The Facts of Life Reunion

If they couldn't get Nancy McKeon, they shouldn't have done this movie. For most of the series, she WAS the show. I don't care if she showed up for a brief scene at the end, one that could have been filmed in an hour. It would have been better than nothing.

But no, getting another actress was not an option. Anyone who thinks it would have been good apparently doesn't watch TV, or at least not shows/movies in which that is done. EVERY one of them is routinely and thoroughly panned when they do it. Not to mention, the actresses mentions by one commenter would split their sides laughing so hard at the notion the that they would be asked to stoop to playing Jo in a Fact of Life TV reunion movie. "Hey, Ms. Bullock, I know you make $10+ million a movie. But would you like to take a hundred thousand of so bucks to be on the Facts of Life Reunion?" "Sure. I'll just put my major motion picture career on hold for a few months!" "Hey, Angelina, don't bother with those sequels to Tomb Raider and the ensuing $20 million dollars you will make. Do this TV movie instead!" While we are at it, let's suggest that they should have asked George Clooney to take a break from filming Ocean's Eleven in order to reprise his role.

The other bad thing about this movie was, did Beverly not exist? Cloris Leachman is still around. Why not get her. (And, unlike Angelina Jolie and Sandra Bullock, she would be more than happy to appear.) What, the girls don't love her anymore?

I nearly fell off my seat when I saw the Facts of Life movie on the satellite listings. I tuned in and was all set to be whisked back into the lives of my favourite friends. I was sadly disappointed in the plot and the entire movie just seemed so tired and trite; I don't know if it was because my favourite character, Jo (Nancy McKeon), was missing or if it's because Disney was at the helm.

IMHO, a reunion movie was a great idea. I'd have preferred something closer to the original, perhaps with lots of juicy "flashbacks".

I had been waiting for this for a long time. When I finally got the scoop on it, I was very upset that "Jo" would not be there! Its okay though. "Ms." Garrett, Nat, Blair, & Dorthy(formally know as Tootie) reunite in this cute made-for-tv-movie. It appears that Tootie is now a talk-show host. Nat is a writer. Ms. Garrett, who left for Africa with her new husband has become a widow. & the ever-so popular & beautiful Blair went into the hotel business. The story is Natalie has two boyfriends who she has to choose from. They just so happen to show up at the reunion in Blair's hotel. The girls are once again learning the facts of life all over again with their crazy & exciting adventure. If thats not enough, Tisha (Tootie's daughter) & Jamie (Jo's daughter) are on their on adventure as well. I have a B I G feeling this will spawn the "All New Facts Of Life" or maybe two more Facts movies. It was good to see the girls (minus one) back together again. 1-10 (8)

I was very upset with the outcome of this made-for-TV-movie. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore the 80's TV series. But, the dialogue was cheesy and about 45% of the cast had nothing to do with the series. One last thing that was wrong with the movie was: Jo, Andy, Beverly Ann, & George all weren't there. Jo (Nancy McKeon) was busy with her police drama, "The Division" on Lifetime TV. Andy (Mackenzie Astin) very much wanted to do the film but was not called or written into the film. Beverly Ann (Cloris Leachman) did not know about the film and was not called, either. George (George Clooney) said "They fired me, so screw 'em." I'm telling you, this film was very "Disney-ized." If you're looking for Blair, Tootie, Natalie, Jo, Mrs. Garrett, Beverly Ann, Andy, & George... watch the series. And finally "You take the good," the series. "You take the bad," the made-for-TV-movie. "You take 'em both and then you have The Facts Of Life." If this movie is released on video it's a rental. Don't buy it.

The Facts of Life Reunion disturbed me because it little uncomfortable knowing that I'm now old enough to begin seeing reunion movies of some of my favorite childhood shows. Aside from that, it was really refreshing seeing the cast again. The main cast really seemed to be enjoying themselves back in their old roles and the old chemistry was still there. The producers did a great job in staying true to events in the series and informing us of the changes in that time, fans will see many, sometimes minor, references to the past (like Mrs. Garrett's Peace Corps journey, Blair's purchase of Eastland and allowing boys to go to the school...etc) which makes it seem like someone behind the scenes cared enough to get the details right. The recreation of the Eastland Cafeteria was excellent and was upgraded from the bland 4-sided look of a TV sitcom set to the full 6-sided realistic looking sets found in hour long dramas. While the writers did a great job in packing a lot into this movie, they didn't really create a good plot. Natalie had 2 dates in one night and attempted to prevent both men from knowing about the other, that's about as sitcom cliche as replacing a friend's dead pet with a look-a-like, but who knows? Maybe a movie based on a sitcom should embrase their sitcom-ness! Some things I hoped for but didn't see: a tour of their old "Edna's Edibles" house, you'd think Beverly Anne might still be living there. I would have loved to have seen an upgraded 6-sided version of that significant set too! The main flaw was the lack of Nancy McKeon, her absense was very noticeable but the writers did a good job in acknowledging her importance by having her kid and husband show instead. McKeon supposedly wanted to put the Jo role behind her and move on, but sorry Nancy, skipping out of a reunion show doesn't help break a typecasting problem it just makes you look like an ungrateful David Caruso who couldn't be bothered with the role that made her famous in the first place. You stood out more by NOT being there. On a side note, the cast of "Facts" kids fortunately had enough smarts to stay away from the problems that plagued the "Diff'rent Strokes" kids. Maybe "Jo's" case involved a troubled Willis Drummond...