A Family Affair

This movie felt very amateurish, but that's probably what was intended. Michele Green caught my attention from the get-go and was extremely good as the spurned lover. I had no idea it was Abby Perkins from LA Law until I watched disk 2 on the DVD extras. A very good turn for her. By her own admission she feels boxed in as an actress with casting directors not being able to see her beyond Abby-types. Hopefully that will change. Helen Lesniak was decent, and watch-able, but looked much older than 34 and not young enough to be the daughter of Arlene Golonka, but perhaps Arlene is just extremely young looking! I really enjoyed Arlene's performance and that of Barbara Stuart. Good casting there. I also thought Erica Shaffer was good, but truly, I couldn't see much attraction between her and Helen. They didn't seem compatible at all. I wouldn't recommend this film to everyone, but I did enjoy it. 6/10 stars.

Rachel is a Jewish lesbian. Her parents are initially shocked by this revelation (the lesbian part, that is), but have come around so far that they are now leaders of PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians And Gays). After a long, on again, off again relationship with a woman named Reggie in New York, Rachel moves to southern California and meets Christine.

This romantic comedy stars Helen Lesnick, who also wrote and directed it. Her character breaks the fourth wall frequently, speaking to the camera on and off from the very beginning of the film. While I really enjoyed the film, a couple of minor problems stood out: the actress/writer/director looks much closer to the age of the actress playing her mother than to that of her love interest, and the dialog seemed stilted and occasionally badly overdubbed. I can't help but compare this to "Kissing Jessica Stein," which I saw in Toronto last year but is only now being released in theaters. This film is more real, but is not as inventive or as well delivered, so I would have to give the edge to KJS. Seen at Cinequest (the San Jose, CA film festival) on 3/1/2002.

The writing is not altogether that bad--the jokes definitely have their niche and will be entertaining to its intended audience.

Let's just say that, without looking at any of the credits, I could tell that it was one of those movies where the director had cast herself as the lead role. I was not convinced by Helen Lesniak's performance as a romantic lead. She does well with the sarcasm...and that's about it. The fact that she looked to be the same age as her on-screen mother was distracting, frankly.

And it sounds horrible but the whole time I was thinking, "How did she land a babe like Eric Shaffer?"

"A Family Affair" is all about Rachel (Lesnick) who runs from a broken relationship in NY to San Diego where she falls for Christine (Shaffer) only to have her ex try to get her back...etc. Lesnick put this little indie together single handedly and it shows. The film is fraught with deficits including hackneyed material, trite dramatic or flip Woodyesque dialogue, stiff delivery, cost cutting everywhere, and Lesnick really belongs behind the lens. In spite of all that, I was marginally engrossed post climax in the drama of the denouement when the flick consolidates itself and finally gets real. Recommended for anyone who's interested in a romantic comedy about a woman who just happens to be gay. (C+)

Fabulous movie......I was not expecting it to be so funny and interesting at the same time! Everything in it is really exceptionnal, from the actresses, to the script, to the story, to the directing, to the pictures, to the location (san Diego of course)....etc

Two thumbs up, and Congratulations....Continue the great work!