We Were the Mulvaneys

It coulda been better. This movie has a very rushed feeling about it. And the movie doesn't match the book.

It does have a great sense of emotion in this movie however.

5/10

Quality: 7/10 Entertainment: ? Replayable: 3/10

"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+)

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.

I'm actually not a big fan of the movie itself, but I think it's worth watching if you want to see a marvelous performance by a great young actress. Tammy Blanchard is amazing as Marianne Mulvaney. Blythe and Beau are good as always but young Tammy is the star of this one.

Not a great adaptation of the book though, 7.5/10