We Were the Mulvaneys

"We Were the Mulvaneys" tells of a nauseatingly, oh so perfect family not unlike "Father Knows Best" or "Ozzie and Harriet" who suffer a tragedy, a rape, which begins a chain of events resulting in the fission of the nuclear family. Pausing to dwell on the emoting while skipping through time for the rest of the story, everything which happens in this squeaky clean contrivance seems to be little more than an excuse for melodrama making this film just more low budget TV drama queen fodder for Lifetime channel hanky-wringers. Pretty awful stuff made for those who can swallow huge choking gulps of stereotypes, cliches, and melodrama. Recommended for soap opera fans and the like. You know who you are. (C+)

The story could be explained in one minute from beginning to end and the movie runs a little slowly at times...But the emotional impact transferred to the movie watcher is powerful. Beau Bridges is the consummate actor once again displaying a wide variety of emotion without ever appearing that he is acting. I would have preferred that the dialogue give us a little break so that the stress the movie produces could ease before it starts up again.

All in all, a healthy 7.

Are they supposed to be real? The most perfect family having the most perfect lives in the most perfect town with the most perfect weather. Every moment is the pinnacle of WASP Thanksgiving. And most importantly they are all cheerful chatterboxes who gently tease each other chattering away simultaneously.

I have to believe that the filmmakers completely missed Joyce Carol Oates pitch perfect black satire

Blythe danner as Corinne is inspired, yet for some reason the feeling of the movie was so terribly insipid compared to the book. The rest of the actors seemed very stiff and not to understand themselves within the context of the story; particularly Marianne's character. And the costumes sucked. Whenever I read this novel I think it would be perfect for a movie, but unfortunately this version fell threw. I hope they option it for the big screen using some more talented actors or at least a more talented director.

It might be difficult for the younger generations to understand the progression of this movie's plot. We know now that women have rights, too, that they are sometimes violated against their will, and that hidden secrets have a way of coming out against our will.

But people just a few decades ago did not know that. Just three decades ago, a women was presumed to have invited a man to have sex with her if she cried rape. Sexual abuses were hushed, pregnant girls sent away in group homes.

I suspect that women from past eras will find this film provoking, and the younger ones will do well to see how much progress has been achieved since. We still have a long way to go, of course.