Sister, Sister

TV Movie
1982
1h 38m

IMDb RATING

7.8/10

221

YOUR RATING

Drama Family

Maya Angelou's story of the family stresses that occur when an older sister (Diahann Carroll) attempts to maintain a home, left by her revered father, in an ultra-moralistic way (regardless ... Read allMaya Angelou's story of the family stresses that occur when an older sister (Diahann Carroll) attempts to maintain a home, left by her revered father, in an ultra-moralistic way (regardless of the fact that she is secretly having an affair with the married preacher). Nevertheless... Read allMaya Angelou's story of the family stresses that occur when an older sister (Diahann Carroll) attempts to maintain a home, left by her revered father, in an ultra-moralistic way (regardless of the fact that she is secretly having an affair with the married preacher). Nevertheless, her uptight need to maintain a sense of propriety of course goes against the wishes of h... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.8/10

221

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 wins total

Photos

User reviews5

7.8221

Featured reviews

5moonspinner55

A black-American variation of Chekhov? Not quite...but Rosalind Cash is excellent

Writer Maya Angelou, perhaps inspired by Chekhov's play "Tri sestry", penned this talky, stagy teleplay about a ne'er-do-well black woman in her forties who shows up on the doorstep of her childhood home after some 13 years of estrangement from her family. Reuniting with her two sisters, who still live in the house willed to them by their demanding father, she instantly opens up old wounds and hurts from the past. Angelou, who also co-produced with director John Berry, sets a solemn tone right from the start, what with Diahann Carroll in love with a married pastor (who's been dipping into church funds to further his political career!) and Irene Cara acting like a (somewhat-overage) boy-crazy teenager. Rosalind Cash's Freida, then, is like a breath of fresh air. Cash overrides the poetic pretensions in Angelou's dialogue, and even makes the writer's pedantic introductions sound natural. She gives the movie a bit of heart, even if the scenario itself is rife with the kind of theatrical sentimentality which may work wonders on the stage but rarely comes across on television.

bkwinman

Intelligent telling of a common family circumstance.

Maya Angelou's story of the family stresses that occur when an older sister (Diahann Carroll) attempts to maintain a home, left by her revered father, in an ultra-moralistic way (regardless of the fact that she is secretly having an affair with the married preacher). Nevertheless, her uptight need to maintain a sense of propriety of course goes against the wishes of her much younger sister (Irene Cara) who, as an accomplished ice skater, is striving for her own independence. And if this isn't enough, into it is suddenly thrust a third sister (Rosalind Cash), who is a single mother with a pre-teen son, who "comes home" with her boy after living for years in the ghettos of Detroit. And because she is the complete antithesis of her older sister in morals and deportment, immediately she sides with her younger sister against the strictures set down in the home. And although the conflicts can be anticipated, the level of the dialogue and the intensity of the characters which Ms. Angelou has built into her story is well worth the price of the ticket. My only regret is that the ending is much too Disney-like unbelievable, and out of character which, I feel, could have been much stronger if there hadn't been such a need for a "happy ending" resolution.

8badman-2

Powerful saga of a family struggle

Entertaining TV-movie (very playlike) about a family shackled by moralistic beliefs. Diahann Carroll is effective as the protagonist and Rosalind Cash is better as the prodigal daughter. Carroll and Cash light up the screen and make this worth watching. This is isn't a heavyweight drama but it's good. Check it out!!!

10ktoglesby

Actress Rosalind Cash Died in 1995

Sadly, Rosalind died of cancer in 1995. "Sister, Sister" is a wonderful movie--Diahann and Rosalind Cash are at their best! Even today, this movie is one anyone--black or white, male or female--will enjoy. This movie was filmed four or five years before Diahann's other masterful, leading-lady-performance in the movie 'Claudine.' This movie also is one that portrays African Americans in a positive light--something rare in the '70s. It's kinda neat seeing little Kristoff St. John (now famous as the well-loved character Neil Winters on the soap "The Young and the Restless") playing the tween son of Rosalind Cash's character Freida; wow--he's come a long way and endured a great career (much like Laurence Fishburn, who starred as a young kid in the movie "Earl, Cornbread and Me."It would be pretty cool to see a remake of this movie--starring, say, Angela Bassett, Lynn Whitfield and Halle Berry.

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
Filmed in 1979, but not aired until 1982.

Quotes
Freida Lovejoy Burton: [all three coming down the stairs] I thought it would be good for Danny, but he hates it.
Carolyne Lovejoy: He hasn't even given it a chance.
Freida Lovejoy Burton: Now Caroline, I Know my son. He's been on his best behavior. He thinks you don't like him. It's awful to grow up in a house where you're disliked.
Sissy Lovejoy: Don't I know it.
Carolyne Lovejoy: What do you mean by that?
Sissy Lovejoy: You never liked me.
Carolyne Lovejoy: I raised you, Sissy. Do you remember what Papa always used to say?
Sissy Lovejoy: What?
Carolyne Lovejoy: There's nothing more important in a family of nations than the love and care of your own relations.
Sissy Lovejoy: Oh, those stupid poems again. He even published a book of them. You knew I wanted to go to Howard University and I needed that money.
Carolyne Lovejoy: Papa left that $2000 for me to publish that book.
Sissy Lovejoy: Of course, you always did what Papa want. You never did anything for me!
Carolyne Lovejoy: When you were a sick child, I cleaned your vomit. I bathed and powdered you. I gave you your first pair of high heel shoes. Was that for Papa? I gave you your first dating dress. I gave you your first ice skates! Was that for Papa, Sissy?
[runs into the kitchen]
Sissy Lovejoy: [following her] Yes, Caroline, it was, like everything. And what was he, Caroline? A Pullman Porter who made some investments, saved a little money. A porter caring for white folks. Cleaning their clothes and shining their shoes and damn pleaded for the lousy tips he got being their servant.
Carolyne Lovejoy: But he did it all for us so that we can have a better way of life.
Sissy Lovejoy: Not for me. He never...
Freida Lovejoy Burton: Wait, wait. We don't have to argue this, we're all grown. Now Cissy and I both have decided to leave this place. We need money and we want to sell this house.
Carolyne Lovejoy: My house?
Freida Lovejoy Burton: It's not your house.
Sissy Lovejoy: It belongs to all of us, Caroline.
Carolyne Lovejoy: This was your idea, Freida. You had it from the first day you walked through that front door.
Freida Lovejoy Burton: I don't deny it, but why do you need all this space for yourself?
Sissy Lovejoy: Caroline, you can move into your own apartment. You can buy yourself a decent car.
Sissy Lovejoy: This house will sell easy.
Carolyne Lovejoy: Isn't it a pity that for 13 years you didn't think about this house, when I was here putting my time, my love, my money into this house!
[she pickes up a serving dish and sets it on the dining room table]