Thicker Than Water
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Movie Reviews of Thicker Than Water
Movie Review: Clean, great themes, script issues
Summary: 4 Stars
Pros: Creative storyline with great themes; generally clean entertainment
Cons: Script and score didn't add to the credibility
The Bottom Line: It's a clean drama with enjoyable themes, but suffers in the credibility department.
Note: There is more than one movie with this title. This refers to the one by Echo Bridge Entertainment, starring Melissa Gilbert, Lindsay Wagner, and Brian Wimmer. Hallmark Entertainment.
Price: Five dollars or less
Family Approval Certifications: Dove Seal
87 minutes; not rated
This is a story about an attorney who finds an old picture of her recently deceased father-with a bride who isn't her mother. The attorney never knew about this previous wife, and so she heads out to find out about what could be the other half of her family. As far as the plot goes, I won't spoil it for you beyond this.
The themes are healthy and the content is generally clean; one reference to going on vacation with an opposite-sex partner to whom the character is not married. So if you're looking for a family movie, this is certainly one of the better ones out there from that standpoint. Besides, who doesn't enjoy a story about people crossing into a very different lifestyle to save the dream of a family they didn't know they had?
The only things I struggled with are:
1. The script. At first I thought some of the acting wasn't up to par, but then I paid careful attention to the lines and realized it's probably hard to act unnatural conversation. It seemed too forced; too much like the dialogue was meant to demonstrate the story instead of just letting the characters say what they would under the given circumstances. It would have been far more credible of they had simply let the plot demonstrate the story and let the characters be themselves in those incidents. Although, I must say that Brian Wimmer did an amazing job of swimming through the rather unnatural dialogue and somehow managing to make it look good. And some parts were better than others, too.
An example of unnatural dialogue: the previous bride had a daughter, who keeps referring to her own mother as "Maggie May." I don't know many people who call their mothers by their first names. We know her as Maggie May, of course, but her daughter would probably say, "My mother."
2. The score. The style of the score just didn't seem to match the style of the film, and I found it distracting. The menu theme is fine, and the moods were accurate, but the dissonant tones and heavy reliance on wind instruments sounded (rather ironically) somewhat lighthearted for a drama. We're talking about a woman who just lost her father. She just found out a little fact he failed to mention: he had a wife not her mother. This is a heavy situation and the music failed to reflect that. Probably because it was for the most part a family film, but necessary levity breaks can come through sprinklings of humor in the plot, not a mismatched score. And you would never think this woman was grieving, either. It just didn't come into the story at all, which robbed the whole thing of credibility.
This is not to say the film as a whole wasn't enjoyable. It's nice to see a woman discovering likenesses between her father and herself as she crosses into a lifestyle so alien to her own for the sake of kin. And the scenery was nice. A few cat-in-the-window shots would have been nice-maybe use the horses. Let us see them run; see their majestic beauty-something that would make us understand why the first wife made it her dream to save these wild, DNA-skewing horses, and why the next generation felt this was a dream worth saving. I needed to relate to the characters more.
But it is enjoyable to watch for an evening, and you generally don't have to worry about who is watching. It isn't for children because they wouldn't be able to relate without a certain amount of life experience, but it's an entertainment factor, not a suitability issue. Except, now that I think about it, one issue: a coworker of the attorney comments he is spending the weekend out of town with a woman he just met. I wasn't fond of that part but it was a passing comment. I remember nothing else, and it's great to see Lindsay Wagner and Melissa Gilbert back in action.
I would recommend this to a friend.
Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older
Movie Review: Thicker Than Water
Summary: 4 Stars
This could have been a perfect movie but parents with young children should be aware that it does contain some mild language. The swear word h*** is used once and the Brian Wimmer character is fond of using the term "working her butt off". He uses it three times.
Otherwise, the storyline is very good--nothing objectionable. In fact, very interesting, and Melissa Gilbert and Lindsay Wagner were terrific, as usual.
Movie Review: The wonderful scenery
Summary: 4 Stars
is of course the strongest part of this movie. I found the actors also very good, very natural. The weak part of the movie is the "love story". Whereas the story of the sisters is convincingly developed, the relationship is negligently drawn up. The ending is unconvincing, rather haphazardly done. It leaves the actors and the viewers "in the air" somehow.Movie Review: Clean, entertaining film with talented actors
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this based on the reviews and my desire to see Lindsay Wagner after all these years (I used to watch "The Bionic Woman" when I was a kid). It was entertaining and great to see two famous TV actresses working together. I thought they both did a fine job. This is a clean film for the whole family.Movie Review: Enjoyable drama
Summary: 4 Stars
Thicker Than Water is a heartfelt T.V. movie. Although, Lindsay Wagner has a limited role, she is in fine form against Melissa Gilbert as the lead. Hallmark All of Fame type of movie, Thicker than Water has all the right ingredients : drama, a bit of supense and a lot of funny moments. Highly recommended.