All You Need

It's not the most original film ever written or produced, but it is an interesting story of a young woman who is learning to make her own decisions. Kellie's character, Beth, has always done what's expected of her. In this movie, Beth has to live her own life for a change. Kellie Martin is sincere and honest and she looks great. The rest of the cast is fine, too. The film might have done better as a Lifetime movie or something similar... more people would have seen it that way. I hope to see more work by Kellie Martin and Randy Ser in the future.

All You Need is the story of Beth Sabistan, best described as a woman in search of her 'self'. It sends the message that, no matter what your family or personal circumstances may be, YOU are, in fact, all you need to be happy and fulfilled in life.

Though the film is adequately written and directed, its most distinguishing features are the performances of several of the actors. Kellie Martin does quite a respectable job of portraying Beth Sabistan, a young woman who discovers, through the trials and tribulations of her family, that she alone controls her destiny. I found her performance to be quite real and empathetic. Robert Pine as Earl Sabistan, Beth's somewhat bumbling though lovable father, is a treat. He brings to this rather bland character a certain 'spice', though to find out just which one, you'll have to see the film for yourself... He also manages to make Earl a three-dimensional person, though the character seems to have been written as nothing more than a foil.

Far and away, the best performance of this film comes from Janet Carroll as Jane Sabistan, Beth's manipulative, sometimes despicable, yet thoroughly sympathetic alcoholic mother. Janet's ability to bring this minor, yet pivotal character to vivid life is nothing short of fabulous! She absolutely steals the show. One of her most moving scenes is one in which we never see her at all. We simply hear her voice. But in that voice, in that brief few seconds is an expression of thirty or forty years of repressed frustration, anger, and passion that rips at your very soul.

Perhaps the best sequence in the entire film comes near the end, as we experience the absolute terror Jane feels as her daughters try to confront her alcoholism head on. Janet's portrayal of this intensely emotional moment is so visceral I found myself shaking and short of breath one moment, and in tears, feeling abject pity the next. I was definitely on the edge of my seat, hoping for all hope that Jane would triumph. The following scene was a bit of a let down, but was, unfortunately, rather realistic.

If you can find no other reason to see this film, go simply for the thrill of experiencing the kind of performance that comes once in a blue moon. Though Jane's appearances are short and segmented, Janet Carroll brings an intensity of emotion, and subtlety of innuendo to this rather pathetic character that makes those short moments worthwhile. Again I say, Janet absolutely steals the show.

The movie begins with someone fixing Thanksgiving dinner--we don't see a face. The food looks good, and the music is supposedly nice, but not to me. It's a mix on New Age and Contemporary Christian with no lyrics other than "la la la".

After the credits, the scene is positively Norman Rockwell. That doesn't last, as the family argues over whether and how to say grace. Jane, the mother, is Catholic but hasn't been to Mass in years. Missy is raising her kids (including Courtney, who is adorable as she says the "God is great" blessing) in the Church of God. Her husband Todd isn't anything. Roger, Faran's husband, was raised Methodist but is a nonbeliever. He and Missy get into a heated discussion.

Beth's sisters both have kids but she and Chuck do not. They're trying. Or were. After eight years, Chuck wants out.

At 28, Beth must start over. Roger is her divorce lawyer.

First, she must start dating again. Hank and David are two of the losers. We don't know the names of the others, but their outrageous behavior would be considered funny in a real comedy.

Then Beth needs a better job. She is a respiratory therapist but wants a master's degree to become a nurse practitioner. For that she needs organic chemistry. Her professor is Andy, who looks like Hugh Grant and is almost as funny. Will he become more?

Christmas is almost as bad as Thanksgiving, though Courtney looks cute in her dress. I hope she wasn't listening when Beth walked in, because someone described her as being home on shore leave. That wasn't the first time I realized the movie had been edited: no script writers actually use the words "Gosh darn", do they? And in a number of scenes, several of the characters' mouths weren't moving exactly according to what I was hearing.

Jane has a drinking problem which gets worse throughout the movie. Earl is retired from the business he ran and having him home gets on Jane's nerves. Also, both of Beth's sisters have marital problems before the movie ends.

Kellie Martin in no way reminded me of Corky's quirky sister. She was so unpleasant I was worried she'd be the focus of the movie and I'd have to put up with her for two hours. As I mentioned, there are other characters with other problems, but Beth is the main character. At least after the first hour she becomes easier to take.

I really like Matt Champagne as the professor. He and GloriaLeRoy as the sweet but very forgetful Nana provide much-needed comedy relief. About halfway through, the movie almost turns into a comedy but never quite gets there. Some scenes are supposed to be funny, I guess, but this is really a dark comedy if it is a comedy at all.

Janet Carroll does a good job showing Jane's drinking as it gets worse and makes everyone's lives miserable.

I know most of the people watching this movie will be young women, and most of the music--hot adult contemporary and Triple-A on the radio--is what they like. But I didn't like it. There were three songs I liked, in addition to the traditional Christmas music, which was nice. One song is used in a fantasy Thanksgiving scene where all the women had beehive hairdos. The other two, unfortunately, are used where Jane is spinning out of control. Both are inappropriate unless you are supposed to be laughing, and I wasn't.

It was actually a good movie. Better when it was actually funny.

The first hour hardly makes sense, the characters are inconsistent. Kellie Martin can't get past TV acting. It screams family dysfunctioanl drama cliché all the way through. I don't know why this was even picked up by a distrubitor. Boycott bad movies that steal the bread and butter from good independant movies that defy typical everything.

I saw a screening of "All You Need" at the 2001 Savannah Film and Video Festival at which this film won the Best Feature Award. This movie takes what could viewed as a somewhat trite subject, topic, and setting and re-invents them. The screenplay is entertaining and engaging, I never got bored. The direction is crisp and camera placement nice. Perhaps the most outstanding aspect of this film is the performance of Janet Carol as the mother. She pours her heart in a gut-wrenching and at times dispicable character, yet she manages to wrestle sympathy from the viewer at the same time. I had a chance to talk with the producer and was told that this film will receive a much deserved theatrical release.