The Growing Pains Movie

Interesting movie. I sat down to watch it frankly because I enjoy the reunion shows, even though most of them are painful to watch. This one had the characters to be just that. Most of the stars have minimal work since the end of the series. That, of course, is not saying too much because this series went off the air in 1992, and just 8 years later, there is a reunion movie. I just thought "Already?" when I saw previews of this.

Anyway, this stank of being a "We're out of work and need the money" move on the part of the actors, but was really a little better than that.

Somewhere, somehow there was a plot change in this movie that completely threw the storyline into the crapper. From what I understand, originally Ben Seaver(Jeremy Miller) was to have become an alcoholic. Throw that in and some things start making a whole lot more sense. Mike was incredibly upset that he wanted to take his kids, and later had an accident because he had the music up too loud? Ben "finds" himself at the end of the movie helping people? Throw the alcoholism storyline in and the whole thing makes alot more sense. Unfortunately, I imagine that Disney was behind the removal of this plot point, and the movie suffers because of it.

I liked this film. It is not my favorite film, nor do I think it will be anyone else's. I would only recommend it for fans of the show. It is definitely on a more serious note than the sitcom, but who wants to watch two hours of a genre that is usually dead after thirty minutes? In this kind of movie, something more is required. The cast does well, though the plot is very sentimental. But who cares? I watched this film to feel good, and feel good I did. Alan Thicke (Jason Seaver) was my favorite character on the show, and he did not disappoint me. Ben's plot is weird, and I defy anyone to figure it out, but that is the only really serious mistake. This is not the sort of movie I would pay to see, but it makes for nice Saturday afternoon nostalgia. It also seems that the children grew up the way they looked like they would, which is comforting. It may not be Oscar-worthy, but hey, it's better than the "Leave it to Beaver" movie! Watch it when it's on and remember the 80s!

This is a fairly good movie. A good family film, but best if you already know the series. The continuing story of the Seaver family is worth watching, especially if you enjoyed the 80's series. I recommend it as a family movie, but there is a lot of things in it that may confuse a younger audience.

Although Alan Thicke is an even bigger ham than I remember - he seems to have forgotten his role, acts like a talkshow host playing in local theatre - the BIG surprise, in this otherwise VERY predictable "FeelGood" is Tracey Gold.

Her off-screen problems seem to have given her a depth as an actress that shines through even in a hackneyed plot show as this.

Because this event will hopefully be a springboard for Gold into real roles, I give it an 8. Everyone else in the cast did a good but not exceptional, job.

I love the Growing Pains Reunion Movie...I was also a big fan of the show growing up...it was great...I loved that Carol finally got her moment to shine...it was great to see her healthy and finally happy...Most of the people that did not like the movie didn't like the show...so why did you watch it???? I thought it was a great conclusion to the show...hey and maybe a sequel to it would not be a bad idea after all....