The Flamingo Rising

The 3-4 movies a year that gain the "Hallmark Hall of Fame" sponsorship never fail to deliver, and Flamingo Rising was one of the better efforts lately. This is a feel-good show that recaptures a look and feel and style while beautifully intertwining humor, pathos, the family unit and the American work ethic. From the Korean orphans to the Fourth of July accident to the stunning conclusion, the creators offered one memorable scene after another. And, somewhat rare for a TV movie, Flamingo Rising had terrific visuals. Brian Benben is the driving force, and is excellent as the drive-in theater owner who achieves his dreams in nearly every way -- for a time. Stephen Larkin as his son gives a sympathetic but firm performance. William Hurt, kept too far in the background some of the time, is excellent in a low-key role. But the star of the show is Elizabeth McGovern, the conscience and rock of the family who becomes everyone's friend and confidant. Hollywood very very seldom gives us something that veers so far from its apparent destination. And it almost never reflects life's highs and lows as perfectly as was done in this movie.

Having read the novel that the film was based on, I found the film a very superficial and watered down version of the story. As with all 'first person' narratives the inner voice of the book is lost, thus taking away a lot of the passion and intensity of the original. The importance of the role of Alice is lost and the loss of the sexual aspect of the story dilutes the tension and southern steaminess.

Even though the subject matter of this film was appealing, the terribly shallow character portrayals and almost cartoonish-plot & characters was just appalling.

The subject matter was far too SERIOUS for the goofy way in which these characters--especially the adults--were portrayed. The father, the undertaker, the mother, and the airplane pilot all acted mostly like caricatures--buffoons. The kids seemed to have more smarts and sensitivity than the adults in this picture.

Another thing that was a big turnoff was the constant HARPING about the so-called "glories of adoption" vs. biological families. Doesn't Hallmark EVER get tired of this dreary theme and clearly-political nonsense? They're as bad as ABC & BahBah Wah-Wah (Barb Walters) with their relentless cramming adoption down the throats of viewers. It sure gets old.

The subject matter in this film should have been handled with more dignity and less lunacy. The ending was especially ridiculous...

This movie was disappointing for all the above reasons.

I had hopes that "The Flamingo Rising" would be a "black comedy" of outrageous eccentrics trying to out annoy each other along the lines of Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi in "Neighbors". The added interest of a gigantic drive in theater and a funeral parlor replacing two adjacent houses, only made the ground more fertile for dark comedy. Unfortunately my expectations were not met, because "The Flamingo Rising" has a severe identity crisis, and is a real mixed bag of underdeveloped characters and concepts. The bag includes feuding neighbors, teenage romance, marital drama, 50s nostalgia, religious guilt, and tragedy. This total mish-mash leads to a fatal identity crisis, and certainly a missed opportunity for the "black comedy" I was anticipating. - MERK

Nothing to Bragg about here to goofy to be really good but still OK watch. James Welch Henderson 9-10/21.