Colin Welland's original script has been shifted from industrial Britain to Seattle, Wash., and with only minor signs of strain. (He would not likely make the same mistake about the local British football team that he makes about the American: no rabid Seahawks fan, as Gene Hackman is cracked up to be, would identify Curt Warner as "number 32." Curt Warner is number 28.) However, some strain comes into it elsewhere. Certainly the workaday life of the working class is a less usual subject in American films than in British, and this may contribute to the palpable lack of comfort. The actors, for the most part, seem to feel it won't sound "real" if their readings are too clear and direct (just as the scriptwriter seems to feel if his writing is too focussed and probing), and the general effect is of a stammering, blushing, uncommunicating sincerity. Amy Madigan, as the married daughter of a man in midlife crisis, makes a forceful impression with some unmitigated anger. And Ellen Burstyn, as the wronged wife, comes on strong in the second half -- for instance when winning $100 at bingo or telling the gals at the beauty shop about her night at a male strip club -- and she walks off with a movie that was there to be taken. With Ann-Margret, Ally Sheedy, Brian Dennehy, and Stephen Lang; directed by Bud Yorkin. (1985) — Duncan Shepherd
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