Terror in the Family

I was curious about this as an early credit for Hillary Swank, and if I were she and someone mentioned this movie in my presence I'd probably be thinking, "I'm a big movie star now, I've won two Academy Awards, I should be allowed to forget credits like that." Truth be told, though, it's a better than average Lifetime movie and Swank acquits herself marvelously in it as the rebellious teenage girl whose violent relations with her family open a lot of old wounds going back three generations. This has some of the usual Lifetime weaknesses — melodramatic plot construction, an overly reverential attitude towards psychotherapy, sappy piano-and-strings background music (they must have a library of millions of these records) and a limp excuse for punk rock allegedly performed by Garrett's band, as well as the obligatory soft-core porn scene — but it's also solidly acted by a tight ensemble cast, it's all too believable despite the melodramatics, and Gregory Goodell has a visual sense far ahead of most of the Lifetime directors.

This was an intense film from Lifetime Network, Hilary Swank is a teenage girl who wants her freedom from her parents and wants to be with her boyfriend,, well her parents are going to put a stop to this, but problem is this spoiled brat is violent and she goes after her dad by slamming a door on his arm,, fighting with her mother,, classic tale of teenage girl rebelling but goes way to far in this movie I felt,, the mother escapes by drinking whine during the day,, the husband is busy in the basement doing woodworking,, and the son is busy sipping vodka before bed,, this movie is kinda hard to watch,, in part because I had a teenage step daughter that was violent as she got older, but thank goodness not to the point in the movie , but close enough. interesting watch,,, Dan Lauria was good, and Jo Anna Kerns was great and stole the show for me.

The subject matter is not just about a violent teen (Hillary Swank) but what got her that way. The title is misleading, sounds more like a serial killer type movie.

Kerns does well, portraying a housewife with a distant husband, drinking too much (as it turns out her mother, portrayed by Nan Martin, liked using physical force to keep the kids in line). Dan Lauria is the father, who prefers woodworking in the basement to avoid addressing the issues. There was also a similar film on Lifetime with Delta Burke and Ryan Merriman: "Child of Rage"; it presented this problem in a clearer light- and the audience learns that teen violence against parents is not unusual. There are also many different causes, and it does not happen in a vacuum.

This movie has Swank as the root of the problem, until the very end where it is clear her mother (Kerns) was raised by an abusive mother. This issue should have been developed more. Also the faltering marriage issue was never addressed; Kathleen Wilhoite is Kern's sister, who has some insight about the problem, and is all but ignored throughout the film. The other adults who contribute to the problem do not admit it until the last five minutes of the film, where everyone except the abusive grandma goes to therapy.

Worth a shot if you at least have an interest in what causes teens to act out, and why alcoholism exists.

This movie is an alright TV movie. Nothing spectacular but I could watch it again.

Hilary Swank plays a teen who becomes aggressive and violent with her family. Between the constant bickering at home, and running away to spend time with her boyfriend, her life turns out to be more than she can handle.

Swank acts out the role very well but at times her character becomes a little too annoying to handle. Joanna Kerns plays the alcoholic mother who just can't seem to control her daughter as it seems like she's always the one getting knocked around. Kerns is believable as an alcoholic but tries to be a little too complex for her role. Dan Lauria plays the distant father. He acts a little better than Kerns and his character doesn't involve too many sentimental moments, so it's easier to handle him. Everyone else does a good job.

The plot is good but it tends to drag on a little too long. Half of the film could have been cut and it wouldn't have made a difference. After two or three scenes of seeing Swank become violent with her parents, I wanted to turn it off. But I didn't. The ending was alright but like I said, it dragged on and on.

Overall, this is a good TV movie. If you're in the situation like the family that the story revolves around, you might want to watch this.

At first, 'Terror in the Family' seems like just another familiar tale of a 'normal' American family dealing with a violent teenager.

As the story progresses, however, you eventually realize that the violently rebellious daughter (Hillary Swank) may be the only member of this family that ISN'T totally bonkers. Mom's an alcoholic, dear ol' dad (who spends most of his time making wooden salad bowls) never wanted kids in the first place, younger brother Adam is a closet drunk, and grandma makes Joan Crawford look like mother of the year.

This family is so dysfunctional that you have to wonder how they ever stayed together long enough to have teenage kids! As the non-stop bickering reaches a fever pitch in the final hour, it's hard not to laugh out loud.

If this were a black comedy, it might work. But as a drama, it falls apart rather quickly. Too bad, since the cast was good enough to deliver much more.