Like Normal People

My girlfriend and i watched this movie for the first time the other day and actually laughed at the acting in it. I have never seen such bad acting, i know this was never made to be a Hollywood blockbuster but "Waa-Jah" was just a joke. How did they ever get the budget to make this film? After getting over the initial laughter of the acting we realised that the way the actors were playing these characters was actually quite insulting. There is a very fine line when playing someone with any kind of disability, it is either very good i.e Sean Penn in "I am Sam", or what we have here in this movie which amounts to playing the character more like a playground taunt rather than with any thought or feeling.

I enjoy high camp and this is the holy grail of T.V. camp. While this was made to be sensitive tale of two people in love in a time when love for them was not allowed, it is nothing more than a send up of people with disabilities. I laughed out loud when this thing first aired. In fact everyone I knew laughed out loud. The only film I can think of that has more unintentional funny dialog is the English dubbed version of Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster. The enjoyable aspect is you get to see some great location shots in Los Angeles. When was the last time you saw Love's Ribs on Pico? (BTW that was a real lazy location FOX! What was it... Two blocks from the front gate?) There is nothing kind or touching in this film. A contemporary viewer would would laugh non-stop until the bitter predictable preachy end. This is dark comedy at its finest. Come on Zalman King playing someone who cares? No way! It gets a ten in my book for being a constant source of jokes.

Ok, I haven't watched the movie yet; however, I do know Roger and his wife Virginia. They are my neighbors and the nicest people! Roger stopped by my house yesterday to let me know he and Virginia were celebrating their 44th wedding anniversary!

I knew Roger and Virginia when I was a young girl. Roger volunteered at my school. Although a lot of kids made fun of him, I liked him very much. He was nice, and like another kid to me. My friend and I used to play at Roger and Virginia's house. He had a play room that was any kids dream and they always served Twinkies. I moved away later in life and I think about them every now and then and wonder what became of them. Especially when Lifetime or Oxygen plays the movie. I've told my daughter stories about them when it related to our conversations. She wondered what they looked like, so I told her how the real Roger and Virginia have a cameo in the film. I just did a search to find it for her and was saddened by the comments I just came across. I understand that it is a movie and therefore will receive criticism. But let's not forget that they are real people too. The comment regarding the actors performance was especially insulting towards the couple they portrayed. They actually did a pretty great job. That's how they talk. Virginia really calls him "WahJah". She has speech problems that cause her words to sound a little nasally. They walk funny and they talk funny and they are better people than most. I won't sit here all day and beat you guys over the head. I just wanted you to know that sometimes your comments may hurt people and that in the future if you're commenting on a true story that maybe you could just be more careful with the words you choose.

This was decently done, especially for the era. I was expecting camp but NOT because of the subject but because of the era and a teen idol in the cast. I expected it to be handled so badly it would be funny. Fortunately, that is not the case.

This TV movie tries its best to be understanding and realistic. The performances are adequate. I hope some people learned something from watching it.

What kind of person makes fun of a person who has to struggle more than they do? They should he admired. They deserve respect and compassion. Only a person who dislikes themselves would treat the challenged so badly.