hours" came back to the well with this vaguely similar plot line....but to dismiss this charming, genuine, and very heartfelt little sleeper as a mere retread is to risk missing some big laughs, some great performances, and many deftly wrung tears.

Story of a coach's wife who finds herself drawn to the hobby of collecting "unwanted" kids could have come across as sentimental drivel. This low budget gem instead draws upon the grit of 1974 and brings it's characters to full life with a raw intensity that is all but unheard of today....

The sublime Rush and Bologna may come off a bit broad at first...and the no frills cinematography may give the early scenes a TV sitcom vibe...but stick around until the three orphans begin working their magic on their prospective parents...(and your own heartstrings).

These are damage, scarred kids...and their baggage is displayed in unflinching detail which looks quite shocking now (almost as surprising as the film's flashes of nudity...try and see an uncut print if you can find one).

To my view this film deserves to be a family favorite even more than the original "Yours Mine and ours" ...and I would also it deserved to be remade...if I thought there was a small chance Of modern Hollywood recapturing it's honesty and heart!