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A family is overcome by the grief at the loss of their baby, who died of crib death. The parents are so self-absorbed with their own feelings, they can't see what is really important. Their pre-teen son, David(a young Neil Patrick Harris), is becoming lost in the shuffle. Enter one Clara Mayfield(Whoopi), a Jamaican caregiver who has come to lend a hand. She and David form a strong friendship. She vows, she will be there for him, as long as he needs her. Clara, though, has some deep rooted problems of her own. But they give each other, a love they both are missing from their lives, and their story is touching and heartwarming. Kathleen Quinlan and Michael Ontkean round out the cast nicely as the parents who can't see past their own sorrow. The music by Dave Grusin adds greatly(as always) to this emotional story. Directed by Robert Mulligan, it is a movie that will stay with you for quite sometime after the view. An emotional ride, that you probably will want to stay on for a while. Recommended for those that like a good drama.Read full review
The movie tells the story of a family in crisis. The mother, Leona (Quinlan), escapes to Jamaica to grieve the loss of her baby daughter. While there she meets kindly housekeeper Clara Mayfield (Whoopie Goldberg). Clara pulls Leona out of her depression with a blunt, no-nonsense style. Leona is so taken with her that she brings Clara back to their home in Baltimore to be housekeeper and nanny to young son David (Neil Patrick Harris). At first he is resistant and sees her as an intruder, but as the parents are completely wrapped up in their own grief and dissolving marriage, David comes to trust Clara and to depend on her. Clara harbors her own dark secret, which when revealed, serves to firm the bond between these two very different, but loving, characters.
Whoopi's depth and insight for this character embodies all we could hope for in a friend, someone who is wise, patient, candid and loving. The parents' deeply rooted narcisism only complicates an already devistating situation and are ill equipped to nurture their surviving child. Neil captures perfectly the hurt, anger and confusion a child of his age would experience through such family trauma, and the dynamics between both Clara and David as she helps to guide him through this situation will keep you captivated until the very end.
I had this movie, but due to a house fire we lost all of our movies. I was very glad to be able to replace this since it is one of my favorite movies. This is the best place to get movies. We already have watched it and have enjoyed it very much. The movie came to us in very good shape and in a very timely manner.
I had seen this movie a while back but purchased it as a friend was coming to town and I wanted us to watch it. Whoopie is so wonderful in this movie and so kind, in her own way, to this young man who is going thru a hard time in his early teens. It is a great book and good lessons for teens.