Marvin's Room (1997, VHS)

Based on 1991 the off-Broadway play by Scott McPherson (1959-1992) and directed by Broadway director Jerry Zaks (whose only other film credit is for directing the television version of House of Blue Leaves ), this 1996 film has the look of a made-for-tv-movie about a long-divided family confronted by a crisis of the disease of its key member. It has better music (by Rachel Portman) than made-for-tv movies, and has an outstanding, star-studded cast being more subtle than usual for most of them. Bessie (Diane Keaton) has been caring for her father (Hume Cronyn, unfortunately mute) and a mildly..

Almost done with the revisions of my deleted reviews. My apologies to those people who have read all this ish before. Marvin's Room is about reconnecting. It is about a family that is fractured and needs each other to grow as individuals and get past what is stalling them in life. Meryl Streep gives her usual great performance as Lee, a single mother who lives in Ohio and has just finished cosmetology school. When she gets a call from her sister Bessie (Diane Keaton in her one and only superlative performance of the 90's) in Florida, she goes down to see her. With her are her two sons Hank ...

I have got just about every movie Leonardo has been in, yes I am a huge fan ever since 1991, when he was in Growing Pains(Luke Brower). Well enough about that on to my review of MARVIN'S ROOM. It starts out with Bessie(Diane Keaton), who lives in Florida at the doctors getting blood work done. Meanwhile back in Ohio, you see Hank(Leonardo DiCaprio) looking at pictures of him and his family. He throws them all on the floor but one, which rips in half and keeps the half with his dad in it. Puts gasoline on them and lights a match and burns the house down. He mom, Lee (Meryl Streep) gets a call..

I rented Marvin's Room through Netflix.com and I fell in love with it...right along with bawling my eyes out. It was one of those stories where you feel like calling up all of your older relatives and your siblings after watching it to make sure they know you love them. Realistic....very much so. There were many good parts of this movie...the actors, the storyline and the way it made you feel. The actors consisted of a hodge podge of old to young actors. You see Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, and Robert DeNiro as the "veterans" of the screen. Meryl Streep with a background that ranges for recent.