Roseanne & Tom: Behind the Scenes

This made-for-TV movie only presents behind the scenes of the private lives of Roseanne and Tom Arnold, which is disappointing since Tom Arnold made a great contribution to Roseanne's sitcom, whether as executive producer, writer, or simply being Roseanne's husband, something much in evidence the years after the series continued without him. However it never locates "Roseanne" in the history of television, when it arrived as the antidote to The Cosby Show's presentation of a family unit, Roseanne's rare opportunity as a female stand-up comedienne given her own TV series, or explore Roseanne's physical transformation from "domestic goddess" to "star". However the treatment is aided by the informed casting of Patricia Darbo, who actually appeared in the Roseanne show for one episode.

The teleplay presents the arc of the relationship, beginning with their divorce, then using flashback to Roseanne meeting Tom (Stephen Lee, in a brilliant impersonation) in 1982 as he opens for her, when they were both doing stand-up and before she hit it big on The Johnny Carson Show and HBO which led to her TV series. Tom is shown to be second-rate, though the treatment cheats in not letting us see Roseanne's routine, and this carries over into their relationship after she divorces Bill Pentland (Stephen Mendel), where Tom is portrayed as an opportunist to Roseanne's star. Tom is insecure, cocaine-addicted, and sells information to the tabloids, and his implied affair with his assistant Kim Silva (Heather Page Kent) is the reason for Roseanne's divorce from him, though Tom does provide some security for her children when they marry. Apart from assuming executive producer role on her show and becoming her manager, he also exhausts her with other work commitments, said to be evidence of his inexhaustible ambition. However, the case for his physical abuse of her is lessened here, though Tom's assertion of his own child abuse is questionable, since it is presented in an unconvincing monologue when he is in detox, where even Roseanne questions it's truth.

The teleplay also trades on Roseanne's later revealed claim of multiple personalities by giving her a subconscious double as a confidant and for exposition. This treatment reduces Roseanne's sister Geraldine who is known to be a strong force in Roseanne's success, to a virtual cameo, and also diminishes Roseanne by separating her from her work. Tom is the one positive thing for her in light of her unhappy marriage and the obstacles she faces in the first season of her show, but when Tom is revealed to be a fool, this also comments on Roseanne's faith in him. An example is when he convinces her to wear an ugly dress which she considers a `clown' outfit, when earlier we see her reject something similar for her show. Therefore there are strains of love disempowers women.

Much is made of Roseanne's clash with the show's first executive producer Bobby Matthews, a composite character, who accuses her of not being an actor, and gets a line `Will someone who speaks fluid lunatic please explain to her that the line is pivotal to the character's point of view?'. Roseanne gets a revenge line in `He sure don't let his disability get in the way of his work', his disability being `lack of talent'. When he is fired in the second season, she faces his replacement with `You got one leg up from your predecessor - you aint him'. Tom actually gets one funny line referring to one of Roseanne's children as `the missing Menendez sister'.

Roseanne and Tom's marriage is also given a comic spin by their last minute dash to buy donuts, their security from tabloid invasion, and Roseanne's panic over a shop alarm still attached to her wedding dress. However an Al Hirschfeld caricature of Roseanne on a billboard before her show even premieres seems premature, and though the characters of John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf display arrogant contempt for Roseanne, they remain silent ciphers.

Director Richard A Colla uses newsreel footage of the media frenzy around the two at the height of their fame, a home video camera for a pool scene, but also sped-up footage for a shopping spree, slow motion, a black and white freeze-frame, split screen, and an obtrusive music score by Craig Safan. Whilst Darbo is initially dazzling, her performance soon becomes monotonous because of the limited way the role is written - playing victim is always tedious - and because the split screen Roseanne's possibly give us too much of her. Our attention is thrown to Lee, and perhaps our knowledge that Arnold would survive his attachment to Roseanne deprives Tom of a tragic stance.

First, a little history to put things into context. By the time this movie aired on Halloween night 1994, America was completely sick of hearing about the Arnolds. Earlier that year, Roseanne joked that she, Tom, and their assistant Kim Silva were a thruple, but the situation changed when she discovered Tom and Kim had actually slept together. A tabloid frenzy ensued and dominated headlines as the Arnolds separated, with Tom being treated as an ousted Yoko Ono.

At the same time, there were a whole string of unauthorized TV movie docudramas in the works (Madonna, Liz Taylor, Nancy Kerrigan, etc.), so Fox and NBC each scrambled to to get a story about the power-couple's breakup on the air. Fox beat NBC by 3 weeks with their "Roseanne: An Unauthorized Biography," a reprehensibly inaccurate telefilm starring an utterly miscast Denny Dillon. Critics were uniformly disparaging, but no one showed more disdain for the movie than Roseanne herself. Probably driven by spite, Rosey quickly announced plans to host NBC's upcoming film and provide commentary, but she changed her mind and backed out ten days before the premiere. It's too bad that it didn't happen because it would've been fascinating and given this now-obscure movie a well-deserved boost.

Patrika Darbo and Stephen Lee had each guest-starred on "Roseanne" (Darbo was particularly memorable as a waitress whom Rosey had perceived as a doppleganger), and this might explain why their performances were so good -- as a matter of fact, Lee deserved of an Emmy for his thoroughly uncanny portrayal of Tom. Probably in an attempt to avoid a lawsuit, the Fox movie had played fast and loose with the facts, but the NBC film stuck relatively close to the true story... so much so that it almost feels like a love letter.

The popular sitcom is viewed peripherally, taking a backseat to the saga of the Arnolds, from their affair through their rocky marriage to their ultimate divorce. Roseanne is depicted as the brash and ballsy broad that she is, but we're also shown a woman who is struggling with the demands of fame, family, and the man-child who rocked her world off its foundation. Tom isn't portrayed as a villain, but rather as a drug-addicted sadsack who had fallen in love with TV's most popular and outspoken new star. Public perception was NOT on Tom's side at the time, but the writing and Lee's nuanced performance managed to make him seem sympathetic.

The movie does have some issues, most notably in how Roseanne is portrayed as a victim. While she was (and continues to be) one in many respects, we don't see much of the humor that she continuously uses as a coping mechanism. As such, she comes off looking sort of pathetic in spots. Now, that's not to say that there's no comedy, but strangely, it's Tom who instigates many of the film's moments of levity, dealing with Roseanne's tantrumatic kids, indulging in overblown shopping sprees with his bride-to-be and partaking in on-set shenanigans.

Another problem is the treatment of... well, most everyone else in the story. Roseanne's sister Geraldine has such a slight role that it's not especially clear who she is, John Goodman and Laurie Metcalfe seem almost sinister, and Rosey's kids are totally one-dimensional.

The script isn't perfect, a few details were altered, and the affair that ended their marriage was so recent and high-profile that they opted to gloss over it, but the performances are remarkable and if you're interested in the story of Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold, this is undeniably the best movie available.