Like many women with families, Wanda (Edie Falco) is the glue that bonds her clan together. They bond around trips to the ice cream parlor. They bond around their wacky family history. They also bond together through their competitively dysfunctional behavior, as depicted in the new dramedy, I'll Be Right There.
Life in Pearl River, NJ, hasn't been easy for the family. Son Mark (Charlie Tahan) spends his time flitting from one illicit behavior to another - a little drug habit here, a little breaking and entering there, with mom on speed dial to bail him out of a jam. Daughter Sarah (Kayli Carter), almost nine months into her first pregnancy, while simultaneously prepping for her dream wedding, is a hypochondriac. She spends her time berating her spouse-to-be as not being the sharpest pencil in the box. Mom Grace (Jennie Berlin) is convinced she's dying of cancer. Dressing as if she's going to her own funeral, she's elated to find she 'only' has leukemia and lights up a cigarette in front of Wanda to celebrate the 'good news'. Ex-husband Henry (Bradley Whitford), now saddled with three young children in his newer family, is also saddled with huge debts and tells Wanda there's no way he can help pay for their daughter's wedding.
Constantly surrounded by a revolving series of dramas, Wanda's life is filled with needy people. While it exhausts her, she thrives on the chaos, believing that if she's not the ringmaster, the circus tent would fold up. She'd never admit that she enjoys controlling every situation, but she always dives in to help, even when that help is not being requested. It's been going on for years. Finally, now, while she's 'helping', she's also coming to the realization that, like many women in similar situations, she's lost track of who SHE is, what Wanda wants for herself. Grace recognizes that trait in her daughter and tells Wanda, "There are some things you have no control of."
Both kids, who have reached adulthood in years, while obviously not in emotional maturity, resent their father for leaving and having a new family, and blame him and their mother for their own failures. Wanda is currently involved in not one but two relationships outside her family, but is realizing that neither of them are fulfilling for her as a person. She is even offered help from both, but denies each offer. Wanda's reached a breaking point.
But what do you do when you believe you're one who has to be strong for everyone else? That everything will fall apart if you're not right there for them? Especially when, on the rare occasions that you ask for help, and that help is denied.
Mothers, and women in general, will see themselves in Wanda. Wondering if she made the right choices, wondering if the mistakes her kids make are her own fault. Has she done enough? Has she done too much? How Wanda is finally able to let go and move on with her own life is the crux of the film. I'll Be Right There shows how humanly imperfect most families are. Though viewers may not have this family's specific issues, they're sure to recognize and embrace the humanity of the characters.
