Review by: Michelle Tan & Mahzan Mahbob
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Diane Keaton directed and as
well as starred in this movie about three sisters'
relationship with their father, and with each other. Their
father is sick and wants constant reassurance from his
daughters, who are racing in all different directions and keep
in touch through telephones, their lifelines.
Three talented and terrific
actresses; Diane Keaton, Meg Ryan and Lisa Kudrow, helm this
movie, together with veteran actor Walter Matthau as their
father. But even with all this talent, the movie fails to stay
afloat. There is too much incessant chatter that seems to
stretch on and on and on. However, the story pulls a realism
cord in our lives these days; that we are constantly busy with
our own careers, appointments and commitments that we
unconsciously choose to push aside what really matters to us -
our family.
Georgia (Diane Keaton), the
eldest of the three sisters, is a self-absorbed, successful
editor of a women's magazine. Claiming that she has done much
for the family, she repeatedly uses other people's ideas and
passes them off as her own. She is successful but feels that
her sisters are riding on her fame and fortune as they keep
calling her to ask for advise and favours.
Then there is Maddy, a
not-too-well known actress of a TV soap series. She carries a
chip on her shoulder about her sisters and father for not
recognising her talent and achievements. Played by Lisa Kudrow,
of the highly popular TV series 'Friends', her character is
somewhat stereotyped, as Maddy is just like Phoebe in
'Friends'; naïve and blur.
Finally, there's Eve. She is a
stay-at-home working mom, with a husband and a son. Played by
Meg Ryan, Eve is the only one that is married and leads a
family life. Does that make her more responsible? Well, she
was the only one who took care of her father when he had a
stroke and was admitted into the hospital.
Their father, Lou, is a drunk
and embittered old man. He cannot accept the fact that his
wife has left him. Eve tries hard to be a good daughter,
standing by him and seeing to his every whim and fancy;
basically being a doormat and a pushover.
There are some depressing
moments here, seeing Eve's struggles in juggling her job, her
sisters' problems and their father. She attempts to satisfy
everyone's needs but her own. However, she finally realises
that she could just 'hang up' on everyone. It is difficult
being 'the responsible one' and she resents her father for
that, though in the end, she realises that she is a part of
him. She is her father's daughter.
This is a movie about family
ties, sibling bonding, father-daughter relationship…you get
the picture. Though intended as a humourous look at a
dysfunctional family, if feels stretchy and flat. In the end,
it is only the casts' names and talents that are the
life-saving buoy for this movie.
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This
comedy/drama is about three sisters who try to come to terms
with the impending death of their father (Matthau). All drawn
in different directions by their careers and families -
accident prone Eve's (Ryan) party planning business and
children, flighty Maddy's (Kudrow) roles on soap operas, and
self-centered Georgia's (Keaton) eponymous fashion magazine -
the sisters keep in touch with each other only through their
ubiquitous telephones. But with their father's health and
sanity failing, they must come face to face with each other
and the bittersweet truths of lives half-lived on the
telephone.
