Family Secrets

Melissa Gilbert is Sara Calloway, 18 year old daughter of divorced Chicago advertising executive Jessie (Stefanie Powers) and granddaughter of Maggie (Maureen Stapleton), who is moving from her Wisconsin home to a condo after the death of her husband. When Sara and Jessie visit Maggie, who Sara calls `Megs', to help Maggie pack, the reunion brings old resentments to the surface. Sara has a subplot where her emerging sexuality has her concerned with birth control, and Jessie fears for Sara's interest in a local boy Lowell (James Spader).

Although Sara is 18, Gilbert's youthful appearance and manner make her seem younger, with a Julie Weiss low-waisted formal dress and white stockings working against her. Her hair here is long brown with blonde tints, as over-styled as severely as that of Powers, with the use of ribbons, plaits and a ponytail. Sara also over-uses eyeliner and lip-gloss, and in one scene wears a shirt with no bra. Gilbert is funny when doing a primal scream during her visit to Bryn Mar college, chummy with Stapleton, supplies tears, and uses her eyes to convey irony. However she makes her confrontation line to Powers - `Are you satisfied?!' - a howler. She look beautiful when attempting to seduce Lowell at a bar, but isn't able to provide the mixed emotions when he takes her to `the lake'. (That a teenage boy could accept talk as a substitute for sex is also a hard ask). Sara is also reluctant to dance with Maggie and Jessie wearing a huge feather boa as they charleston with high kicks to the song Anything Goes.

The teleplay by Leonora Thuna, based on a story by Powers, reads as soap opera, with director Jack Hofsiss providing reaction pauses and staging theatrical compositions. Thuna bombs with lines like `It's like coming back to the scene of my crime', `Don't lay that guilt trip on me', `Did you bite off more than you can chew?', and `I always missed the family I didn't have. Now I missed the family I had'. Thuna scores though with the exchange `I hope you're not using salt. Only when I eat', the line `I just can't handle salacious conversation at breakfast', and Stapleton's `It looks like a cold wind blew in from the north'. Stapleton also saves `I'm sorry I did something to upset you. Of course I knew that I would. I just wasn't sure what it would be', and her earth mother with a touch of the dowager easily steals the film from Powers, who wears up-staging tight trousers.

This movie begins to try to explain the complex family relationships between three generations of women, grandmother, mother and daughter. Although the story is straightforward, the entanglements aren't. The film deals with two sets of mothers and two sets of daughters, all with their individual hang ups, issues and life plans.

Maureen Stapleton is wonderful as the grandmother, close to her grand-daughter but cold to her own daughter. Melissa Gilbert plays the spoilt little girl pretty well (although I did feel tempted to slap her at times!). But, as usual, it is Stefanie Powers who walks away with the film. Stefanie's character, Jessie, is a workaholic with a string of failed marriages behind her. She struggles to deal with her teenage daughter and has almost given up on any kind of relationship with her mother, particularly after the recent death of the father she adored.

This set up is fairly representative of most mother/daughter relationships. As happens in the movies, this one works itself out but it's interesting to watch the process.

Taped this TV film in 1984 and just recently viewed this film again and greatly enjoyed the talents of veteran actors like, Stefanie Powers,(Jessie Callaway),"Invisible Strangler",'76,who showed her great acting abilities as a complicated young woman who has many mental problems and tries to help her mother move out of her home where she lived for forty(40) years. Melissa Gilbert,(Sara Callaway),"Ice House",'89, does not get along very well with her mother and simply loves her grandmother, Maureen Stapleton,(Maggie Lukauer),"Living & Dining",'03, who tries to help her daughter and granddaughter get over many of their problems which seem to pop up all over the house. There are some deep Family Secrets which finally come to everyones attention. If you like good acting and a great TV film, you just might be able to view this film on LIFETIME!

I was only interested in this movie, because of the three beautiful women who starred in it. It was fun seeing the classic 80's clothes. While the mother of Melissa Gilbert preaches about nutrition she is a smoker herself which seems a bit hypocritical.

I'm a mother and it's my worst nightmare the way the daughters feel about their mothers in this film. I only watched it, because of the 3 fabulous actress' who star in it. They really are great! The clothes are classic 80's and seeing James Spader was fun. Other than the wonderful actors and clothes it was quite depressing.