Our Son, the Matchmaker

http://people.com/archive/our-son-the-matchmaker-vol-36-no-8/

This is a true story, as seen in the above link to the People Magazine article regarding this story.

It is a heart-felt story and a true one. My favorite kind.

The stories of young mothers being forced into adoptions that were "closed or private" in prior decades are many. Many children are still wondering where their biological parents are.

As far back as I can remember, I have always been a sucker for good story true or not, where I got caught up in the story and expressed emotion. Every single time! All I have got to say is "Sappy Men Unite"! This movie and one entitled "Little White Lies", is another Ann Jillian movie where it may not be sappy from start to finish, but it ends sappy. Other than a sappy love story, my other favorite kind of movie is where justice prevails and the good guy's kick a little butt. I will have to wait until another time when this plays to record it, whenever that will be? As far as my own personal story that helps me connect with sappy movies, like everyone else, we all have a person in our lives that we had the right feelings for, but it was the wrong time in our lives. I was 20 when I met this individual and she struck a very strong chord in my heart at the time, we socialized together, but I never created the right opportunity to let her know how I felt. Like most of us, we regret not knowing what might have been, basically lost opportunities! Under the circumstances, life for both us went in the direction that it was meant to go. Although for that brief time when I was 20-22 years of age, it was both awkward, new and exciting. When you feel strong feelings for someone for the first time, it is awkward, exhilarating and kind of scary. You always live your life believing that you have to have all or some of your ducks in a row, to pursue those feelings even if it may not come at an ideal time in your life, but I know now that is not correct. Living our life in fear or what will happen or what might happen, is no way to live your life. Even though I would give anything to live that time over again and perhaps correct a few mistakes made out of being insecure and scared, as well as to feel that way again, I do not regret the direction my life took.

However, the ladies of all ages will lap it up, no doubt; at least the opposite sex understand what it is to be a mother, and most of us men try to fathom out what it is to be a father. Whether changing nappies is not at all my favourite occupation and trying to get those bottled baby-foodstuffs into errant toothless mouths must rank very high on household duties preferably left to its mother, has absolutely nothing to do with the matter.

Some good interpretations here, and a good story idea; the handling of the matter, limited to rather scanty TV-production concepts, gives the film a rather over-mellowy taste with not much new to offer. An insipid way of delivering the goods, and in the end the outcome is so forseeable during the last 20 minutes or so, even my wife dozed off, and I was jumping up to the computer to get the on-line scoring in the Barcelona-Deportivo match, hoping the away team would do something rather good. They did. This film did not.

Better by far is Mike Leigh's magnificent "Secrets and Lies" (qv) which touches on the same subject matter, but with Brenda Blethyn playing a far superior part.

I appreciated the reality of the movie. My mother had a similar situation and was sent to live with her aunt. Outcomes are different but the love for child and care for one another the same. I think the actors chosen did a nice job portraying the story.

The guy who plays the son is creepy. His facial expressions, manner of speaking, and inappropriate smiles gave me the heebie-geebies...