Family Album

I've watched this mini-series a couple of times on lifetime. This has to be one of the most unbelievable storylines ever. The standard soap opera cliches are used - glamour, sex, adultery, teen pregnancy, and tragic deaths. The popular athletic son going off to die in Vietnam was so obvious you could see it coming a mile away. The other son is the token sensitive gay character struggling to come out *yawn*. The scene where the gay son discovers that his masculine blond roommate is gay was laughable. These two guys look like Ken dolls come to life. All of the actors appear to be from central casting for "pretty people". Maybe if more average looking actors had been cast it would have been more convincing, but I doubt it. Most of the actors can't act anyway. Jaclyn Smith is more wooden here than ever before. There are other problems with wardrobe and hair. It looks like 1994 when it's supposed to be 1968. I could go on and on. I wouldn't recommend this movie unless you have about four hours to kill watching some mediocre trash.

OK, first, it's Danielle Steele, so take that into consideration. Characterization is one-note, the acting isn't all that awesome, and honestly, if you're checking it out here twelve years after the fact, it's probably because you're a fan of Joe Flanigan's work on Stargate: Atlantis and you want to see what else he's done.

Having said all that - I kind of love this. Flanigan is very sweet as the token gay brother, all shy glances and lowered eyelashes. Jaclyn Smith is no better than you expect, and as the above reviewer said, the clothes are just wrong. BUT, if you're in the mood to sit down with some girlfriends for a pizza-and-movie night (beer optional), and watch a movie that will make you laugh and unexpectedly get a tiny bit emotional, this is the one. My friends and I have watched it several times, and the love just grows.

I loved this movie it was a great portrayal of a family who had it's share of ups and down, but in the end they knew that special love they had for each other. I have seen many movies starring Jaclyn Smith, but my god this was one of her best, though it came out 12 years ago. This movie contained an all-star cast, and what I loved the most was that it opened my eyes to see other actors who I haven't seen before. This movie was kind of long in length, but I enjoyed every minute of it. It is a movie that you can sit down with your family and watch, though we would have to cover the kids eyes a few times due to the discretionary love scenes. Overall I rate this movie a 10 out of a 1-10 scale. Lifetime does not air it enough, so if anyone knows what store sells it let me know because this is a must-have.

A good TV movie based on the book by Danielle Steel. Leads Jaclyn Smith and Michael Ontkean lack charisma, but there are plenty of fine supporting performances, namely by Joe Flanigan and Leslie Horan. It's interesting to note three soap stars in the cast: Horan (who would join the cast of General Hospital), Brian Krause (who would join the cast of Another World) and Paul Satterfield (formerly of GH and Bold and the Beautiful). One of DS's better TV movies.

I have seen this movie and read the book. I think it's a lot more than 'mediocre trash'. It's an extremely good movie. Yeah, some things were predictable but it's still worth watching. I would very much recommend this movie. And i recommend the book.